Wearing Blue

Modern Muzzleloading Forum

Help Support Modern Muzzleloading Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Muley Hunter

Well-Known Member
*
Joined
Sep 23, 2010
Messages
13,946
Reaction score
914
I've read over and over to never wear blue because deer and elk can see it and will spook. I've always been suspicious of this as myself, dad, and brother always wore blue jeans back in the 50's and had no problem with spooking game. Movement was always more important and we could wear anything as long as we didn't move while game was looking at us. Then I read about wearing blue and stopped wearing it while hunting. Although I was never convinced it was true.

So, look at the video at 4:45. Either that bull was color blind or wearing blue doesn't matter. As long as you don't move.

 
I've often wondered about blue and other colors. Specifically, I'd think blue might be counter productive on turkey hunts. Gobblers have blue on their heads/necks and one would think they can see that color. Personally, I'd doubt Jeans make any difference at all around most any game; they're rather a dull blue and don't seem to stand out.
 
Yeah, as long as you don't move it won't matter if they see us. I doubt if we wear camo that they don't see us. Wear camo and move and they're gone.
 
I vaguely recall it being suggested by the wildlife researchers that ungulates possess Protanopia vision.
0spYatI.jpg

That said wearing anything blue would not seem wise.
 
I've heard they can see blue and yellow really well which seems to line up with the chart you attached.
 
Yes, but in the video, the elk clearly looked right at the hunter who's wearing blue. He certainly didn't spook. The hunter did stay still though.
 
Yes, but in the video, the elk clearly looked right at the hunter who's wearing blue. He certainly didn't spook. The hunter did stay still though.

Which pretty much confirms it's your wind or movement that will spook game. Just because they can see a certain color better doesn't mean it will necessarily spook them. I don't worry about color too much although I try to wear earth tones. Wind and movement are the deal breakers... Probably been more big game harvested in blue jeans than any other color!
 
Which pretty much confirms it's your wind or movement that will spook game. Just because they can see a certain color better doesn't mean it will necessarily spook them. I don't worry about color too much although I try to wear earth tones. Wind and movement are the deal breakers... Probably been more big game harvested in blue jeans than any other color!
.
I see all the guys jumping from one color to another, maybe its good for the guy who "jerks" around like some of those clown in Denver. Would watch them druggies bounce around with their body lanuage and think "damn easy shot".

Have seen some hunters like that and figured "you'll never see any game fellow". I wear what I have on when still hunting (most of my short hunts were spur of the moment affairs) like driving down a gravel back road and something pops out - BANG,

Have to agree with CoHiCntry on this ....


buck conner.jpg
 
Yes, but in the video, the elk clearly looked right at the hunter who's wearing blue. He certainly didn't spook. The hunter did stay still though.
They're making rocket science out of it again. I agree with you Pete. I've worn jeans with a blue work shirt. Still got my game.
 
I think it's way more important to minimize your movements than what colors you are wearing. Look at old pictures and most were wearing plaids that breakup a solid color.
I have never understand why some states allow orange camo and others require solid orange. It seems more important to break up your body mass instead of worrying about what colors your clothes are.

Big John
 
I agree John.Game doesn't see the color orange. They see it as a pale yellow like everything else. However, they do see a large single color that's not natural to nature.

Another thing that's baffling is why the bow hunters don't have to wear orange? If the DOW thinks the game can't see the orange. What difference will it make if bow hunters wear it? During our bow season there's the muzzleloader season going on too. There's also rifle bear hunters hunting using their scoped 30-06 rifles from the same dates Sept 2-30th as bow hunters.

The whole deal makes no sense and nobody can give a good reason why it's that way.
 
Another thing that's baffling is why the bow hunters don't have to wear orange? If the DOW thinks the game can't see the orange. What difference will it make if bow hunters wear it? During our bow season there's the muzzleloader season going on too. There's also rifle bear hunters hunting using their scoped 30-06 rifles from the same dates Sept 2-30th as bow hunters. The whole deal makes no sense and nobody can give a good reason why it's that way.

"Caedite eos. Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius." comes to mind, that seems to be the DOW's stand, leave a signed check in your belongings. Pete this has been an on going problem with these guys making the rules in Denver since the 70's.

Oh, the opening remark was spoken by Papal legate and ... For the Lord knows those that are His own. Less formal English translations have given rise to variants such as "Kill them all; let God sort them out".

And we pay these idiots a salary. :( :mad: .


buck conner.jpg
 
Last edited:
Many years ago (50 maybe?) Chuck Adams had a book out in which he poo-pooed camo. Traditional red/black plaid wool shirt with blue jeans, and for him, a black watch cap were good enough. Then, he must have gotten a contract with Mossy Oak or one of the other camo developers because his tune changed overnight, and it was impossible to get close enough for an ethical bow shot on a deer without wearing it.

Wish I still had my copy of that original book; it walked away during one of my frequent moves. The first one I see by him on Amazon was published in 1978 and shows him all camoed up.

~WH~
 
"Chuck Adams had a book out in which he poo-pooed camo." ??? Cover says different ???

A13k2JzE3XL.jpg


buck conner.jpg
 
I think it's way more important to minimize your movements than what colors you are wearing. Look at old pictures and most were wearing plaids that breakup a solid color.
I have never understand why some states allow orange camo and others require solid orange. It seems more important to break up your body mass instead of worrying about what colors your clothes are.

Big John
You're right Big John regarding old pictures of hunters. Take the legendary bowhunter FRED BEAR for example. Breaking-up your human body mass was something the ol' timers figured-out long before designer camo clothing came along. They simply wore a plaid top and solid-color pants. Chuck Adams also wore this simple but effective color combination. Since many real old photos were in black & white, it's hard to say how common or popular the color blue was.
 
Good research articles on camo are not easy to find. Most articles are founded on second and third hand reports. Most lack citations of the information they quote. Here are some sites with interesting articles. Some are commercial sites that sell their own camo, but do have some inciteful comments.
The eyes of a whitetail: new research into the visual acuity of whitetails could help tip the odds in your favor this season! - Free Online Library

Camouflage Science

Hunting Myth Buster: Do You Need Camouflage for Deer Hunting?

I also attached one interesting article about deer eyesight.

My opinion is that hunting camo may have its uses in the field, but for many it is just a style statement. I have shared a rifle range shooting house with a man sighting in his rifle and decked out head to toe in camo. Why camo at the shooting range?
In South Africa, many American hunters dress in camo, then shoot the game from the bed of a white, Toyota Hi-Lux pickup truck. I've been in a hunting lodge where the professional hunters (PH) will tease the camo-covered hunter. They will sit on the hunter's lap and then jump up saying: "On my, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there on the chair!"

Sure, sometimes camo is useful, but all the young people on university campuses wearing camo and the older guys decked out in camo at the mall tells me that it is, like tacticool, a style I'll call camocool.
Ron
 

Attachments

  • new research into the visual acuity of whitetails .pdf
    375.4 KB · Views: 6
Like RonC living in Colorado we see lots of hunters from around the country. One thing we all have noticed is how fast some move in the woods. If we can see the required orange bouncing down the side of the mountain a quarter mile away, you know the game saw them at twice the distance.

I keep an eye on that orange vest because I want to knew which way its going having been shot by mistake a few times before. Nothing like hearing the sound of a gun discharged and hearing a bullet hit near by ..... :mad: :mad: o_O

The first camo we saw in Northern Colorado was what the National Guard was wearing from Camp George West in Ron's home town of Golden CO. A couple of hunting friends from the Guard wore it when issued back in the early 60's. It took a year or so before it was available in the sports shops, otherwise we were wearing OD's from previous wars.



buck conner.jpg
 
Last edited:
Back
Top