# (Why) do hunters wear camouflage? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 1, 2009, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hunters-wear-camouflage/519578 "2009-12-01T13:00:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hunters-wear-camouflage/519578/21 "2009-12-01T22:43:12Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > . I honestly think it’s more of a fashion statement. So… are you saying I don’t need to get the camouflaged Busch cans? ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hunters-wear-camouflage/519578/22 "2009-12-01T22:51:54Z")
Why not just have a full body suit that is orange, red, and yella, arranged to be all camo-like? ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hunters-wear-camouflage/519578/23 "2009-12-01T22:55:00Z")
> [@Bearflag70](#): > > Why not just have a full body suit that is orange, red, and yella, arranged to be all camo-like? #10 in this pic is just that. [![](http://www.slygear.com/cgi-bin/image/templates/CamoDisplay-3.jpg) ](http://www.slygear.com/cgi-bin/image/templates/CamoDisplay-3.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Dripping](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d2c977/32.png) [@Dripping](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dripping)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hunters-wear-camouflage/519578/24 "2009-12-01T23:43:46Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > What JF said. Deer see orange as a sort of gray Is there actual proof of this? How does anyone except deer know what deer see? ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hunters-wear-camouflage/519578/25 "2009-12-02T00:07:01Z")
> [@gazpacho](#): > > #10 in this pic is just that. > [http://www.slygear.com/cgi-bin/image/templates/CamoDisplay-3.jpg](http://www.slygear.com/cgi-bin/image/templates/CamoDisplay-3.jpg) Ooooh! Perfect for autumn! ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hunters-wear-camouflage/519578/26 "2009-12-02T00:16:16Z")
> [@Dripping](#): > > Is there actual proof of this? How does anyone except deer know what deer see? Because many animals can be trained to indicate when two colors appear different to them. If they make no response, then they appear the same. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hunters-wear-camouflage/519578/27 "2009-12-02T00:46:38Z")
The big question is: why do people buy camoflage-patterned wallets? That’s the last thing I want to blend into the background. ---
**Author:** ![YPOD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e99b99/32.png) [@YPOD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YPOD)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hunters-wear-camouflage/519578/28 "2009-12-02T02:37:40Z")
I remember being in a Wyoming store and seeing thongs and teddies in camouflage. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hunters-wear-camouflage/519578/29 "2009-12-02T03:26:20Z")
> [@Dripping](#): > > Is there actual proof of this? How does anyone except deer know what deer see? We know that they have two kinds of color receptors, and we know the range of wavelengths each is sensitive to. This enables us to tell what kind of colors they are capable of seeing. As has been mentioned, experiments on color discrimination in animals have also been done. Humans, unlike most mammals, have three kinds of color receptors, which gives us pretty good color vision. Turkeys, like most vertebrates other than mammals, have four color receptors, giving them much better color discrimination than us. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hunters-wear-camouflage/519578/30 "2009-12-02T04:55:34Z")
So Dick Cheney doesn’t see them 😃 d&r ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hunters-wear-camouflage/519578/31 "2009-12-02T11:57:51Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > I’m watching the beginning of the most recent episode of _House_. There are two men hunting. They are wearing camouflauge, and over that, they’re wearing bright orange vests. > > The orange vests are to help make sure they don’t shoot each other, I take it. > > But since they have to wear the orange vests, I wonder why they bother with the camouflage at all. You know, we airmen have been asking the same damn question for years. 😃 (by way of explanation, read the top comic on [this](http://www.afblues.com/?p=1249) page:cool:) ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hunters-wear-camouflage/519578/32 "2009-12-02T12:14:43Z")
It also depends what you’re hunting, too. You don’t need camouflage to hunt bunnies or foxes, for example. So yeah, I agree with **Crafter Man**. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hunters-wear-camouflage/519578/33 "2009-12-02T12:27:16Z")
> [@capeo](#): > > Predators have to get much closer to their prey, moving all the while, than someone with a high powered rifle does. Besides, “burning bright” orange with pure white highlights isn’t exactly good tyger camo in a mangrove or forest, is it ? ETA : I mean, seriously. This is me. I’m a [tiger](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Panthera_tigris_sumatran_subspecies.jpg). I blend right in. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hunters-wear-camouflage/519578/34 "2009-12-02T13:07:05Z")
I see a lot of camo in Walmart. These people must be invisible to themselves when looking in the mirror, because they would be better off in the forest with some of their outfits. _To sum up what has been said:_ 1-Best thing going is camo pattern, but brightly colored. Safety and stealthy. 2-Next best thing is drab camo pattern with orange/bright vest. Safety (less so) and stealthy (less so) 3-Trailing behind is no camo at all with orange/bright vest. Safe as 2, but not as stealthy. Anecdotal evidence will show 1,2 and 3 as successful. Many deer have been killed under many different circumstances, and there are just too many variables that we cannot control for sans a major study. If it were me, I would go w/ option 1. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hunters-wear-camouflage/519578/35 "2009-12-02T14:43:21Z")
> [@Dripping](#): > > Is there actual proof of this? How does anyone except deer know what deer see? Probably what some expert got past some review board; all I can say is that that’s what is in my instructors manual. The old versions usually said “black and white” and somewhere along the course of my life the thought was “sepia browns” but now the rule of thumb is “grays”. Whatever the case, one thing science and experience both seem to show is that deer are not as sensitive to color as something like a turkey is. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Duality](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.duality/32/4098_2.png) [@Mr.Duality](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Duality)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hunters-wear-camouflage/519578/36 "2009-12-03T00:38:48Z")
An expansive treatise on what deer see is at [http://www.muledeercountry.com/?p=905](http://www.muledeercountry.com/?p=905) Among other things, it says deer can’t distinguish shades of red such as orange and pink. Also, their distance vision isn’t better than that of humans. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hunters-wear-camouflage/519578/37 "2009-12-03T02:24:20Z")
> [@YPOD](#): > > I remember being in a Wyoming store and seeing thongs and teddies in camouflage. Well, camo is useful, no matter what you’re stalking! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hunters-wear-camouflage/519578/38 "2009-12-03T02:30:28Z")
Camouflage condoms. She’ll never see you coming! ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hunters-wear-camouflage/519578/39 "2009-12-03T02:43:37Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Camouflage condoms. She’ll never see you coming! And people say romance is dead. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hunters-wear-camouflage/519578/40 "2009-12-03T02:50:23Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Camouflage condoms. She’ll never see you coming! Bad **silenus**! No Scotch! 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hunters-wear-camouflage/519578.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hunters-wear-camouflage/519578.md?page=3)