Pennsylvania Game News - December 2011 - 56

THE RESULT from getting off a good shot without being spotted can be huge.

Ground blind hunters might do well to avoid camouflage altogether and opt for pure black clothing. Looking from the outside, the interior of a blind is one big shadow. That’s where you’ll be sitting, so match the darkness to disappear.

Dress for Success Once you’ve determined where you’re going to hunt, it’s time to dress to blend in. So you might think all you have to do is get a camouflage suit. In some instances, that is the case. In others, it’s not. Understand that camouflage clothing is made to catch your eye more so than to hide you from a deer’s eye. Hunters look at a realistic camo pattern, think it perfectly resembles a swath of forest or grassland, and then break out their wallets. But deer see differently than we do. Contrary to popular belief, they can see some colors, mainly toward the blue end of the spectrum. Greens and yellows, like you’ll find in many camouflage patterns, are going to look like shades of gray to them. The key to beating a deer’s eye with camouflage is to make sure your pattern has a good mix of light and dark shades. That’s what’s going to break up your silhouette. If you’re up in a tree, obviously you’re going to want more light shades than if you’re on the ground so you blend in with the sky. The problem I’ve seen with many camo patterns today is they are very dark. When you see a pattern you like, back up 20 yards and see if it doesn’t morph into a dark blob. That’s no good, especially if you’re a treestand hunter.
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movement that’s most likely to catch a deer’s attention and give you away. So you have to know when to move and when to freeze. Because a deer’s eyes are set on the sides of its head, it can see all around its body except for a sliver of space directly behind its head. If you can see any part of a deer’s eye, it can see you. That doesn’t mean it will see you, but it’s capable. So the first rule of moving to get into position to draw your bow and shoot is to do so only when a deer’s head is blocked from your view. If there’s a tree between a buck’s head and you, he’s not going to catch you drawing. Of course, there’s not always a tree conveniently growing right where you need one when it’s time to draw. So you’ve got to seek out another window of opportunity. Find one by reading a deer’s body language. If a deer on high alert — ears erect and swiveling, legs stiff, head upright —ventures your way, don’t move, don’t breathe, don’t even think about moving or breathing. This is a deer that’s on the lookout for something out of order, and you certainly are not part of the forest community. A deer in this state might never offer you a chance to draw your bow. On the other hand, an alert deer that’s obviously fixated on something other than you, such as another deer, a decoy or a coyote, is vulnerable. This is a distracted deer, and as long as you’re not between the deer
GAME NEWS

No matter where you hunt or what you’re wearing at the time, it’s

All the Right Moves

Pennsylvania Game News - December 2011

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