I’ve been asked about wearing camouflage when airgun hunting, and whether it makes a significant difference. Much of the quarry that airgun hunters pursue have well-developed eyesight, such as squirrels and woodchucks. Real-world experience has convinced me that going into the woods in full camouflage for these species greatly improves my success rate. Some years ago, when I started hunting tree squirrels after moving to the Midwest, I found that I’d see squirrels at a distance, but not within shooting range. I’d move slowly, sit and wait, and my results were just OK, but not great. Then one winter, while deer hunting and wearing camo, I noticed that squirrels would sometimes just about run over me. So, after getting my buck that season, I decided to go back out for squirrel, wearing full camo with a face mask and gloves. That was the first time I limited out on these wary rodents. After this, I started to camo up on all my outings and noticed that my game bags were filling up. And with squirrels in particular, I found that wearing camo gloves and a mask consistently upped my success. This makes sense when you think of how much your hands move, uncovered; it’s like you’re waving a flag to warn every critter within eyeshot that you’re stalking them. Much of the time, the hunter is looking up into the trees, and an uncovered face also stands out like a beacon warning of danger.
Camo does give you an edge when hunting quarry with keen eyesight. I’m out for spring squirrel here.
Methods of hunting and the species being pursued will influence the camo/no-camo decision. For instance, when hunting squirrel, crow, turkey, predators, and deer, I usually wear full camo. These animals all see well and are easily spooked. On the other hand, I have not observed that it makes much difference when hunting rabbits, feral hogs, javelina, or prairie dogs. It should be noted that when not wearing camo, my clothing is still muted earth tones (browns, greens, khaki) that somewhat blend with the terrain. Hogs and javelina rely more on their sense of hearing or smell to detect sources of danger, whereas prairie dogs and rabbits seem to focus more on movement and range. So long as you’re not in bright or contrasting colors and moving a lot, you will probably be OK.
A white camo jump suit will make the hunter disappear into the landscape.
Of course, even if you choose not to wear camo, it makes sense to match your clothing to the conditions you’ll be hunting. If I’m going to stalk hogs in the thickets or African plains game in the veld, I’m fine with earth tone colors and wear gloves to protect my hands rather than to hide them. When stalking through the heavy growth, it is noise and smell that will blow the hunt, and playing the wind while using shadows and cover to approach is more important. However, if calling predators, I worry about being spotted as much as being scented, and go full camo.
Some times slipping on a camo hoodie, face make, and gloves is good enough. Covering the hands and face are critical in squirrel hunting.
There are several options for camouflage; most sporting goods stores that carry hunting gear will offer a selection. Pants, a long-sleeved T-shirt, gloves, a face mask, and a hat can be purchased for around $100 in several patterns to suit most terrain. You can spend a fortune on very expensive camo, but honestly, so long as it breaks up your pattern and isn’t a completely different color scheme, it probably doesn’t matter very much. Another option that I quite like (especially for summer/spring hunts) is a 3D camo made from lightweight bug-proof mesh. Besides protecting me from mosquitoes and other entomological nasties, it allows street clothes to be worn on site and the suit slipped over when it’s time to hunt.
Prairie dogs will know you are there, movement and distance are critical, and I usually don’t bother wearing camo when hunting them.
So, do I think camo is necessary? Yes and no, it depends on the situation. In general, there is no downside to wearing camo. In some places that I hunt, I don’t want to be decked out head to toe in camo, as it stands out too much. And if I’m running out for a quick afternoon small game hunt, it’s often more convenient to throw on a camo sweatshirt with hat and gloves. But if a serious hunt for turkey, deer, or predators is on the table, I will most often go the extra mile and suit up in camo.
Of course, another related question is, how important is it to camouflage guns and other gear … but we can save that for another day!
