Camouflage Clothing and Predator Hunting

S

Scot

New member
There has been much said about camouflage clothing and coyote hunting. I've been at the predator hunting game for over four decades and I'm still at it. 90% of my hunting is on Kansas ranch land. The terrain is a mix of pastureland, small stands of cedars and cedar scrub, creek bottoms, drainages and CRP grass.

I am a big believer in matching my camouflage clothing to the season terrain. One can argue what colors a coyote can see but there is more to it than a coyote's ability to see certain colors. I am sometimes amused at what camouflage clothing a hunter will show up wearing for a coyote hunt. Last winter a hunter showed up wearing the typical deer hunting garb. Now can you picture sitting in the snow and sticking out like a sore thumb. It's a matter of blending with your surroundings folks.

A coyote has the uncanny ability to spot something that just doesn't seem normal to it when responding to a call. Usually its some kind of a movement, I agree. But I have several sets of camo that I use depending on the season. During the fall I can blend in with CRP grass wearing Mossy Oak Brush so well that I have had coyotes come in as close as 10 yards from me and then meet the business end of my shotgun. Now that's a close encounter of the adrenaline pumping kind! During spring hunting when things are greening up I wear Natural Gear SCI with the same results. I use King's snow camo in the winter after snowfall.

I wear gloves and face covering. Nothing stands out better to an approaching coyote than bare skin. To a coyote its like looking into the side mirror on your truck. Since I wear glasses I wear a camo ball cap style hat since the shade of the brim blocks out any possible glare from glasses. Prudent selection of camo hunting gear does make a difference.
 
Don't dogs (in general) see grey tones only? If this is so, one could assue that a pattern that blended in to surroundings would be best. I think movement is picked up by coyotes rather than color.
 
I'm just wondering why the hunters faces are Zombie green.

With as many critters as I have had with-in feet of me, with regular old surplus camo, I don't buy those articles. And that's all their doing.

Now a days, I just typically use natural colored clothing and get hidden. It works just fine, IMHO.
 
coyotes only see 3 of the light spectrum yellow, blue and red, since they have no green photo- pigments anything green will look like a white blob, they also can see uv light within the 300 to 400 nm.
Dr. Charles shawley E-book is the study and reference
www.predatorswest.com under articles.
 
Last edited:
Camo works best if it blends in with the natuaral colors. When it is dry and hot in CA and everything in yellow or even gray, I use lighter color clothing. Does not need to be camo just light tan gray etc. Movement is the big problem. Sit still and you will see a lot more coyotes.
 
They sure don't seem to see the flashing lights of a fire truck at night. They just continue trotting down the center of the road...
 
Last edited:
I think most folks wear camo patterns that are too dark.


This dog came in danger-close, yet looked up as I moved behind my rifle to center the cross-hairs.

It did see the movement, yet its eyes never focused on me till it was too late. I am sure it never knew what hit him.

Also-Notice how light the camo pattern is, yet it blends wonderfully with the surrounding terrain.

Nov282912yoteII.jpg
 
One thing I like to do is wear a darker pant and a lighter shirt don't know if it helps. We are usually in the sage so we have a more brown or tan colored pant and a more green color shirt. The other thing I was wondering is the face mask thing we usually never wear them we experimented with them a while ago and decided that with or without them we still called coyotes in just as close, I have had coyotes with in 10 yards with out a face mask and we had one jump over my buddy like he was a log and landed in between us so close I could have grabbed him. Actually caught us so off gaurd he got away. Sorry about the long winded post.
 
I was watching Byron South video the other day and he was wearing a camo shirt, blue jeans, no face mask or gloves, and glasses and called one in. Proper set up and no movement seem to be crucial.
 
I think the most important thing about camo, is shape. Disguise the shape, and break up the outline, and you become invisible.

Sometimes camo accomplishes this quite well, other times sitting with something at your back is enough.

My thoughts are, sure you can fool a young pup in a Santa suit, but you sure ain't gonna fool an old three-legged wise yote with a noisy nylon camo suit. They'll circle and be wary.

Sure...it lost the leg when young and foolish to some guy in a Santa Suit.
wink.gif
 
I believe that camo clothing color is important when turkey hunting, but not for coyote calling. Get your back up against something like a tree or bush to break up the human outline and wear drab clothing. I do believe that a face mask is rather important, but I don't wear one very often anymore.
 
I get accused of being "high speed" or "playing army" among other things... but multicam is the best camo pattern that I've ever used. It disappears in a vast array of surroundings.
 
It's all about movement..... way more than the color. Deer... hogs... coyotes... etc etc... it's the movement that gives you up.... way more than the color.... but yes.... with the right camo that helps you blend it with the terrian, does allow you to get away with some amount of movement.

Carhart brown is all a guy needs to kill coyotes in many setups.
 
Originally Posted By: dan brothersIt's all about movement..... way more than the color. Deer... hogs... coyotes... etc etc... it's the movement that gives you up.... way more than the color.... but yes.... with the right camo that helps you blend it with the terrian, does allow you to get away with some amount of movement.

Carhart brown is all a guy needs to kill coyotes in many setups. That was what I was thinking.
 
Hunting the sage plains in Jan/Feb can be exercise in hypothermatic training. I wear tan carhart insulated bibs, with matching coat and put my ghillie top over the coat.
Movement and glare educate more coyotes than their nose,IMO. But the best coyote decoy in the world is a John Deere with a feed wagon in the winter.
Get a piece of your gal's pantyhose and stretch a piece over your objective lense of your scope, zero glare. A length of elastic with small bits of tan/drab, burlap is fine, sown or glued and attached/wrapped down the length of the barrel. (Down cover the crown of the muzzle)
Just a couple of tricks I picked up here and there. Good Luck, WYK
 
Back
Top