Wearing Blue

[user 36911]

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.

 

[Sparkitoff]

My experience is that mammals see the ultra-violet "glow" from clothing detergents and dyes. Blue enhances the "glow" more than other colors due to the place in the spectrum. If you use UV blocker on any color it will keep the glow down to where animals pay less attention to it.

 

[user 36911]

I agree with the UV. However, I always read to never wear blue. I don't think it matters if you don't move.

 

[Christophero]

A brighter shade of blue than that light blue-gray shirt or even faded denin jeans might make a difference. Detergent with color brighteners have been said to really highlight a garment.

 

[longcruise]

I never hunt in blue. If you want to get an idea of how it looks put it under a UV light. Deer and elk are said to have far more uv receptors than humans.

 

[Brokennock]

I think movement, or lack thereof, and killing the UV on one's clothing are the more important factors than the color blue itself. What shade of blue may play a roll. The tone of a darker or duller blue may be less noticeable than an unnaturally bright blue. Take a picture of a few articles of blue clothing of varying shades/brightness levels, then use your cell phones photo editor to make the pics black and white or gray scale. Do certain blues stand out again the back ground more than others?
I have noticed though, that having to share state land with non-hunters, I do notice those wearing blue athletic wear sooner than I notice other colors, sometimes even more than "hunter orange" at certain times of the season.

 

[Pa-brushbuster71]

I read that deer can see Blue and Yellow "better" then any other color. I often wear red plaid wool, I have to agree with the experts, I do not think deer can see red. If I don' t move, deer do not see me. Plaid wool is basically camouflage to deer in my opinion.

 

[user 36911]

I read that deer can see Blue and Yellow "better" then any other color. I often wear red plaid wool, I have to agree with the experts, I do not think deer can see red. If I don' t move, deer do not see me. Plaid wool is basically camouflage to deer in my opinion.

I've been wearing the red and black wool since the 50's. I wear it all the time but always considered it as hunting clothing. I will admit to not wearing blue while hunting starting sometime in the 60's. I'm not sure why? The blue jeans always worked for me.

It's hard to find a video of a hunter wearing blue and the game looking right at him and not spooking. I just thought i'd post it and get some reactions. I know it was a lighter blue but blue none the less. If elk can see blue they should have seen light blue too.

 

[TreeMan]

I’m lucky that I live where I hunt. My little three acres is surrounded by a couple hundred square miles of national forest. My tree stand is about 100 yards from my cabin in the NF. Many days after work I grab my bow or gun and head to my stand. Most of the time I’m in my blue bibs or jeans. Sometimes that and just a t-shirt. I always take deer every year whether I’m in blue jeans or camo. I’ll have deer all over me some days and I’ve had them many times where they will look as stare at me and go back to grazing. I think not moving is more important than the color of clothes. I’d always heard black was the the most unnatural color in the woods and that blue jeans turned grey like tree bark in a deers eyes. I’m also guilty of smoking cigarettes like a chimney in my stand too and the deer seem to pay it no attention. There have been numerous times I’ve lit a cigarette and five minutes later here come the deer lol. I don’t know if they are curious or just used to the smell since my stand is so close to my cabin and wood stove.

 

[poker]

Theres something to that. Deer seem to let lots of scents and noises get by them when close to human habitation. But get back a half mile or more in the woods and it seems they arent so silly.

 

[TerryK]

Deer see blue better than red spectrum. They also see movement better than people can, deer vision has more depth and is broader. So they see movement better than us. We see small area in detail, they see a larger area to differentiate movement.

 

[Carbon 6]

All I know is I've shot a lot of deer with bow and gun while wearing blue jeans.
I don't think color matters, and if it does. you're not hunting right.

 

[Realwarrior]

I know that doves and turkeys see it for sure and I've had squirrels that have acted like they saw blue jeans. Chuck Adams, one of the most famous Bowhunters of all time, hunted all kinds of game ( usually stalking them), in Blue jeans.... So other than birds, probably doesn't matter.

 

[hanshi]

Things can get weird in the hunting woods. A dear friend of mine has trouble being still. In a stand he'll chew gum, talk on his phone and even come down and walk around a bit before going back up. But d#&#@* if he doesn't kill his deer!

 

[Nyckname]

 

[ppg1949]

I was told as a kid not to wear blue in the woods because there was nothing in the woods that was naturally blue in color. I've worn blue jeans many times since and I'm not sure if it really makes a difference.

 

[longcruise]

Wearing blue while hunting is madness. Absolute MADNESS!!!

 

[Notchy Bob]

Interesting discussion. I think it's hard for us to know how animals see color, and how they process what they see. Then there is the fact that animals are as individual as we are. While some responses by certain species may be fairly predictable, I don't think there can be any question that some individual animals are more intelligent, curious, wary, or agile than others of the same species. Natural selection, you know.

I avoid wearing blue in the woods, and especially blue denim jeans. First of all, the blue color really stands out... Apart from a few tiny flowers and small birds, the blue sky and its reflection on water, there just isn't that much blue out there, so it is easy to see. Second, and it is surprising how many people don't know this, many flying, biting insects are actually attracted to the color blue. It's hard to see ticks on darker-colored clothes, too. As for those denim jeans, they can get hot in warmer weather, and if they get wet, they get really uncomfortable and they take forever to dry. I've waded a few creeks and been caught in the rain a time or two while "out yonder."

I used to work bees with my dad many years ago. He always told me to wear light colors to avoid angering the bees, although I don't recall him specifically telling me to avoid blue. He did say to avoid black... "If you're wearin' black when you open the hive, they'll think you're a bear!" There's a good reason commercial beekeepers' coveralls are white!

I have been to East Africa twice, once to Uganda and once to Tanzania, both times as a tourist, not a hunter. Both times, it was mostly just my wife and me with a driver out for the day, but we stayed in group safari camps overnight. We were advised to wear "earth tones" and neutral colors at all times while in the bush. I saw some odd-looking contraptions out in the bush near our safari camp a couple times. Just blue and black fabric stretched over light box-like frames. I was advised that these were tsetse fly traps. The fabric was saturated with insecticide, and the blue and black colors were all that was needed for "bait."

On the other hand, everybody tells you to avoid wearing red because it infuriates the males of some species. However, all the Maasai men I saw in the bush wore a red cloak or "shuka," and they routinely walked everywhere, frequently alone, armed with nothing more than a stick!

I have no personal experience with elk and the color blue, but I tend to go for colors that help me blend in, rather than stand out.

Notchy Bob

 

[Treestalker]

On the other hand, everybody tells you to avoid wearing red because it infuriates the males of some species. However, all the Maasai men I saw in the bush wore a red cloak or "shuka," and they routinely walked everywhere, frequently alone, armed with nothing more than a stick!

Everybody knows not to mess with a Maasai warrior with a stick!

 

[Brokennock]

Often in the public woods of the People's Republic of Connecticut, it is not the 4 legged animals I adjust my clothing colors to keep from being noticed by.