AZHunter
Iowa Boy At Heart
Its all I use for turkey hunting and I love it. I honestly don't know why I don't use it for spot/stalk and still hunting for deer/elk, but I know several guys out here who do use it and it works very well. I know of guys who have stalked to within yards of elk by using that and trees to break up their outline or have had deer and elk come within yards and never see them. When used correctly, you end up looking just like any other shrub or bush with leaves blowing in the breeze.
AZHunter
Iowa Boy At Heart
Good point and I should clarify my point. The guys I know that use it for deer/elk are using their suits in August/September when leaves are still plentiful. By the time our October elk and deer hunts start, the leaves are gone and most folks go for straight camo clothing.
camo658
New Member
AZ - Really! Well that sounds pretty promising! Though, what do you mean by: "when used correctly"?
Flugge - I'm kind of in the same mindset your in. I'm concerned with the leaves making a lot of motion from any shifting around or blowing of the wind. I wouldn't use it for the December seasons, but I don't see a problem with using it during rut when there are still some leaves on the trees. But I agree. I don't want to stick out.
Flugge - I'm kind of in the same mindset your in. I'm concerned with the leaves making a lot of motion from any shifting around or blowing of the wind. I wouldn't use it for the December seasons, but I don't see a problem with using it during rut when there are still some leaves on the trees. But I agree. I don't want to stick out.
AZHunter
Iowa Boy At Heart
Sorry, I guess I should have clarified. Like your other clothes, make sure it is washed in scent-free detergent and use cover sprays (pretty standard, anyway). Beyond scent control (didn't mean to sound condescending), the biggest mistake I see happen is not blending into natural surroundings. Even when I turkey hunt, I try to find an area with other bushes at the base of trees or along fencelines or just in front of trees/fencelines to further break up my outline. I've seen people just plop down in areas devoid of much understory vegetation and then they stick out like a sore thumb. I think the times it fails are when bushes just magically appear in an unnatural setting. To further clarify, I know of guys who have taken shots at deer and elk with a bow and it was meaured in feet, not yards...as in less than 10 feet. Part of their success was attributed to using these outfits to blend in with natural surroundings and not becoming a "newly sprouted 3-6' tall bush". Good luck!
AZHunter
Iowa Boy At Heart
Come on down here to an open true ponderosa pine forest (thinned properly with lower tree density), especially a recently burned one, and you'll see what I mean. It can take a few years post-burn to get a shrub component back and some trees hold the black burn scars on their bark for a several years. Using a Realtree 3D Leafy suit in a 1-2 year old burn scar isn't exactly blending in well...at least IMHO. We all know that if a deer (or elk) sees something that doesn't look right, they will bolt in a heartbeat!
AZHunter
Iowa Boy At Heart
My bad. I should have clarified that, too. Its a Monday and not all of my synapses are firing, today. Up in Iowa or other hardwoods dominated forests, I think you'd be ok and not have those issues. Down here in the SW (AZ and NM), we have desert scrub (1,300 feet elevation) all the way up to subalpine tundra (over 12,000 feet elevation) and not everyone thinks about the terrain and veg type they will be in.