In the OPTIFADE game, I’m only a satellite bull
If you’re a deer or elk, or other ungulate, you can’t see this new GORE OPTIFADE camo gear out at Scheels. The rest of you, check it out.
By KW
I didn’t do so hot on the “spot the hunter game” on the OPTIFADE Web site.
I made it to 17 out of 30, which means - when it comes to identifying concealed hunters who might want to do me harm - I have the skills of a respectable satellite bull.
Here’s what the OPTIFADE folks had to say about that: “You never really got the attention of the cows in the herd (which was the story of my college dating experience), but you did get the attention of a hunter (uh-oh).”
But enough about my melancholy collegiate love life and failure to properly launch in the “spot the hunter” game. Check out the newest thing in “the science of concealment” from GORE OPTIFADE.
It’s a different kind of camo, based on digital patterns and the science of an ungulate’s eyes rather than replication of cattails and tree limbs and shrubs in the camouflaged pattern on your pants or shirt of cap.
It comes out of the military, with clear applications in sport hunting.
The new camo is plenty pricey, but worth checkin’g out. And the game is a gas.
Give it a try. I’ll be orbiting out there with the other satellite bulls, if you care to join me.
October 26th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
Judging by the photo, that Optifade bears a striking resemblance to the pixelated design and tones of the new Airman Battle Uniform (ABU). Panned by members of service as being utterly worthless at hiding from two-legged game like Taliban, perhaps the ABU is useful for four-leggeds. (Tali-Elk?)
The environmental pre-prints like RealTree are effective, but require the wearer to match his background. The new pixelated designs are much more effective across environments and in transitions, as long as the tones are close.
Interesting.
October 26th, 2009 at 6:46 pm
Really intersting. I’ll just need to make room in my already overstuffed camo closet. I can say that having tried nearly every pattern on earth (including some surplus Soviet bloc stuff) I have found that nothing conceals like absolute stillness.
October 27th, 2009 at 4:31 pm
I can tell you that there are a few Whitetail out here in SW Montana that did not fair any better at “Spot The Hunter” than you Kevin during our Archery Season!
A couple weeks back I found myself sneaking slowly through a small section of river bottom on a friends ranch when I caught the flick of an ear about 50 yards off. I slowly moved up next to a bare Cottonwood and noticed a two does with fawns slowly munching their way towards me, I stayed still next to the tree. Within about 10 minutes the group of four was feeding within 5 yards of me!
When I went out that morning looking to get close to a nice dry doe for the freezer, I had no idea I would be getting that close, especially on the ground! They eventually fed past me on their way to bed down. It was definitely an encounter I won’t soon forget.
Rob: What a great moment. Thanks for the recollection. And nice job. K.W.
October 27th, 2009 at 8:45 pm
I was just thinking Kevin, perhaps if you were better at working cows?
Or working on tractors?
LOL
Hahahahahahahahahahaha!
rd: Any and all of the above might help. K.W.
October 28th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
I’m with Keith, nothing beats keeping your butt still!!
October 29th, 2009 at 11:32 am
Camo’s great, but not nearly as important as scent. I can wear my red flannel PJs with good cover scent and it’s much more effective than a $300 camo outfit with Old Spice.
Don’t get caught up in they hype! (Although, that new Vertigo stuff from ScentLok is very tempting…) There are many patterns out there, but I’ve found that contrast is the key. Check out the Vertigo line and see what I’m talking about. Spendy.
November 9th, 2009 at 10:53 am
What in the world did we do when we had no camo gear to put on to try and outsmart the critters? Is Camo really essential or is this just another product for outdoors people that has been cleverly infused with a healthy dose of “marketing” intended to mislead and separate otherwise sensible people from their money.
Lets take a real hard look at this stuff!! Is it possible that the Outdoor Products Industry now has it’s own Fashion Police? Don’t get me wrong, I own some of the stuff and wear it on occassion (waterfowl, archery deer and spring turkey primarily) but the idea that camo of any pattern is now an essential element of hunting gear is, from a practical standpoint, high suspect! I see hordes of people wearing stuff like Mossy Oak woodlands or some such outdoor glamor wardrobe while strolling through CRP hunting pheasants. Do they really think the stuff helps them “sneak up” on the wily ringneck…… Come on!!!
Keith is spot on. There is absolutely no substitute for patience, quiet, and keeping ones butt still. How did we ever get along without this stuff? One of my best friends is one of the most successful spring turkey hunters I know and he doesn’t own any camoflage at all. The legions of deer hunters now hitting the field are all wearing camo of some type yet the vast majority wear solid orange vests, hats etc. Doesn’t all that solid color defeat the purported affect of camo patterns? I hunted ducks and geese during my high school and college years in nothing but brown duck and green uniroyal hip boots with orange and black patches all over them and was more successful then than I’ve been since the Camo craze hit!
Nemo, in my opinion is right! We simply get caught up in marketing hype. This Black Hills deer season will find me in the timber with old grey wool pants, a red plaid shirt and and jacket that I’ve worn for 30 years (I’ll have an orange cap on because the law says I have to wear one article of blaze orange clothing) and I’ll speculate that I’ll come home with a buck in the back of the truck the same as I have for the last 25 years when I’ve had a license. Same scenario on the prairie. Wear something that is both warm and functional and it will help a person maintain patience, and keep figeting and movement to a minimum!
November 14th, 2009 at 2:26 am
What camo do you recommend for trying to sneak up on geese in the middle of an open field with no cover? I remember some young nimrods trying all kinds of tricks to creepy-crawl up on some geese homesteadin’ in Lyman County fields. We tried rolling tumbleweeds in front of us several times; using ole’ Bossy to shield our movements; tying white bedsheets around us; and once even strapped on coyote pelts for a low profile approach. We rattled shot off of them at long range but I only remember getting one goose by crawling up through almost no cover. Mind you, we often were successful pass shooting and even got some geese jump shooting off a stock dam.
Note: One friend developed a big beer belly and we used to tease him that we would use him as bait to drawn in buzzards looking for carrion — all swollen up and ready to burst!
Larry: I’d recommend a shovel, and a trench. K.W.