The fine art of camouflage

From the beginning of time, man has noticed blending himself with his surroundings can help a hunter get closer to his quarry.

Back then, it was probably called something like, “Ugh, me look like tree,” but now we simply call it camouflage. I always marvel at the old war photos where the French and British soldiers marched in perfect columns onto the battlefield, their bright red coats gleaming in the sun, only to be picked off in droves by the good-old boys hiding in the woods and fencerows with their squirrel guns.

Native Americans were masters of camouflage, from walking crouched beside their horse while creeping closer to an elk, to draping themselves with a buffalo hide and skull to crawl nearer a herd of grazing bison. Today, camouflage has become a multi-million dollar industry and absolutely anything a hunter might use to temporarily deceive whatever it is he hunts can be purchased, usually in camouflage colors.

Now I’m not a real deep thinker, but recently as I attempted to get comfortable in a patch of briar infested shrubs for the purpose of attempting to waylay a wild turkey, I began thinking about the means we hunters use to blend ourselves with our surroundings. I pride myself on being pretty good at camouflaging myself (but bad at sitting still and being quiet once I get there) so here are a couple things I’ve learned about the fine art of camouflage.

There are many different camo patterns and colors, and while any is better than none at all, it is always best to wear and to use the pattern and color matching the season, your quarry and the situation. For example, I spent six months in Bosnia with the Army National Guard, and the green camo we wore there would have stuck out like the proverbial sore thumb in Iraq and vice versa.

Brown fall colors do not work well for spring turkey hunting unless you set in timber with lots of dead fallen limbs around, then they are just the ticket.

If I’m hunting alone, I will usually bury myself into a pile of brush and limbs, or if spring turkey hunting, tuck myself into a patch of greenery of some description. But if hunting with my wife or a youngster, I’ll take advantage of one of the new pop-up blinds on the market.

These blinds are great because they allow for a little more movement and whispering, plus they protect against the elements like wind and rain showers and make it easier to have a bottle of pop, snacks and camera equipment at your feet. It’s been my experience that if used along with the surroundings, wildlife do not seem to shy from them at all.

The blind from which we recently viewed the prairie chickens had to be erected in the open because there was no cover around for hundreds of yards. Admittedly these guys were all lovesick, but they acted as though we were not around.

Pop-up blinds are not a cure-all, however, and I disagree with the way some hunters use them. For instance, one recent deer season I hunted on property where I knew other hunters would be also, and was told they would be hunting from a pop-up blind.

One evening when I knew they were gone, I walked to their blind and could see it a mile away. It sat in the open just feet from several thick, overhanging cedar trees, any of which would have hidden it so well I’d probably have stumbled over it. While the deer probably didn’t mind the blind where it sat, why not tuck it into the surroundings and gain that extra edge and confidence.

Some years we deer hunt south of Meade, and have to erect our blind in nothing more than CRP. We choose the tallest grass we can find, then stuff handfuls of grass and tumbleweeds into the ropes around the blind. It seems to work well as we’ve had mule deer graze to within mere feet of us. While turkey hunting this week, we called a nice jake to within 10 feet of our blind, which was tucked beneath the sprawling limbs of a big tree and looked like part of the landscape. The fact that our plastic hen did not return his advances bothered him more than the blind.

In short, when exploring nature, whether your weapon is a bow, a firearm or a camera, do what you can to blend in with your surroundings. Wear the appropriate colors for the season and the situation. Use what’s around you, be it round hay bales, fallen tree limbs or tall grass. And finally, try one of the pop-up blinds. They’re a great way to get a child or a spouse to join you as you Explore Kansas Outdoors.

Steve Gilliland is a syndicated outdoors columnist, and can be contacted by email at stevegilliland@embarqmail.com.