How Important Is Wearing Camo When You’re Hunting In Wyoming?

Wyoming's big game hunting seasons are rapidly approaching. Once August hits, there will be men, women and children spending every free moment they have in the outdoors looking to harvest an animal.

Now's the time you'll see stores busy with hunters getting new equipment to replace their old or getting new the new set of hunting clothes with the latest pattern of camouflage.

It's become trendy to wear camouflage, but the military and hunting world have been wearing it for decades. Even before that humans used whatever means necessary to conceal their location to help their chances of a successful harvest.

The history of Camouflage is pretty interesting, if you've never really thought about it, you may want to look into it. I went down the rabbit hole and spent a couple hours finding out about it.

Military camo was designed by the French during World War I, and soon after was adopted by other military's worldwide. Between WWI & WWII, nearly every country developed and began wearing their own style of camo.

Hunting camouflage was introduced in the 1970's, but became really popular in the 1980's when Mossy Oak and Realtree came onto the scene. The concept is to use clothing to help hunters better hide from being seen by the animals they're hunting or animals that may give their location away.

As time has gone by, the patterns have changed, but more importantly to me, the comfort level has changed.

When my grandpa was still alive and would go hunting, he rarely wore any type of camo. He'd wear his green or brown overalls and the hat of his choice. He was still successful in the field, blind or stand. The downside is, if you've ever worn those old overalls, you know they were stiff and not the most comfortable things to wear. They were warm and did the job, but not that comfortable.

Today, the technology used to create the latest and greatest hunting apparel, has upped the comfort and usage levels of hunting clothes. Which is a huge benefit of buying good quality hunting clothes. Just like with other clothing or footwear items, you get what you pay for.

Comfort for me plays a big part of enjoying a hunt.

• Being able to move around and not be too hot, or too cold.
• Thicker material in certain places like knees and backside, help when you have to crawl or sit to get into a proper position.
• Multiple pockets to ensure space to carry the tools to help you in the field.

Outside of comfort,  the purpose of those patterns is to help you blend in to the environment you're hunting. If you're hunting in the snow and wearing all black, you're going to stand out. If you're hunting in snow and have camo that helps you blend in, you're likely going to be more successful on your hunt.

Being able to get close to your target and ensuring you're getting the best shot possible, is an important part of hunting. If you're in a position where you're trying to sneak up on what you're hunting, if you can conceal yourself with camouflage, why wouldn't you?

Every region of the the US, has a specific camo pattern that's intended to give you an advantage while hunting.

You'll see the argument on both sides. One side says it's not necessary, the other will say wearing it is a must. One thing for certain is, the hunting industry is a huge industry an clothing is a major part of that. That's why you'll see celebrities, outdoor personalities, even athletes, promoting their favorite camouflage line and pattern.

I thought it would be interesting to see a couple different takes on hunting camouflage. I found this video from Exodus Outdoor Gear that has a couple different views.