Contributors to this thread:
I can't help but notice that many extremely serious hunters (e.g. Randy Ulmer, Tom Miranda) wear paint or facemasks.
On the flip side I see a LOT of TV hunters who are arguably just as serious and effective hunting spot & stalk with bare faces, bare hands, even short sleeves with bare arms, etc. (e.g. Youngwild Lincoln Tapp, some of the hunters on Bowhunter Magazine TV).
I firmly believe that bare faces & hands can be picked up by game animals, both in bright sun and low light conditions. Why would anyone not use something on their hands and faces?
Do you think it is unnecessary? You're not going to change my mind, I'll keep mine covered, but what are your thoughts?
How do guys get away with bare faces and hands? In a recent episode of Youngwild, Lincoln was wearing short sleeves and face uncovered hunting Tule elk in bright sun and I just can't imagine me getting away with that.
It's all about movement. I use a mask or paint a lot but a lot of the time I don't. I use gloves religiously because of the movements of your hands during the draw sequence. I have had stalks made and blown both ways. I have not seen an advantage to either method frankly. What I do know is that if you move when the animal is looking at you it is game over. I think a mask or paint may help disguise smaller movements and let you get away with blinking and small facial movements or similar things but that is about it. As I said earlier, gloves I use every time due to the extreme movements of your hands during the draw cycle, anything helps at that point.
I think its more a TV thing than a hunting thing. I would not read to much into what the Hollywood Hunters do. Face mask for me.
It varies for me, depending on my background and what I'm hunting. Heavy foliage and darker timber with warm temps; probably nothing. Bright sun or open timber later in the season for whitetails; a face mask. For elk out west I haven't typically worn anything for convenience reasons, and the interactions seem to be more fast paced and not drawn out like whitetail in close.
I agree with Frazen, depends where I am sitting and how much cover I have. I was filling some nuisance tags the last week, hunting in someones yard and I wore shorts, a tee shirt and nothing on my face or hands. Killed 2 deer on the same sit in a stand in a pine tree 12 ft off the ground. These deer are not used to being hunted so I got away with a lot. Shawn
For elk and moose, I stopping wearing camo on my face many years ago for three reasons....it was a pain in the butt to take off, it dried out my skin, but mostly because it's not necessary. If I were hunting a different species, my opinion may or may not be different.
I wear glasses so a mask usually fogs my glasses.so for 35 years I've been a religious face paint guy.it's certainly not for everyone,how can anyone spend several hundred bucks on great camo,then leave your hands and face untouched??I feel I can get away with more movement ( slow movement) painted up more so than than lily white.besides when we were kids,cowboys vs Indians ,was an all summer thing where I grew up,,and I was ALWAYS the painted up Indian.lol. Makes me feel invisible! If you feel it, you can live it,,it really works for me..
I always wear gloves and face mask. Can't stand face paint makes a mess plus who wants to do their make up before going hunting?
Half facemask for me ever since a buddy told me 20 years ago that he couldn't see me out on the prairie, but my face looked like a white disk moving around. Sometimes I wear spandoflage if it's cool or a balaclava if it's cold.
I hunt on the ground almost exclusively. Not sure it's as critical in a tree with the sun at your back.
My anchor point is my vane inside of my lips, therefore a mask is not practical as I cannot feel my vane. Beard will no longer work as it is now white in color. Therefore, if I camo face, face paint is the way to go.
I use Carbo Mask brand face paint. It is easily removed with make-up remover wipes.
Hands are always covered by gloves. I mainly use either black or brown silk liners from Winter Silks Company. A couple of pair will normally last me a season. They wear out easily, but they are warm, but at the same time, fairly thin material so they off good feel.
Mask & gloves, definitely
I always have a mask on and a glove on my bow hand. I ran my trigger finger thru a band saw as a kid and lost a lot of feeling so I keep that hand free. Beard......nope. Nothing holds scent like hair. What u cram in your mouth is typically all over the beard.....
Elk / moose / bears I'm not concerned. Whitetails early season there is a lot of foliage and I feel covered. As soon as the leaves are gone here it's cold enough you need to wear a neckie which can get pulled up to the nose which is good enough for me
For elk hunting on the ground a face mask gives you an advantage in being seen. Unless you are a celebrity on TV and need to show your face go with a mask.
Carl... you of all people know how I feel about the ASAT leafy 3/4 mask....... =D
maybe you don't need it for elk or moose..... but if you've done spot and stalk on axis deer (think coues....) I feel neked without it..... like the 3/4 as I can just wear it around my neck until needed.... and I like the choice of wearing whatever hat I like.
3/4 mesh mask for me as well. Like Buffalo1, I can’t feel my anchor point as well with a heavier face cover. Paint is a pain, for me at least. Brown jersey gloves and hand warmers.
I use a camo bucket hat that has an attached veil facemask that I sometimes use. I also try to work the shadows as much as I can and to have the sun either at the bacl of my head or to the side.
face and hands--two critical areas. I wear a mask/hood and gloves at all times in stand. Even during gun season. hate face paint but it will work.
I think a lot of the video is taken way before or way after the hunt. So you may not be seeing what they are really doing. With that said I wear a face mask, long sleeves.
Scott
I wouldn't believe what you see on TV. Most of it is made up and created for the show.
I don't have the experience nor have I had the success as internet experts here, but Brotsky hit the nail on the head. It’s MOVEMENT. I almost never where camo and I never where face paint or a mask. I do where a couple layers of blue or black poly liner gloves to keep my hands warm.
Years ago I was going to meet a friend at his stand at about 300 yds out or slightly closer I could see the whiteness of his face nothing else. His face looked like a white flag when he moved.
As B-Bob said it is movement more than mask or paint.
This said, I have used camo on my face, a mask, and sometimes I don't use anything. Just depends on my stand location.
I normally wear a face net, and it has never bothered me to shoot with one on, nor have I felt any problem with my anchor point, etc.
Like Bob, no paint or mask no matter what species I'm after.
No paint, no mask, just don't move. Turkeys are another story but whitetails you can't convince me a facemask is an advantage. I hate wearing the things too so I am thankful it doesn't make a difference.
Paint for 40 years. The last few of years they have made removal simple3 with a better quality paint. Also don't forget they about give it away this time of year in the Halloween section of of most stores.
WS
Neck gaiter pulled up to my nose and light gloves.
Overwhelmingly guys feel mask/gloves are beneficial (not just a "feel good" thing). As pointed out, I realize that TV can be shot out of sequence, but if you get a chance to watch Youngwild Tule elk hunt, they have 3 guys: Lincoln, dad filming & guide all without face covered and elk in the same frame so I'm sure they are hunting with out facial coverage. Maybe it's because they are on private and the elk aren't as skittish as what I'm used to, but I look at the movements they are doing and say to myself "no way I'd get away with that on elk".
TD I agree the ASAT leafy has to be one of the best breakup patterns/textures available. That said, the quality of Sitka gear has me using mainly that and I've found the pattern to be extremely effective.
With regards to anchor point, I prefer to have facemask pulled just below my nose, but practice with it both positions just in case.
I should also add that while I'm certain it CAN be done with bare face and hands (I'm really focusing on spot & stalk on the ground) and it CAN be done without any camouflage at all, why would anyone want to risk it?
Another similar issue is the new trend to use an all black (and often shiny) bow. Again, guys like Ulmer spray everything flat drabs. It's a simple thing to do, why don't more folks do it? Or maybe that goes for everything: it's numerous little details that make the difference...
Either can make a difference if you get caught moving but the game is unsure what it saw. I've used both, but prefer face paint do to unaltered anchor point or interference with the string in anyway.
Spando and shades, been ground hunting whitetails for a few yrs and I swear they can pick off the whites of your eyes on hunting pressured whitetails.
The sticker on my mirror in the morning says... "What would Blacktail Bob do?"
I called him in to 25 yards, no face paint, no gloves, no sleeves. I figured he wanted to fight or f... Hormones are a b!+(#
I called him in to 25 yards, no face paint, no gloves, no sleeves. I figured he wanted to fight or f... Hormones are a b!+(#
No downside to a bit more concealment.
This is really a no brainer.
Whenever you spot someone in the woods the first thing you see is their face. Camouflage is more about breaking up patterns and shapes than it is about colors when hunting especially animals that are color. Sure you can kill effectively without a mask but you ultimately be more effective with a mask. It can be a preference because it is not essential that you kill the animal. Now if were going to starve or if the animal was definitely going to shoot back then a mask would not be a flippant choice of personal opinion. You pay for the best camouflage bow, packs, clothes, and assessories but we choose to walk around with a pie plate that looks like a neon sign in the dark woods. Some discussions sometimes get under my skin because they give credence to invalid arguments. I hear enough of those listening to politicians and animal rights groups.
I wear a mask when I absolutely want to kill and if I am just winging it for fun then I may go with or without but I never question which on is most effective.
No mask or face paint, rarely any gloves and if I am wearing gloves it's to stay warm, not to conceal my hands. Usually long sleeve's in brown or green, camo only if I like the layout of the particular article of clothing and I already own it. Been working for me just fine.
Always a face mask or face paint, always gloves even if its warm, both deer and turkey season. Just think of how easy it is to pick up a flicker of white through the woods by you, such as a deer tail or ear, and then think how much better they see than us . It just makes sense to me to cover face and hands up.
Obviously, we all can get by without a mask. Hardly anyone I know turkey hunts without a mask.
Never paint my face, have never had a problem getting busted. I use to think I needed great camo to deer hunt until I went on a really cold hunt one evening. The warmest clothes I had at the time was a pair of hunter orange coveralls. I looked like a pumpkin, was orange from head to toe, and had zero pattern to break me up. I hunted from the fork of a tree in open pasture that evening with my feet 6ft off the ground. Had many of deer walk under me that evening and never got busted. I didn't move at all, but I still never had one look at me and catch on.
That was around 25-30 yrs ago and I still don't place must stock in camo for deer. Proved it to myself many times that pattern doesn't matter much where I hunt. Scent control, no eye contact, and no movement are much more important in my book.
Only wear a face mask net when hunting turkeys.
Like others have mentioned, movement is key, both for the hunter and hunted.
Face paint for sure. Masks bug me. Paint under your eyes help in the sun, keep you from squinting so much. Paint improves my looks, a little! Don't need my face as a beacon out there when I work so hard to get on elk. Don't bother taking it off til I head to town. Depending on what town!
Funny story from the old days. We had a crew of hunters and John tried hard but struggled. He had a big round face and high forehead -all the way to the back of his neck! So he got a camo mask. Complained when he saw an elk he had to pull the mask off to see. We said, John, you need to cut eye holes in the mask. So he did that night in camp. Next day he comes back and said it didn't seem so good. He put it on for our comments. One hole over one eye, and the other higher above his right temple! We about fell off our camp stools laughing! Did I say John struggled a little? But he always had coffee ready about 4 am!!
Only when scouting.
Only when scouting.
I can look out my patio door, without a mask, the birds on the feeder flee. Half mask they do not. Made me a believer. If you sit relatively motionless in the sun, your oily face shines like a diamond in a goat’s butt. Ask any military sniper
Deer didn’t notice the earrings either. ;)
Deer didn’t notice the earrings either. ;)
My daughter and I both killed deer this year at 10 yards no mask or paint. We were also only 9 ft off the ground with no foliage on the trees. It’s all about movement. I don’t wear a mask elk hunting either. I like a consistent anchor and don’t like having a mask on.
My middle daughter(5) almost got a shot off but the deer spooked. Must have seen her skin.
My middle daughter(5) almost got a shot off but the deer spooked. Must have seen her skin.
Had she only been wearing a face mask? She would sent her arrow clean through a doe. Or was it the gloves?
Had she only been wearing a face mask? She would sent her arrow clean through a doe. Or was it the gloves?
“how can anyone spend several hundred bucks on great camo,then leave your hands and face untouched??“
It sure would look silly if I hunted nude and I’m not sure if my wife would approve of the trophy photos. It would also draw attention away from the animal. ;) Most of the time I’m hunting deer it’s in blue jeans, camo hoody and a hat with some camo on it or just a brown hat.
Mask, net, or neck guarder pulled up.
Depends on temperature, and cover for me. Some times a bandana.
I wear a mask, and often a leafy mask. Looking like a bush is helpful.
In the last 40 years of elk hunting in the south west (az NM Nv ) I think the most important item on an elk hunt is a camo headnet or face mask. Those Bulls that have been hunted and called at before, during and after the season by bowhunters ,muzzle loaders ,rifle hunters , the photo and video tv folks and all of the wantabe guides have learned one thing the ( the silhouette ) Of a hunter in camo wearing a baseball cap . The head net breaks up the human outline just enough to hide the hunter at close range, coming to full draw. Many times I have seen a bull spook at the hunters movement run a few yards and turn for the shot due to them not seeing the hunters silhouette, other times without the headnet the bull blows out and never looks back, hundreds of times I have seen elk catch hunters in the open at long range (100) yards with there faces painted and identify them due to the head and cap outline The Head net is buy far the best way to go on big educated bulls. But do some shooting with the net before your hunt, I have read all the stories about how a head net hurt shooting but it never affected mine, if I thought face paint was better I would have stuck with it. Every year I tell all of our clients, the head net is the most important piece of your camo equipment.
