Do You Need Camo For Elk Hunting?

Fact checked by Steven Lines, lifelong Hunter and Outdoorsman.

To wear camo or not to wear camo, that is the question. One of the most debated topics in the elk hunting world is the feasibility of wearing camo during the hunt. So, even veteran elk hunters don’t have a definite answer. The root cause of the confusion is that you can’t see the world through a deer’s eye!

Wearing camo during elk hunting is more valuable than not. Besides getting you into a hunter’s mindset, camo makes it harder for elk to detect you. You need camo for elk hunting because you want to cover all your grounds for a successful hunt.

Coming up: How do elk see the world? Will wearing camo fool them? Is it essential to wear camo? If not, what to wear when elk hunting? Get in the know to improve your success rate before trying elk hunting.

Do You Need Camouflage For Elk Hunting?

Camouflage and hunting go hand in hand. While camouflage is primarily designed to hide you from other humans, it will also work on animals. Granted, animals are much more equipped to detect human shapes in the wild. But a camo helps break your form, so it’s harder to see you.

Biology tells a little about elk vision, but field experience can fill the gaps. Elk has their eyes on the side of their heads. They boost a 300-degree semi-panoramic vision. And they’ll detect you half a mile away, camo or not. In other words, they see the broad picture instead of focusing on the details. Furthermore, they’re more equipped to detect movement than shapes and colors.

However, elk can see blue, yellow, and other colors between these wavelengths. They see other colors on a greyscale. In short, elk are color blind. They can also see the ultraviolet wavelength, which helps them see in the dark better than humans.

Elk are easily spooked by fast, flashy, moving bodies. So, it’s more about your behavior than what you wear. From a hunting perspective, you don’t need to wear camo strictly. But it’s better than wearing blue jeans and yellow shirts.

Keep in mind that elk depend more on their senses of smell and hearing to detect predators. In that case, camo won’t do you any good. Fooling their sight is still a step in the right direction, but you still need to fool their other, more vital senses.

How Important Is Camo When Elk Hunting?

Camo is only important to break your body shape, so deer can’t see you. If they smell or hear you, the camo can still make it harder to recognize you as a threat. Although, if they can pick up on your excitement, they’ll perceive you as more of a threat than an innocent passerby.

There’s also the annoyance of other animals detecting you and causing you unnecessary grief. As a hunter, you want to blend with your environment as much as you can. It’s all about “not being there.”

As far as the elk are concerned, if they can’t perceive you, you might as well not exist. That should be your primary concern.

So, camo is crucial in that sense. But it’s not the magic bullet that’ll render you completely invisible. And you shouldn’t rely on it as a fundamental piece of your hunting strategy.

Compared to your weapon of choice, the area where you hunt, and hunting behavior, camo is nice to have but not absolutely necessary. Opinions vary, and you have to trust your own experience when it comes to camo.

What To Wear To Elk Hunting?

In some states, wearing blazing orange is mandatory. You don’t want other hunters in the area to mistake you for an elk. Plus, elk can’t see orange.

Besides the bare necessities, you need to wear comfortable clothes to protect yourself from the elements. That includes gear like boots, socks, backpacks, hats, jackets, and pants.

Stephen Davis, an expert elk hunter, recommends the HECS Hunting 3-Piece HECStyle Camo Suit. “It’s the closest thing you can get to an invisibility cloak,” he said.

This hunting suit works by blocking your electromagnetic signature since animals can detect your heartbeat and muscle movements; the HECS technology blocks these body signals.

The suit will help you get close to the elk without being detected not only as a human hunter but even as a living being. So, you’ll seem like an inanimate object.

As for backpacks, you’ll need a reliable packing system. Stephen recommends the K3 1800 Pack System from Exo Mtn Gear. It’s the ultimate backpack for a big game hunt. Allowing you to carry as much meat as you can for the longest distance without breaking your back.

But if you’re horse-back hunting or have a truck, you might not need an elaborate pack system. It’s relatively easier to carry the meat on the horses’ back or the car in those cases. If you need to chase the hunt on foot deep in the woods, you’ll need to carry the meat back to the camp.

It’s not recommended to stall cutting and carrying the meat away. Other predators might invite themselves to the party, and it isn’t pleasant. In case you’re far from the camp, a few hunters with reliable packing systems can finish the job quickly.

Basic Elk Hunting Gear

The other items you’ll need to wear depend on your style and preferences. But here are some of the basic elk hunting gear you’ll need no matter what:

• LifeStraw: You’ll need a water purifier when you can find a stream of water in the wild. At least, carry a water bottle because dehydration when hunting big game at elevation is a pain in the neck.
• Elk Ridge: You’ll always need a good set of knives for cutting meat painlessly. Up to you which knife to use, but make sure it has a sharp blade with an ergonomic grip.
• Grunt Tube: It is always a good idea to have a grunt tube for calling elk out of their hiding place. Be careful not to overuse it, though.
• Binoculars: Extends your vision when looking for elk at a distance. Also, it gives you a better understanding of the field.
• Maps and compass: It’s imperative to be knowledgeable of the area where you’re hunting. So, get a map and a compass. It’ll help you more than you think.
• First-aid kit: A basic one will do in case of emergencies. You’ll want to be on the safer side by obtaining one suitable for the area’s potential threats.

What Is The Best Camo Pattern For Elk Hunting?

The best camo pattern for elk hunting depends on the terrain you’re hunting. Realtree provides a helpful camo guide for each region. It’ll help you find the right pattern based on region, terrain, and game.

Actually, there’s a science to camo pattern design. So, it’s not a random choice of colors, patterns, and shapes. Researchers take their time to design specific patterns that outsmart elk vision.

No one pattern will fool all elk 100% of the time. But some designs are proven to work in specific environments. That said, you have the four most popular camo patterns to try from Realtree:

EDGE

The Realtree EDGE does a great job breaking the human outline, which allows you to get closer to the hunt unnoticed. It has three “layers” of graphics on top of each other, which creates a 3D illusion that helps you blend in the environment. It looks most realistic with the design elements overlapping and shadow effects.

Last update on 2024-04-28 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

EXCAPE

The Realtree EXCAPE also breaks the human outline, so it’s not recognizable. The design contains jungle patterns that blend well with the elk country. According to Bill Jordan, founder of Realtree, he spent 35+ years perfecting this design, taking inspiration from jungle predators. Even the pockets in this one blend well with the overall design. There’s enough gray in this pattern to let the elk mistake you for another part of the landscape.

Last update on 2024-04-28 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

MAX-5

The Max-5 pattern contains a multitude of patterns within patterns. The way cattails, reeds, cane overlap make it very hard for elk to detect you. Although it was designed for waterfowlers hunting, it works for elk hunting as well. It’s best for open fields in the morning as they help blend better in those environments. You may also enjoy the realistic look purely for its aesthetic design.

Last update on 2024-04-28 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Timber

The design of this Timber pattern is dark. The way the patterns are put together creates great depth, enhancing the “optical illusion” effect. This design blends well with the mountainous terrain in elk country. What’s more, it’ll help you make clever use of your environment by creating more hiding spots.

Last update on 2024-04-28 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Conclusion

So, there you have it—the best camo patterns for elk hunting. When you want more, you may also want to explore Mossy Oak for more patterns. They’re constantly innovating new patterns, and they might have the best pattern for your next elk bow hunt.

Steven Lines is a hunter and outdoorsman from Safford, Arizona, USA. Since he was a child, he has been hunting and fishing and has over 20 years of outdoor experience. Steven works as a hunting guide in Arizona during his spare time and runs a Youtube channel dedicated to sharing his outdoor adventures with others.