What is Considered Mimicry Camouflage?

Mimicry camouflage is a common type of hunting camouflage that uses pictures or photos of natural elements like sticks, leaves, bark, and trees to replicate the environment. It's designed to look incredibly realistic to the human eye, and many hunters find great success in wearing these detailed patterns.

However, when it comes to deer hunting, mimicry camo might not always be the best choice. While it looks highly detailed to us, deer perceive these patterns as blurry blobs of color. Research into deer vision and behavior has shown that patterns using disruptive shapes and colors to break up the hunter's outline are often more effective at fooling the keen eyes of whitetail deer.

Disruption camo, in contrast to mimicry, is designed to create the illusion of depth using different-sized patterns. This method tricks the animal's eyes into not recognizing the subject as one single object, making it harder for them to identify the threat.

In my experience, while mimicry camo can be effective, especially in environments where the camo closely matches the surroundings, I choose disruption-style camo 90% of the time. Disruption-style camo is designed to break up the human outline and create visual confusion, providing reliable concealment in various environments. Even when the colors and patterns may not perfectly align, this style of camo offers versatility and effectiveness, making it my preferred choice for its all-around performance.

So, while mimicry camo may look great to human eyes, understanding the limitations of deer vision and the importance of breaking up your outline can help you make an informed decision when choosing your bow hunting clothes, giving yourself the best possible chance of success.