Hales Smut
Now that's an excellent question
Camouflage is a fascinating subject in its own right. It is designed to conceal or deceive, so we wear it to break up the regular outline of the human form and to blend in to the surrounding environment. However, most of the camouflage that we wear is really designed to conceal us from other humans, when in reality what we want is to wear something that will conceal us from deer!
It's worth trawling the Internet to look at some of the research into how deer 'see', as this suggests that they are more receptive to some parts of the visible spectrum than humans. Hence you can read a lot about how receptive deer are to ultra-violet (UV) light, with the consequent advice that you shouldn't wash any camo in regular washing powder as these contain agents that brighten your clothing, but also brighten your UV profile. There is also the suggestion that our camo should really be in shades of blue, since this is a part of the visual spectrum that deer show least awareness of.
Interesting as the research is, personally I am sceptical about a lot of this and how it relates to 'real-life' stalking. To my mind the most important thing is to avoid uneccessary movement, as this tends to spook deer far more than what you are wearing. For this reason I have also taken to wearing camo gloves and a face-mask, as these are light-coloured 'flags' that will attract a deer's attention even if you are otherwise clad in drab clothing.
So far as the clothing itself, I tend to wear camo whether I'm stalking down South or in Scotland. What's interesting is that some camo's that work well down South stand out like a sore thumb when on the Hill, so you need to be careful (or buy a lot of different camo patterns
). One of the best I've found for where I stalk in Scotland is the Swiss Alpine camo - up close it is looks like it would be useless but in fact the very blotchy beige, red and white works very well at a distance. DPM, by contrast, can look almost black when it's wet (note wet, not dry), and consequently sticks right out when on the Hill.
Just like woodland, Scottish terrain can vary widely. Remember that many of the estate tweeds were designed with concealment on the hill specifically in mind, so vary according to the local environment. Generations of stalkers elsewhere have dressed in Loden, and they still seem to be pretty successful
Somewhere upstairs I've got a loden cape - I just don't have the guts to wear it when my stalking mates are around
Sorry, lots of words above but not much advice! I'd suggest you find the clothing that's most comfortable for you and go with that. Plain green or camo, the last thing you want is clothing that doesn't fit, isn't waterproof or falls apart after one outing. Plain green is often more versatile if you intend also wearing it for game shooting, dog walking or 'social' occasions, whereas turning up for a driven shoot wearing camo can raise a few eyebrows
willie_gunn