Bow color

[ironhead22]

Black or camo? Do you think it matters?

[otcWill]

Not, definitely doesn't matter so choose the color you like best

[ElkNut1]

Doesn't matter!

ElkNut1

[Swede]

It only matters if you prefer one or the other.

[pointysticks]

i was a little kid, but i seem to remember all bows being brown, back in the day.

and who started the trend in calling black colored bows, "ninja"?

[buglmin]

Blackout...with chartreus bowstrings and cables. All my bows, compounds, recurves, longbows, are as dark as I can get them. I got tired of camo bows years ago, and started shooting blackout bows in 2008, before the blackout craze...

[cnelk]

Dont matter to me.
If animals can see the difference, they are close enough to have an arrow in them

[bowpackerrob]

I like the black, and I also think it doesnt matter other than maybe in a turkey blind. A black bow with all black accesories looks very good, at 3d or hunting.

[WapitiTalk1]

As long as it's not shiny/reflective, it doesn't really matter. I remember back in the day, we'd take great lengths to choose select leafs and pine bows to hold over our new, shiny bows as we spray painted them with green, brown, black, etc. .. The only goal was to knock the shine out of them so they wouldn't reflect sunlight. Really, it doesn't matter. You could do worse than painting the limbs/risers flat black or OD green.

[Freebird134]

I really don't think it's ever going to matter, but I still would favor a camo bow over an all black one. I think it's hilarious that guys debate camo, and go to great lengths to blend in, then get a Blackout bow, black arrows and accessories, and (from the side at least) it sticks out like a sore thumb (depending on the background, of course). Sure, the animal in front of you is only seeing 3" wide limbs, and it probably can't tell the black bow from a stick. But what about the cow or doe 14 yards to your right. You are holding up a 30" tall, 18" wide black flag.

Again, I don't think black is going to hurt you much if at all, and I don't really think camo makes you invisible. But, if we want to talk details, there is a cost to the vanity of these blackout bows (besides them charging extra for black??!?!? WTF Matthews?).

[ironhead22]

I really don't think it's ever going to matter, but I still would favor a camo bow over an all black one. I think it's hilarious that guys debate camo, and go to great lengths to blend in, then get a Blackout bow, black arrows and accessories, and (from the side at least) it sticks out like a sore thumb (depending on the background, of course). Sure, the animal in front of you is only seeing 3" wide limbs, and it probably can't tell the black bow from a stick. But what about the cow or doe 14 yards to your right. You are holding up a 30" tall, 18" wide black flag.

Again, I don't think black is going to hurt you much if at all, and I don't really think camo makes you invisible. But, if we want to talk details, there is a cost to the vanity of these blackout bows (besides them charging extra for black??!?!? WTF Matthews?).

2 of the 3 bows I'm looking at are black 1 is actually cheaper in black then camo, and all accessories are cheaper in black also. I have no real reason to chose a black bow over a camo one, its Following your logic on this what do you think about bright arrows in a quiver? I'm going to assume like whitetail deer elk are color blind and the black would just appear as any other blob, right?

[Freebird134]

Following your logic on this what do you think about bright arrows in a quiver? I'm going to assume like whitetail deer elk are color blind and the black would just appear as any other blob, right?

Ironhead, Let me preface this by saying I think MOVEMENT is about 95% of being unseen, and color/camo is maybe 5%. I've done a lot of research on ungulate vision, reading studies and talking to physiologists that actually study this kind of thing. For all general purposes, it is safe to think of members of the deer family (deer, elk, moose) as color blind. I guess they can see blues, but it isn't clear at what extent. I believe I read a study where goats or sheep (not deer family) could distinguish greens. Knowing that, I avoid blues--but a lot of animals have died to guys in blue jeans, so it probably doesnt matter. But lets just say they are color blind...totally.

You've seen a black and white movie or picture before, right? You can tell the difference between things that are black, white and others that are in between. They still black and white stands out from grey. Now, how much stuff in the woods is truly BLACK? Depends on where you are, but certainly there is a lot of "not black" especially in the arid west. Just the same, yes bright vanes will look white and they will stand out. Which is one of several reasons I shoot very small 3" wraps (also to maximize FOC). But, still, vanes are maybe 18-sq inches of bright color, where as a blacked out bow is significantly larger.

I'd love for someone that has a blackout bow to snap a picture of it from the side, and then we can look at it in greyscale. I bet it stands out pretty well, certainly better than a camo bow.

But, again, it probably doesn't matter. Movement matters most. If I found a great deal on a bow I wanted and it was in all black, I'd buy it. If I had the choice (same price) I'd take camo probably.

[ironhead22]

Great point, never thought about it that way.

[Freebird134]

Another consideration is your hunting style. Since this is an elk forum, these points may not apply much. But, I believe ground blind hunters often like black stuff, because it blends into the shadows of the blinds better. So if you spend a lot of time in a ground blind, that is something to consider.

Also, are you a turkey hunter? I'd be reluctant to have a black bow (and would never have bright fletchings) while turkey hunting. Sure, it can be done. And, with turkeys MOVEMENT is probably 99% of the game.... but I'd still rather have a camo bow in my hand than one that is all black with fluorescent accents!

[Vanish]

Black is usually cheaper! That works for me

[ironhead22]

Not a great picture, but it looks like it blends pretty good.

[buglmin]

I shoot blackout bows cause my 3D rigs have chrome cams, not black, and my hunting bow is blackout cause I got tired of everyone having the same bow as I. My arrows are usually in a mini cat quiver attached to my pack. I dont like or use bowquiver cause of the side weight and torqueing caused by them. And in reality, why would a blackout bow stand out anymore then a camo bow?
My recurves are as dark as I can get them cause I hate a brown risered bow, hate wood with that fake, grainy look. And my black Bob Lees with their black glass limbs actaully dont stand out as much as the lite brown woods under clear glass. My lil Widow really stands out cause the tan Burly Maple on the face of the limbs. Its kinda a tannish whitish color...
And actually, because blackout bows are a custom color, they cost more the a camo bow.

[>>>---WW---->]

Get what you want. Spray paint or camo tape is cheap.

[Freebird134]

Not a great picture, but it looks like it blends pretty good.

Pretty good is pretty subjective. I'd agree, it blends in just fine. But I think a camo bow blends in better. I hope nobody thinks I'm drawing a line in the sand over bow color. I couldn't care less, and I'd be happy to have a jet black Monster Chill on my wall right now!

These pictures are different for a lot of reasons, but I didn't want to spend an hour looking for the perfect picture of a camo bow. Take it for what it's worth, but I think camo blends in better. We really need someone that has the same 2 bows (once camo, one black) to do a photo shoot for us!

Screen Shot 2013-02-14 at 4.59.53 PM.png (311.73 KiB) Viewed 11288 times

Screen Shot 2013-02-14 at 5.02.24 PM.png (174.16 KiB) Viewed 11288 times

[buglmin]

lol....even the guys camo stands out. Nothing is blending in. These picts were taken to show the camo, not to show how good it blends in.
You really cant tell from these photos...