Camouflage on Guns

I was reminded today of the mania that many hunters have for camouflage. Our collective appetite for the stuff has made a number of people very rich – especially when folks run out to buy the latest new pattern every time one is released or take pains to ensure that their hunting outfit has all-matching camo patterns.

But what really made me think about it was a press release for a new Remington shotgun (see the photo above). Actually, the shotgun itself isn’t new. The “news” is that you can now get a Versa Max scattergun with Mossy Oak Shadow Grass Blades camouflage.

Personally, I think camo guns are a gimmick. That said, I did go to the trouble of camouflaging one of my rifles, a stainless-steel Savage ML10-II muzzleloader. I felt that every time I moved the silver-barreled rifle while I was in a tree stand it looked like I was waving a bright baton or a fluorescent tube. The stock was already camo, so I just added some camo tape to the barrel to make it stand out less.

Other than that, I don’t see a need for camo guns, and I generally prefer non-camo finishes on my hunting poppers. I don’t really have anything against it, but I’m not really fond of it.

Maybe I’m old school, but I don’t always hunt in camo. I usually do, and when I don’t I try to stick with drab colors in a broken pattern. My guns are usually dark or drab in color, which means they don’t readily stand out from the background. I don’t think that applying a copyrighted pattern to my gear will affect my hunting success, but I’ve been wrong before.

My question for readers is this: Do you really think having a camouflage gun helps your hunting, or do you just think it looks cool?

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.