This is why I buy black crossbows when I can. DIY camo is fun, inexpensive, and an effective ******* way to camo your bow, but first, some things to realize about camo patterns:
1. Factory camo patterns can add up to $50 or so to your purchase; some of that is from royalties on trademarked patterns like Realtree or Mossy Oak, for example.
2. Professional camo impresses the heck out of hunters and buyers of camo equipment, but doesn’t impress animals much; deer are color blind and only see black, white, and shades of gray. Game birds like turkeys do see color but aren’t alarmed by bright shiny colors as long as there is no MOVEMENT. MOVEMENT draws attention and predator recognition that frightens game animals.
3. Perfect camouflage patterns will not offset MOVEMENT on your part. If your crossbow is glow-in-the-dark fluorescent pulsar pink, a deer or turkey doesn’t know or care what it is; if you leave a brightly-colored crossbow on your bait pile, deer will eat around it and probably step on it. For deer, it’s scent and MOVEMENT that is the enemy. Turkeys don’t have a keen sense of smell; MOVEMENT is the enemy, not your camo pattern. Even an all-black crossbow will blend in nicely in most applications as long as no MOVEMENT is detected; it just looks like tree branches. Even the best, perfectly blended ghillie suit won’t hide you from deer or turkeys if you move and they see it before you can get a shot.
4. Effective camo doesn’t have to be professionally-applied or expensive.
5. Making your own personal camo pattern can be fun on these long winter days.
First, go to your local Wal-Mart and buy 1 spray can of flat black, 1 can of flat white [actually it’s more of a very light gray], and 1 can of flat gray, or gray primer. The stuff I use is a no-name paint; if you stay away from Rustoleum and other brand names, you will only have about $4 invested and will be enough to paint several crossbows or guns. I plan to paint my trail cams to make them less-noticeable to thieves, a rusty old .22, and possibly my stainless steel inline muzzleloader.
Start out by cleaning/degreasing all surfaces to be painted. I use acetone, but it will attack plastic stocks if you use too much. Mineral spirits might be OK also.
Spray a very light coating of black over all surfaces to be painted, for better bonding for the other colors, and to kill shine. Aluminum rails and aluminum-bodied scopes seem to like a light coating, almost a dusting, and then heavier coatings adhere better. Obviously, you need to mask off the lenses of your scope or use flip-ups and keep them closed.
Start out with large leaves as stencils, arrange them the way you think will look good, then spray flat gray over the black.
Next, with medium leaves, spray the flat white. Finish with small leaves or ferns in black. These different colors, when the leaves are arranged differently, add depth and an almost 3D effect. There is no wrong way to do this, change colors, leaves, size or sequence to any way you like.
Touch up any “mistakes” [actually, there aren’t any mistakes, the deer just don’t care] with whatever color or shape is lacking to balance the color scheme the way you want it. If you want color camo, somewhere I saw spray cans for sale; it just costs more and is no real advantage since most game animals are color blind; the choice is yours, and your own camo pattern will be at least as good as anything you have to buy.
If you don’t like what you see, change it, it’s easy. You can practice on a cardboard box if you want to get the hang of it first. Your own custom camo pattern will tend to add a “pride of ownership” and originality factor that factory camo can’t give.
Once you have your crossbow looking the way you like it, when winter comes, it’s only a short, easy process to change to a “snow camo” pattern when the snow flies. Have fun with this enjoyable ******* project.
Jack ><>
1. Factory camo patterns can add up to $50 or so to your purchase; some of that is from royalties on trademarked patterns like Realtree or Mossy Oak, for example.
2. Professional camo impresses the heck out of hunters and buyers of camo equipment, but doesn’t impress animals much; deer are color blind and only see black, white, and shades of gray. Game birds like turkeys do see color but aren’t alarmed by bright shiny colors as long as there is no MOVEMENT. MOVEMENT draws attention and predator recognition that frightens game animals.
3. Perfect camouflage patterns will not offset MOVEMENT on your part. If your crossbow is glow-in-the-dark fluorescent pulsar pink, a deer or turkey doesn’t know or care what it is; if you leave a brightly-colored crossbow on your bait pile, deer will eat around it and probably step on it. For deer, it’s scent and MOVEMENT that is the enemy. Turkeys don’t have a keen sense of smell; MOVEMENT is the enemy, not your camo pattern. Even an all-black crossbow will blend in nicely in most applications as long as no MOVEMENT is detected; it just looks like tree branches. Even the best, perfectly blended ghillie suit won’t hide you from deer or turkeys if you move and they see it before you can get a shot.
4. Effective camo doesn’t have to be professionally-applied or expensive.
5. Making your own personal camo pattern can be fun on these long winter days.
First, go to your local Wal-Mart and buy 1 spray can of flat black, 1 can of flat white [actually it’s more of a very light gray], and 1 can of flat gray, or gray primer. The stuff I use is a no-name paint; if you stay away from Rustoleum and other brand names, you will only have about $4 invested and will be enough to paint several crossbows or guns. I plan to paint my trail cams to make them less-noticeable to thieves, a rusty old .22, and possibly my stainless steel inline muzzleloader.
Start out by cleaning/degreasing all surfaces to be painted. I use acetone, but it will attack plastic stocks if you use too much. Mineral spirits might be OK also.
Spray a very light coating of black over all surfaces to be painted, for better bonding for the other colors, and to kill shine. Aluminum rails and aluminum-bodied scopes seem to like a light coating, almost a dusting, and then heavier coatings adhere better. Obviously, you need to mask off the lenses of your scope or use flip-ups and keep them closed.
Start out with large leaves as stencils, arrange them the way you think will look good, then spray flat gray over the black.
Next, with medium leaves, spray the flat white. Finish with small leaves or ferns in black. These different colors, when the leaves are arranged differently, add depth and an almost 3D effect. There is no wrong way to do this, change colors, leaves, size or sequence to any way you like.
Touch up any “mistakes” [actually, there aren’t any mistakes, the deer just don’t care] with whatever color or shape is lacking to balance the color scheme the way you want it. If you want color camo, somewhere I saw spray cans for sale; it just costs more and is no real advantage since most game animals are color blind; the choice is yours, and your own camo pattern will be at least as good as anything you have to buy.
If you don’t like what you see, change it, it’s easy. You can practice on a cardboard box if you want to get the hang of it first. Your own custom camo pattern will tend to add a “pride of ownership” and originality factor that factory camo can’t give.
Once you have your crossbow looking the way you like it, when winter comes, it’s only a short, easy process to change to a “snow camo” pattern when the snow flies. Have fun with this enjoyable ******* project.
Jack ><>
my hunting equipment for years. During the last few years I've settled on solid semi matte black. The older I get the more I like simple effectiveness. I found a spray paint that I really like for recurve limbs and metal parts. It's an auto bumper paint by SEM.
