Who believes in the harmful affects of UV Glow!?

[kabrevcus]

There has been a good bit of discussion about hunting clothing when direct from factory contains traces of Ultra Violet Glow
 
(UV glow is usually caused by the screen printing or dye process in creating camo patterns or by reintroduction of chemical residues from the everyday family detergents, bleaches and brighteners. - ref deaddownwind.com )
 
Dead Down Wind says there Scent eliminator contains a UV inhibitor if you wash your clothes in it....
 
Atsko, says you have buy there Sport Wash, and then apply a UV Killer spray....
 
Ugh....
 
The manufactures of these products suggest that the deer can see you (more easily) if you dont eliminate the UV Glow from your gear....
 
Has anyone tried to test Dead Down Wind on there claim, by using a flourescent light on there gear?
 
I'd enjoy hearing some comments.....

[8uck5nort]

IMHO The Shaman did a nice workup on the UV stuff.

Just do a search for UV Killer and you will find a very enlightning thread. There were some points for the other side as well.

Again just my opinion, but this stuff is a pipe dream at best. Yes, deer see differently and yes your clothes may reflect light at certain wavelengths better at certain points of its life cycle, but does it scare deer? Not unless you do something to screw up is the bottom line. If you move when they are looking you attract attention with or without camo. I went hunting a few times right after work in a an old red and green carhart coverall and still had deer come within 10 yards of the stand looking right at me. They only took noticed when I turned my head to follow them. If you get winded before they see you your done, etc, etc...

This type of product, again in my opinion, really only gives you a sense of confidence that you may have a better chance at a deer, rather than making you "invisible" to deer. In the greater scheme of your hunting ritual this may be of value to you, but how much, only you can decide if the plunking down of 5, 8, or 10 bucks is worth it. The real story with this stuff is there is more money to be made hunting the hunter rather than hunting the deer.

[DanburyBowhunter]

I've only use UV inhibitor on non-hunting clothes that have been repurposed. The UV light test shows it works. I only use sport wash because regular detergents do contain UV enhancers.. makes the colors look brighter to human eyes. I was convinced by a paper from some researchers from Georgia (sorry.. don't have the PDF here). As a a scientist I think the methods used by those guys were reasonable. Also, they don't claim to 'know' that deer see in UV but do say the evidence (from autopsies and eye dissections) support the likelihood that deer see in UV. My 0.02.. hope it helps.

[charlie 01]

If and when I wash any hunting clothes, I only use baking soda, no soaps what so ever. Don't know if UV glow is visible. The only times I get spotted is when I'm silhouetted, (to my knowledge). When I'm not silhouetted, the deer don't acknowledge me being there.