Conference vmsnet::hunting$note:hunting

                      <<< Note 722.0 by CSC32::J_HENSON >>>
                         -< UV light from clothing??? >-

>>I was preusing one of the hunting magazines the other day and noticed


Please make that perusing (not preusing).  Sorry.


Jerry

	I read the article - looks like they are trying to sell a lot
of new camo!!  Mine worked last year.  
	Jim

    It was the JULY 1990 issue of Outdoor Life and it wasn't really
    about clothing that emits Ultra Violet Light but rather the brighteners
    from laundry detergents that emit U.V. light. I was curious myself
    so I borrowed a U.V. light from my lab and shined it on some of
    my clothes. Lo and behold some of my clothes glowed, even in broad
    daylight. Also the cams on my bow glowed, the butt plate on my 30/06
    also glowed. My clothes are strictly washed in Arm and Hammer laundry
    detergent and never anything else. I thought that this stuff would
    not have any of those brighteners in it. According to the article
    only one detergent does not have these so called brighteners in
    it. It is called Sports Wash and it also comes with a spray for
    things that cannot be washed in a washing machine (like cam wheels
    and butt plates) and it is called U.V. Killer. I was quite surprised.
    I am now looking for a place that does sell the stuff as after reading
    the article and using the light I do believe it.
    								Bret

    The clothes don't emit UV but give off a slight 'glow' when
    subjected to it. This can be from the dies used or from
    being washed in detergents with brighteners. Supposedly deer 
    are sensitive to this glow. (The US Army camo material
    is printed with dies specifically made to avoid this effect.
    Helps the troops avoid detection.)
    
    New camo fabrics are being printed with dies that do not 
    glow, and detergents are made for hunting clothes without
    brighteners. 'Sportwash' comes to mind. Also there is a
    spray available to kill the glow.

    Dana
    
   

   <<< Note 722.4 by HEFTY::CHARBONND "in the dark the innocent can't see" >>>

>>    being washed in detergents with brighteners. Supposedly deer 
>>    are sensitive to this glow. (The US Army camo material
 
Even though I started this topic, I have to confess to not reading the
article.  I just saw it.  So, I have to ask.  Did the article offer
any proof that deer are really "sensitive to this glow"?  Is there
any other proof that they are?  I'm really curious about this, and
would appreciate any further information.

Jerry    

    In the article it described the differences in our eyes and deers
    eyes and how they see Ultra Violet Light and how we don't. Actually
    it was a side article giving the differences. All of it was well
    worth reading as it really enlightened me (no pun intended, right!)
    It also told of even the bow string wax had some particles in it
    that would glow from U.V. light. They even went on to say that the
    reason plastic will glow from U.V. light is they put Ultra Violet
    dies in the plastic itself to slow the deterioration process. I
    recently went to Steve's Archery and Sporting Equipment in Hooksett
    and he told me he had some U.V. Killer on order but had not heard
    of the Sportswash. I can't wait to try the stuff. I think the article
    said the reason deer see U.V. light and we don't is because their
    eyes have more rods and less cones which is just the opposite for
    humans. Rods pick up U.V. light while cones are used for the detection
    of colors. Although deer do have some cones they really only pick
    up shades of yellow and gray. Thats if I remember the article
    correctly. 
    								Bret

    Well, basically, I'm a sckeptic.  I think it's just a scam to make
    money.  However, I can't be sure.
    
    So Bret, I'll point you to the stuff.  Then if it works for you, you
    should get back to us so we can all buy the stuff.  Look in your latest
    issue of American Hunter.  There is an add for the stuff in the first
    half of the magazine.  It is on the left page in the bottom left
    corner.  The makers of this product are the same people who brought you
    such great products as "Sno Seal", which lends some credibility to it.
    
    The add says you have to get the spray and spray your clothes first. 
    Then you wash it with miracle "UV AWAY" or "Sports Wash" or whatever
    they call it.  
    
    Since you already have a black light, Bret, it seems that you ought to
    be the guinea pig.  My hunting partners and I got together on Sunday
    and pitched (should I say "patched") our tent and checked for a
    woodstove chimney fit (talk about your foresight, huh...).  During the
    chips and beer that followed, we discussed the UV thing and the new 
    chemicals.  It turns out that none of us has a blacklight.  So we
    conjured up this seen where the 5 of us get dressed in blaze orange
    this Friday night, see, and then we all go to this Disco in downtown
    Seattle where they have a black light on the dance floor.............
    
    /brett

    
    The real question is; how much other material in our outdoor world also
    emits UV?  This has to be a natural occuring phenomena, I mean dead
    things produce infra red...I don't doubt our clothes produce some UV, 
    but don't believe we're the only UV glowers out there.
    
    Kevin
    

    re. 7 I do want to check this stuff out myself so I really don't
    mind being the "Guinea Pig" at all. There were some instances where
    I think that was some of "my problem" last season. It seemed to
    me that I was 50 yards back of them deer all during the season.
    One thing I did do was wash my clothes more than usual. My brother
    almost never washes his and he practically had them eating out of
    his hand. So no problem at all Brett. By the way Sno Seal is the
    correct founder of these products. Also one mor ething I want to
    point out is a bug light is what was originally used to check out
    all of this U.V. light. The article is well worth reading whether
    being a skeptic or not. I actually had 2 problems last season and
    one of which I found out on the last day. The handle on my thermos
    was making a rattling noise, and nothing like deer I might add.
    As soon as I get the stuff I will check it out and give you guys
    a report. 
    							Bret
    

    I guess I'm like you're brother.  Everything that touches my skin, I
    wash (ie. socks underwear etc.)  But everything that is my hunting
    shell (ie. pants, jackets, cap etc) I never wash.  The reason (up till
    now) is more due to the smell of laundry detergent than the possibility
    of UV light.  I always take my exterior clothes and put them on the
    woodpile a feww weeks before hunting and I had my wife make up these
    little bags like women put in their dressers on I had my wife fill them
    with aromatic cedar.  I keep them in my duffle bag with the clothes.
    
    But last year, after I got lost in the woods and subsequently buried
    myself to get warm, my jacket and pants were incredibly muddy and my
    wife washed them....to my horror.  So I'm concerned about the smell and
    I guess a little bit concerned about the UV light thing.  I'll be
    interested to see if you can wach out the UV light with this stuff.
    
    /brett

    If laundry soaps have brighteners, why not an extra rinse cycle
    or two? Just a thought.
    
    John
    

    I've always double-rinsed my hunting clothes, just to get rid of
    lingering soap smells. Don't know how tenacious the brighteners
    are. I plan to use this brightener-free stuff just in case.
    
    Dana

    I've always washed my hunting close twice.
    
    Once with a laudry detergent. This gets them clean.
    
    Then with baking soda...This takes out the laundry scent...
    
    One time my wife washed my clothes as described. Then threw them
    in the dryer with one of those cloth softners....Boy, did I smell
    nice to the boys at camp...
    
    Jim
    

    	Honest Mom, I wasn't playing near the plant!!!! It's your laundry
    soap that makes me glow all over!!!!
    
    	I think I'll keep doing what I've been doing. I've taken 4 racked
    bucks the last 5 years. They seem to like that warm glow.
    
    	Hmmmmm, Maybe I should sell a product that makes you glow!!
    kind of like some of those fish lures. Deer have been known to be
    very curious critters. They just might come on over to get a better
    look the the glowing object.
    
    	Steve

    re: .15
    
    GOOD point Steve!
    

I will usually wash my outer clothes just before my first scouting
trip and on that first trip I will fill a trash bag with leaves and
other ground cover and for the rest of the season my clothes stay
in the bag unless they are on me in the woods. If I am going to hunt
different locals (ie: western part of the state vs. central) I will
have two bags. I dont know how much this has helped but I dont think
it ever hurt.

FWIW....Jack

    
    	Jack, I do the same thing!!  The only thing measurable is success,
    and I've gotton two deer with my bow in the last three years, both
    within 18 yards.  I think that it doesn't hurt, and when I pull my
    camo's out of the bag, they smell like the woods.
    
    - Rob