quote:

Originally posted by RichardC:
I'm not convinced about the all black thing.

I can lay down my all black machete (and/or its black sheath) for just a moment, to pull a vine out of a tree and it disappears faster than Predator in a Mexican jungle.

Bingo.

Imagine the skills if folks spent as much effort developing shooting fundamentals as they do trying to make their rifles slightly less visible.

quote:

Originally posted by fritz:
Imagine the skills if folks spent as much effort developing shooting fundamentals as they do trying to make their rifles slightly less visible.

You mean I could become an expert shot in an hour and by spending three or four dollars on something else rather than buying a can of spray paint and using it to camo my “battle” rifle if I only used that time and money on marksmanship fundamentals?

You of course don’t mean that, but most of what’s being discussed here is simply a matter of choices. If someone is concerned about concealment in almost any natural environment, choose clothing and gear that’s not black*: It’s that simple. And although it doesn’t have anything much to do with concealment, other, “natural” colors are better for maintenance.

Long ago when my agency’s SWAT team was first formed, our uniforms and gear were mostly the then-obligatory black and dark gray. In our environment with its dusty dirt everywhere, any outdoor activity lasting more than about 30 seconds made the clothes look as if they hadn’t ever seen a washing machine, and gear like mag pouches was impossible to clean at all. Such things concern me and that’s why most of even my rifle cases are no longer black.

Of course, all that doesn’t matter whatsoever to most people, but if it doesn’t matter one way, it doesn’t matter the other way.

* Or red or blaze orange or blue or ....

Here are three AR15's. A black one, one Flat Dark Earth, and the last is a black one that has been rattle canned. This in a treeline on a summer afternoon. Lush green, with some dead branches.

Be honest, look, which one stands out the most?








ARmam

The middle rifle, though it contrasts against the darker leaves, could easily be mistaken for a tree trunk.

Ultimately, what still gives any of them away are the hard, straight outside edges. You can't defeat that unless you start hanging vegetation or other materials on the gun, to disrupt those lines.

Just like there's hardly any black in nature, there's hardly any straight lines either.

quote:

Originally posted by KSGM:
You can't defeat that unless you start hanging vegetation or other materials on the gun, to disrupt those lines.

And of course the reason for ghillie suits.

Doing something similar for a rifle is easy enough even if we don’t buy a commercial product. But just like ghillie suits that are hot, heavy, restrict mobility, and no one color/pattern will match all environments, what do we lose by hanging a bunch of burlap strips off the weapon? The three prong M16 flash hider was reportedly changed because of the Vietnam experience of its being caught on vegetation, and if a small feature like that can’t be tolerated in certain environments, what about trying to break up the entire rifle’s outline?

Those good pictures do demonstrate the value of natural colors and disruptive patterns even if the effect isn’t perfect. In critical situations every choice involves compromises. All we can do is choose the best for our purposes, and if it’s important, changing the color of a rifle is quick, cheap, and easy.

But even if it doesn’t matter, gaffer tape or Camo Form wrap helps keep my nice scopes from getting dinged up, and that’s the primary reason I use them these days.