OD vs Coyote Tan vs Black

[Fatty]

Alright, I'm at a crossroads when it comes to gear color/pattern and I cant decide which way to go. My current gear setup is all black. But since I've acquired some new flare, I've been been leaning more towards olive drab or coyote. Aside from personal preference, is there anything that would give me more of a blending advantage both urban and rural? I went OD for my plate carrier and am toying with the idea of making the pouches brown.


Just thought I'd stir up a fun debate :)

[Twitchy]

Depends on where your AO is... if your in forested area, OD is best... if your in scrubland and other lighter colored areas then coyote is best... I'd liek to hear others opinions on this as well...

[Gunfixr]

What he said.
Personally, I prefer the OD, but tend to mix it up, using both colors. Kinda makes for poor mans camo gear.

I went completely away from black several years ago. One, it's just too hot in the sun, and two, it lights up like Christmas in night vision.
It's why a lot of my guns are painted or sprayed in some color other than black.
Of course now, the trend is towards IR, so it won't really matter.

[ak474u]

I like OD and tan, personally, I'm all OD as of right now, I like tan in the more arid climates, or in brushy country where you have prairie grasses that go brown early and stay brown once the heat sets in, if I'm in cedar scrub brush and oak country, it's OD. I might consider multicam later on, it seems to be a nice balance of both, you'll notice that the multicam version of your gear is an up-charge to get over OD/Tan/Black because Crye has the pattern on lockdown, and it costs manufacturers more to get the materials and they pass it on to you. I think that tan pants and tan shirt or jacket with OD plate carrier and pouches will blend pretty well in a lot of environments in the US. In The south where we have been suffering thru a drought for years now, tan is ideal, you could lay down and be still, and nobody would see you.

[Gunfixr]

I actually have a fair bit of Multicam, and it works very well here. I just still use my OD and tan.

[The Stig]

Give me Tan/Coyote Brown or give me death

[austinrob]

central TX is becoming very arid. I'm Coyote tan. with a couple of exceptions.

[MegaCPC]

You should buy something something cheap in different colors to see what works best in your environment. Out of those 3 choices, I prefer OD because it blends better in my environment and my BOL environment better than Coyote or black.

I would go one color though, I've found that mixing gear colors stands out in more than one solid color. This is in my AO though so YMMV.

[izzyscout21]

I'm a coyote brown/tan kinda guy. Then agian, look where I've been. I'm HEAVILY invested in Multicam, but it also works a LOT of places.

[LUNCHBOX]

Give me Tan/Coyote Brown or give me death

Everyone...don't let Stig lie, he is constantly asking me for ACU.....lol.

I'm a tan man as well. Multicam may be in my near future though.

[GunnerMax]

in VA here, I am OD, Coyote tan, and ACU

with woodland cammie top, bottom, and boonie cover.



or if SHTF when im still at my current command, some special cammo they have :)

[RedJohn]

It's black for me, but I adapt to the situations easily.

[Stg1swret]

I prefer various shades of grey and green. Shadows are nevr truley black. Of course should there be snow the colors change to off white with various patches of grey and light brown.

[mitunnelrat]

I went tan because I rattle canned some desert camo a couple years ago and realized dusting it gave me a better effect that going solid OD. But, just because I can doesn't mean I will. Concealment isn't as much my goal as deterrence.

I'm not saying it'll work for everybody, but If I can dissuade all but the most hardened or desperate adversaries because I "look" like too hard of a target (appearances can be deceiving, right? lol) then I'm all for it. I just watched "Swordfish" again the other day. "What the eyes see, and the ears hear, the mind believes."

Besides, when I do tacticool mall ninja shit, like OC my AR at a protest, I need my belt to match my shoes. ;)

[Sniper-T]

I'd go black... because it is more likely what is seen here than tan. But I'd also go with a white breakup... for the other 6 months.

You gotta pick your colours to match the environment that you're in.

[bacpacker]

Most of what I have is OD or Black, but I'm going to add some Tan to contrast. And like has been said You gotta match the enviroment.

[realist]

I look at black as being a target indicator. I think OD will fit in from forest to urban. Tans will do the same only with more arid climates. As for the various camo patterns I pretty much stay away from them. Some of the new ones that are currently be considered are interesting however for blending in with the general population I prefer solid colors.

[Gunfixr]

While I probably have 4 or 5 different sets of camo, I've been leaning lately towards the "partisan soldier" look. Just basic solid earth colors.
I have some of the Duluth Trading fire hose material cargo pants, in tan and brown. I also have the Duluth coolmax long sleeve shirts, in od green. As a matter of fact, that's what I'm wearing in my avatar photo. It was taken at a 2-day 3-gun shoot, in Aug 2010 It's a recon shoot, meaning you load up for the day, and cannot add or subtract anything from your load, except to add water, and what ammo is used, and food you consume.

[realist]

Hay don't forget Tactical Pink is big now. There are certain cities that you would feel very welcome...........

[Stormfeather]

I tend to go with Coyote tan, mainly because I can easily spray paint greens and darker browns on it to adapt to other enviroments.

[apssbc]

Tan it is for me, goes with my multi-cam and blends well around here. Plus I can rattle can it and have a nice base before hand. It'll be tan for me for a long time to come. Black is a non natural color and shows well in the woods. It even shows much better on night vision which is something I don't want. Here's a example gun on the left had been spray painted gun on the right has black components...crazy how much it stands out. There's a reason all my guns are painted and I have very little black gear, and what I do have is painted.

http://i647.photobucket.com/albums/uu198/emmettfire45/756102867_Painted_Rifle_NOD_shot_-_1.jpg

[bacpacker]

Wow! I wasn't aware that Black was so crappy. I've never had access to night vision and wasn't aware. Thanks for the input.

[apssbc]

I learned it from another forum I am on. I did not take that pic. However I tried that after I saw it and its very scary how bad black is on a gun or yourself. So paint your shit!! ;)

[The Stig]

Wow! I wasn't aware that Black was so crappy. I've never had access to night vision and wasn't aware. Thanks for the input.

Yea, I didn't either until I saw similar pictures. I've also seen pictures of black rifles next to camouflaged ones out in the woods and no matter the vegetation type the black rife stood out like a sore thumb. That's when I started painting my guns.

[bacpacker]

Damn! Somebody school me on paintin my stuff.

[izzyscout21]

I suggest a paint scheme by the "Book of Pat (Rogers)".

I'll find you a link.

[apssbc]

Basically you want to have your most prominent colors on top. If your ao is woodland then your greens will be the bulk of your painting, and your will use tan as a base so it shows the least. If your in a desert obviously you would go opposite. Plug your barrel and cover all the important parts. With my ar I pulled the BCG out and closed the dust cover and plugged the barrel and that was all I did.

I lay my base coat which is tan a few layers after cleaning the gun and rinsing with acetone. Then I use bristles from a broom and spread them over the gun and coat my greens next, then finish it with light touches of brown and dark greens. When all is said and done its a grassy pattern but it does blend pretty well. You can use netting, leaves, lines of paint, or just about anything to get patterns that work. Whatever can break up the outline will work.

The paint will chip over time but its easy to recoat. I look at the chips as character. I think I know the info Izzy is talking about however its in another forum and is specifically not allowed to be divulged. I will look into repainting my M1A and posting the process on here. Maybe even start a thread with peoples painted weapons...

[Fatty]

cool shit guys!

[The Stig]

I've used Aervoe spray paints on my guns. Got mine via dsgarms: Linky Dinky (http://dsgarms.com/Search.aspx?Keyword=aervoe)

Nice selection of colors and durable.

I will warn you that once you paint one you tend to end up painting quite a few. It's somewhat of a disease really.

If it gets warm enough today I may repaint my main AR and paint a helmet for a project I should probably complete.

[izzyscout21]

I'll try to find another good guide to painting the guns. The Book of Pat, Armaments chapter 1 verse 1 clearly states that I'm not allowed to cross post it in another forum.

I've got another guide somewhere...........

[apssbc]

I read that in the book of Pat also. Ill paint a gun withing the next week or so and post a how to guide.

The Aervoe paint comes highly recommended. Personally I have used Krylon and Rustoleum and it all works very well for me. My guns have all been painted except my USP which may be next, I haven't decided on that for sure yet.

[Gunfixr]

I need to find this "Book of Pat".
I always respected his opinions.

[izzyscout21]

Pat is a wise man. Many of his teachings are handed down from pupil to pupil. The most cherished ones are handed down among sweat, tears, and expended brass. Those fortunate enough to attend his lecture are indeed blessed. He has a knack for wringing out those who are found wanting.

[apssbc]

Its not an actual book for sale. It more or less a compilation of Pat's opinions, how to's, comments and the such and is usually handed person to person, and alot of it is contained on another forum.

Haha Izzy beat me to it

[Gunfixr]

I started a thread in Weapons on painted guns.
I will add as desired, but try not to "own" it. I have crap loads of painted guns pics, as I do lots, in some unusual themes.
Enjoy.

[apssbc]

Thanks alot. I added a few pictures and will hopefully be able to paint some more guns and post them. I have a few more schemes I would like to try.

[apssbc]

Another thing to remember about winter is camo selection. While many people think that a full white suit makes sense, you don't really want completely white. Think about walking in a tree line the white pants are great and will blend with the ground, however a white shirt will stand out like a sore thumb against the tree line. Just something to remember when your making your camo selection.

[ak474u]

I wanna paint my AK with bigfoot camo, because no matter where they say he is, nobody has gotten a good photo. lol. I like camo guns, I'm just kinda chicken about actually rattle canning a gun.

[apssbc]

You can always remove it if you dont like it or just redo it. Once you do it you wont go back, that much I know.

[captainhippy]

Honestly I am a big fan of Ranger Green over OD or Coyote Tan. That said though, some pouches are difficult to find in ranger green. It seems like it isn't used as often as other options. I'm not even sure if Ranger Green exists in spray paint though if that is the route you are taking.

[bourneshooter]

Bump with relevant information.

Something to consider for this topic, is how it appears under NOD's. Assume the enemy will have them as a Gen1 unit is 100-300 dollars.

The pictured gear is a mix of Multicam, Ranger Green, Coyote Brown and Khaki. Notice the stuff that sticks out is the black kit.

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g33/Mattlevi/GUNS/DSCN2548.jpg (http://s52.photobucket.com/user/Mattlevi/media/GUNS/DSCN2548.jpg.html)

[bourneshooter]

I'm working on a series of blogposts about this stuff. Here is part 1.


http://bluelinesheepdog.blogspot.com/2013/07/equipment-color-considerations-part-1.html