There’s no such thing as a “one pattern fits all” camo. Sure, there are versatile patterns out there, but let’s be honest, environments vary dramatically — from the eastern, whitetail woods to the wide-open west and from springtime’s green-up to late season snow.
For the hunter who wants to maximize the effectiveness of their camouflage, they need to take note of when and where they’re hunting. A lot of brands will try to sell you a “whitetail” camo, but is it really the best for the specific 40 acres you hunt? Or even the best for the specific cottonwood or oak you sit in every year?
That’s where Badlands’ Approach GT (Ground and Timber) camouflage comes in.
What is Approach GT?
Approach GT was designed from the ground up for a specific set of environments, particularly big woods country where a canopy of leaves is still darkening the timber and terrain below. A darker-toned version of Approach OG (Original), Approach GT has a more vertical orientation to mimic the bark of a tree. This makes it perfect for a treestand whitetail hunter as well as a turkey hunter who’s sitting against a tree trunk in the spring.
GT has all the great features of the rest of the Approach camo lineup too, including multiple pattern layers and adaptive coloration to break up the human form. To the eyes of many game animals, some camo patterns morph into human-shaped shadows at a distance, but Approach camo’s unique design adapts to light conditions throughout the day to help your shape fade into the environment.
Why Choose Approach GT?
Should you choose Approach GT camouflage for your gear kit? Here are a few questions to consider:
Are you looking for the best camo for early-to-mid season in the Midwest, Northeast or Southeast?
Many regions are still green when early season bowhunting starts. In the Midwest and Northeast, deciduous trees often don’t start losing their leaves until October or November, meaning forested terrain still has a full canopy of leaves that darken the forest floor. Likewise in the south where autumn arrives late and where dark pines abound, the darker color palette of Approach GT may be appropriate.
Darker colors can work in the springtime too. In March and April before the woods green up, the environment features dark earth tones — mud from springtime precipitation, decaying fallen leaves from the previous autumn, brush and timber. When the green-up hits, the forest floor will be shaded once again.
With its darker tones and versatile pattern layers, Approach GT blends into a variety of shaded, forested environments. If you live and hunt in any of these timbered regions from springtime through mid-fall, GT might be a good camo option for you.
Are you looking for the best camo for whitetail and turkey hunting?
Hunting whitetail and turkey can require changing tactics depending on time of year, location, method-of-take, etc. Still, the vast majority of whitetail and turkey hunters implement some kind of ambush tactic most of the time, and that calls for a camouflage that works best in cover rather than out in the open. Thanks to its darker tones and vertical patterning, GT camo works great in brush piles, behind fallen timber, and in front of tree trunks.
Of course, some of the most common methods for ambushing whitetails are hunting from a treestand or ground blind, which brings us to our next point…
Are you looking for the best camo for treestand hunting or ground blind hunting?
Whether it’s September or December, if you’re the kind of hunter who sits in a ladder stand or in a saddle, a significant amount of your figure may be set against the backdrop of a tree’s dark trunk or limbs. Rather than trying to match foliage that will transition from green to yellow/orange to non-existent because the leaves have fallen, blending into the tree trunk’s vertical lines and textures with Approach GT may be your best bet. It’s the same tactic if you’re a spring turkey hunter and tend to post up against tree trunks when trying to call in a gobbler.
That said, some trees become very faded and lighter colored in the late season. If that’s the case, or if snow is a real possibility, Approach FX may be a better choice because it features some lighter colors.
Approach GT works well for ground blinds too. Some folks wear black inside hunting blinds, but for hunters who want a little more versatility and concealment outside the blind, GT offers a dark color palette that blends in well, inside and outside. For example, if you’re walking to or from your ground blind at dawn or dusk, you won’t be caught off guard looking like a black blob if a buck cruises through.
Is Approach GT right for you? Depending on your hunt, it could be perfect. The unique thing about Approach GT and all the Approach patterns (Approach OG, Approach FX) is they all feature layers of patterns that break up the human form, as well as natural color palettes that blend into almost any environment to one extent or another.
For certain hunts, Approach GT will be ideal, and like all Badlands Approach camos, it will get the job done on any hunt.
