It began simply because experts believed that by disguising yourself into the environment, you would be less likely to spook your prey and, therefore, enjoy a far more successful hunt. Hunting was no longer a right, but a privilege and measurement of one’s class. It became a stylized pastime of the aristocracy and an arena for fellowship as well as military training. Despite hunting being a sport enjoyed by all demographics, England decided to regulate it due to the dwindling numbers of wildlife and those without a status of nobility were no longer hunting, but poaching and, therefore, subject to severe punishment by the courts. As the 12th century came about, gamekeepers were charged with monitoring the big game population in the forests and smaller game in the warrens. As the game moved away from inhabited lands, forests became known as hunting reserves, and Royals would mount their steeds and with a hound beside them, tread into the reserve. As Royals, they believed any land within their kingdom was their entitled property, and so hunting was also a way for the nobility to demonstrate dominance over their people. Hunting has, for the most part, been a recreational sport since Assyrian kings hunted lions from their chariots. Traditionally, the benefit of owning property meant the right to hunt and rather than living on someone else’s land, the noblest of men would seek out their own estates.
And today, much of it remains the tradition for the most dapper shooters visiting Britain’s vast and exquisite countryside estates. But let’s not forget that for the thousands of men who don tweed coats and a tie with their gundog beside them, finishing a successful hunt has been a longstanding tradition in country attire.
Will it increase your chances of successfully nabbing your prey? Possibly. Despite what you may have heard, camo is not a prerequisite of hunting.