Jim Crumly Inventor of Modern Hunting Camoflauge
Trebark Camouflage Launched the Modern Camoflauge Industry
Mar 7, 2009
Modern hunting camouflage is the result of one man's vision - a young man, just out of college, who believed he could be more effective by wearing camouflage that melded with the woodland habitat he hunted.
Trebark Camo is Born
“I was a close-encounter hunter,” Crumley admits. “Bowhunting and spring gobbler hunting were my favorite activities.
"I realized that every time I let an arrow go or pulled the trigger on a gobbler, I had my back against a tree trunk. So, I thought making hunters look like a tree trunk or stump would be better than them looking like a bush.
Crumley asked a friend who worked at the Quantico Marine base why the military didn’t make camo patterns that resembled hunting habitat. His friend explained that military patterns were designed to match areas where the United States might engage in combat, which didn’t include America.
"The proverbial idea light went off in my head and I realized the need for a hunting-specific camo," Crumley says.
Initial Trebark Clothing
Crumley dabbed splotches of brown dye on gray work clothes, hand working a design he thought better resembled the hardwoods he hunted. After two years of increased hunting success, he meticulously applied a bark pattern to his cloths with magic marker.
Soon, other hunters pestered him for outfits. In response to the demand, the original Trebark® pattern was created in 1980 and American-style, hunting-specific camouflage was born along with a new industry.
“I never imagined the evolution that we’ve seen,” Crumley admits. “All I was doing was creating a small mail-order business, a sideline job, that I thought might help pay for my hunting habit.”
Introducing the World to Trebark
Crumley attended his first Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show (the hunting industry’s main trade show) in 1983. He rented the smallest booth space possible and showed a two-piece suit, a coverall and a hat.
A few people stopped at the booth recognizing the camo from a modest ad Crumley had run in a magazine. Others stopped and looked quizzically.
“I could see the wheels turning in their heads,” Crumley remembers. “I had pictures in the booth of the pattern against a tree and people could see the difference."
Hunters who had been successful for years wearing red plaid shirts and wool pants were skeptical, but they understood Crumley's pitch...
... that hunters had to wear something and if the clothing they wore might cause a mature, big-racked buck or long-bearded, long-spurred gobbler to take that one extra step, it was worth trying.
Camo, An Industry of Its Own
Just three decades after Crumley’s first SHOT Show, the roots of his tree run deep and wide through the hunting industry. At the 2009 SHOT Show, which housed more than 1,800 manufacturers and distributors and occupied more than 715,000 square feet of exhibit space, attendees couldn’t walk one square foot of the show floor without seeing a camouflaged product – a gun, bow, boot, knife, tree stand, scope or clothing item hanging from a display.
Crumley’s innovation has earned him a place in hunting history, but even he admits that his contributions aren’t the only ones worthy of note. And, if imitation truly is sincerest form of flattery – then Crumley should be brimming with pride.
Realtree and Mossy Oak Get Into the Game
Within a few years of Crumley’s first SHOT Show, two other players, Bill Jordan (Realtree) and Toxey Haas (Mossy Oak), were in the game. Each anted up his own style, creative energy, business acumen and fiery determination.
Ever the Southern gentleman, Crumley doesn’t begrudge those who followed him. He says competition is the American way.
“I got lucky with an idea and lots of others thought it was a good idea too; and that’s fine,” Crumley says.
“Modern hunting camouflage was and is new technology that has generated excitement, jobs and more productive hunters, because these widgets work.”
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