Ghillie Suit

[b4rifle]

Al, You are right; just another tool for your kit. I was not trying to say that ghillies are useless(I own four of them). They just have very specific applications. I just want to touch on some of the points that you bring up. I always try to keep things as simple as possible, It helps me from confusing myself.

On synthetic materials. They just do not look right. When they are wet, they look out of place. All of that flame retardant stuff does not work. We have tried it all.

If I need to put on gear and take off gear going to and leaving the stand, do I need it? How long am I going to be stationary? Does more camouflage justify the movement it takes to suit up? There are countless questions that I could ask myself. There are times that I can use a ghillie and I will.

This is the problem I have with ghillies. There are people out there that make them sound like you will disappear and no life form can possible identify you. These people will charge you hundreds of dollars for a pre-made suit and a little less for a kit. These suits generally do not hold together and are not made for the terrain you will use them in. All of the ghillies that I have were made by me. They usually cost no more than fifty bucks to make and take about forty hours of labor to finish. These suits are tailored to my needs and most people do not need that complex of a suit. I have used kits, but rather use old burlap sacks, surplus netting, and some shoe goo.

Sorry if I am going on and on. I do not want to disregard ghillie suits, I just don't want to see someone spend too much money on gear that could be spent on something else that could be more useful.

[thogamecalls]

When we talk about ghillie suits and their applications to predator hunting, we have to keep a few things in mind.

First, when calling, we have to remember that a coyote can hear a call and pinpoint the location of that call to within a few feet from a quarter of a mile or more away.

I think, and with a fresh snow, I can prove, that we call more coyotes than we ever see.

The problem is that a coyote can pinpoint that sound with his ears, but he will be looking for it with his eyes. If you move, and movement gets more hunters busted than anything esle, the coyote is going to see you long before you see him.

He has the advantage. He has PINPOINTED where the sound is coming from, and he is LOOKING in that direction. We on the other hand, are GUESSING where he will be coming from.

A ghillie suit will help break up the human form. That is all we want it to do. We are not trying to stalk across 200 yards of field to get to a shooting position of hide from the enemy. A good workable ghillie suit for hunting predators is a completely different article of clothing than one used for military purposes.

All you really need is a poncho or even a simple wrap around and a hat. It does not have to be elaborate. It might be better to think of it as a portable wearable blind.

As for sythetic materials not looking right, remember, we are just trying to break up the human form. You do not have to become the bush as they say. A human processes information differently than an animal. The human might see right through the silly looking synthetic material, where the coyote will see a funny looking bush. It may not look like something he has ever seen before, but if it does not look like a human, he wont care, or if he does care, it might not register as danger to him.

Also, since the coyote has pinpointed our position with his ears, and is looking for the source of our call with his eyes, the ghillie will allow us some margin of error when calling. We can move a LITTLE and get away with it.

Fire retardant - if you smoke when you are on stand, you deserve what you get eh? If you get struck by lightening, fire will probably be the least of your worries. The fire retardant properties of a ghillie are pretty much a non issue for hunting. Yes, a spark from your gun could set one on fire I suppose, but in reality, is it that much to worry about?

As for the movement setting up and the movement to put on your ghillie. If a coyote sees you suiting up, he has heard and seen you getting to your stand. You are not going to call that coyote.

The link I provided to BushRag had a make it yourself poncho for about 65 bucks. Pretty reasonable and very durable. Mine is over 3 years old and is going strong. As I said, mine has been modified for predator hunting. I can have it on in less than 10 seconds. It rolls up and slips in the back of my calling vest.

Finally, remember we are hunting an animal with exceptional senses. If we remember the following when we hunt coyotes, we will do much better....

A feather fell from the sky.

The eagle saw it,
The deer heard it,
And the bear smelled it,

but only the coyote did all three.

I am a firm beliver in my ghillie suit. And this is from a guy who has every camp pattern that Predator Camo makes, and I think it is the best camo on the market, along with ASAT and Nat Gear. But I never hit the woods without my ghillie. The advantages far outweigh the disadvantages in my opinion when calling predators.

Good calling

Al@THO
THO Game Calls
www.thogamecalls.com

[b4rifle]

Sir, I believe that you are misinterpretting what I have been saying. The ghillie is a valid tool in the woodsman's world.

I believe that military and hunting applications are very similar. In both you use the suit for conceilment and to blend the human outline into the natural vegitation.

A coyote may pinpoint the location of the sound, but it is looking for an injured rabitt or prey animal. Hunters should do what ever it takes to keep the coyotes sences directed away from them.

I guess that I have used ghillies on the far extremes of of what we are talking about. I have experiences that most people would not encounter or put themselves through in any hunting situation. But a preditor is a predator, whether it is human, coyote, lion or anything else. They all have their weekness, they all make mistakes and they all can be decieved. Our job as predator hunters is to learn as much about our quarry, make fewer mistakes than they do, and become a master of conceilment.

[thogamecalls]

Hey, enough with the Sir stuff already. I have a reputation to maintain LOL. Al will do fine.

I don't mean to misrepresent what you have said. If you feel that I have, I am sorry for that.

The point I am trying to make here is that the discussion of ghillie suits as they apply to hunting is completely different than it applies to military situations.

You do not have to blend the human outline into the natural vegitation when hunting predators. What you do have to do is break up that outline. Most animals do not see colors anyway. Even if they do, they lack the ability to reason. They react to situations they have experiance with, but they do not have the capacity to say - "hey, it's fall and the leaves are off the trees. There is no way a green bush would be sitting there."

A predator is a predator is not a completely correct statment then. Lions, coyotes and other predatory animals process information quite differently than a human.

As for keeping the predators senses away from you, when using hand calls, that is not possable.

It's why when you use an E caller and remote, you can just let the thing run and watch for coyotes. The animals attention IS directed away from you then. It is focusing on where the sound is coming from. That is what makes them effective.

However, when we use hand calls, we normally call for 30 seconds and then wait 3 to 5 minutes to call again.

The reason is that the animals senses will directed TOWARDS the sound, and people MOVE when they call. It's a fact. New callers are very bad at this one aspect of predator hunitng. Watch an experianced called. He can make sounds that have you tearing up your guts to save what ever it is that is being horibly mauled, but he hardly moves a muscle while doing it. But the reason they tell you to call for 30 seconds and then wait for 5 minutes to call again is because they want you to SIT STILL. LOL. You sometimes have to read between the lines of what people say. This is one case where that is true. The predator is going to be focused on where that sound came from, and if you move, he is going to see you well before you see him.

If we were to attempt to keep the animals senses away from us, we would all be using e callers. Which is fine if you want to be a disk jocky. If you want to learn to actually CALL coyotes, then you need to learn to call while remaining still and realize that eyes are going to be upon you while you are calling.

You don't have to make it any harder on yourself that it already is.

Your military background may be a big help to you in the field, but don't let it be a detriment to you or others as well.

You do not need a ghillie suit to kill coyotes. You don't even need to wear camo, and I can point you to a number of exceptional hunters who don't even own camo.

What you do have to do is sit still. 99% of the people in the woods cannot do that one simple thing. The minute you move, the animal sees it. If what he sees looks like a human to him, he will leave. Usually at high speed. A ghillie will help conceal that movement, and help the average hunter connect more frequently here in the east. Might not be a big deal in the desert, but in the wood lots of New Hampshire, it is a bonus.

Just my opinion - again

Al@THO
THO Game Calls
www.THOGameCalls.com

[b4rifle]

Al, you are all right in my book (sorry about the "sir" thing, force of habit). You make some good points. The reason I am persistent on the point is not to deter people on wearing a ghillie. In my experience, people tend to be obsessive with gear that they read about or hear great stories on how they need to get this. I think people should be more concerned about techniques and skills, rather than mystical "sure thing" gear.

I totally understand what you are saying, and agree for the most part. I have suits for fall colors, green colors, desert and universal poncho type. I have made many more. I guess I am a camo fanatic. I have also tested or own too many commercial cammo patterns. They all have their place.

We could go on and on about this subject. Hope fully everyone reads all of our posts and can make up their own decisions based on needs. Ultimately, you have to do what is needed for the results you want. You could wear a ghillie or a loin cloth, just have fun in what you do.

[browning204]

NICE! Next time I go hunting, I will just wear a loin cloth!!!

anybody wanna join me?

[b4rifle]

I think I will have to say no to that offer. ;D

[thogamecalls]

Now there is a visual that I think I could have done completely without LOL.

But I would like to see what you look like after the hunt, especially if you do it during black fly or mosquitio season LOL.

[thogamecalls]

b4rifle,

Yeah I know what you are saying. I have so much old hunitng gear that I thought was going to be the latest greatest thing that I could start my own second had store.

Now, the only esentiial pieces of gear I worry about are a survial kit, knife, compass and map, and a good pair of boots.

People would kill a lot more critters if they just leard to have a little patience and sit still LOL.

Leaving the payvement and stepping into "their" world is an adjustment that some just never make.

Anyway, this has been a very interesting thread for me, and your contribution has been excellent.

Al @ THO
THO Game Calls
www.THOGameCalls.com

[icefishnh]

i cant sit for the life of me. i sit for 20-30mins and i get bored so i get up and walk. i got my deer walking around this yr. 111lb spike at 10yards downwind with my muzzeloader. funny thing is, i never washed my pants or jacket before the season. lol. didnt kniow i was there until "BOOM!!" MMMM, he was a tasty one. yes, was as in all gone.
but back to sitting, i have to learn how to sit still for more then 30mins.
-Dave