# Do you use, or have you used a Ghillie Suit for hunting?



## Capt Rick Hiott (Aug 22, 2010)

I was thinking about buying one for deer/hog hunting on private land.
I know very little about them. Are they worth the money? Pro's-Con's?


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## Capt Rick Hiott (Aug 22, 2010)

Wow,,,,57 views and no comments. I guess nobody uses them....


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

Well, I tried one on, once. Does that count?

If you already limit yourself to still hunting, I suppose that sitting around in a ghillie suit is not much different from sitting around in fleece or down.
I, personally, wouldn't try to stalk an animal in a ghillie suit. But then, I'm getting too old to creep around through the underbrush anyway. Maybe it'd work for you.

I note that you want to hunt deer with a pistol at 80-to-100 yards.
But if you sit in the right place, in your ghillie suit, deer will come to you, and your shot will be closer—maybe much closer.
The ghillie suit was invented, I believe, to make a person look like a gorse bush in the open spaces of the English North Country and of Scotland. If the hunter sat very still, the deer wouldn't notice him, and might come close, because he looked like a gorse bush. Are there gorse bushes where you're going to hunt?

However, I am not certain that you really need camouflage, to still-hunt deer. As I understand it, deer see movement, not details.
Deer noses seem to work well, and a ghillie suit will not make you smell any different.


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## Capt Rick Hiott (Aug 22, 2010)

,,,,,,,,thanks.


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## berettabone (Jan 23, 2012)

I saw Mickey Gilley in a suit once...does that count?:goofy:


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## DanP_from_AZ (May 8, 2009)

Capt Rick Hiott said:


> I was thinking about buying one for deer/hog hunting on private land.
> I know very little about them. Are they worth the money? Pro's-Con's?


Oops, once again I hijack a thread. :smt179

I've always thought Ghillie suits were "cool". But, never used them.
When I was a little kid, my Dad took me duck hunting a lot. Mainly because with my single-shot break action .410, we could take home five more Mallards to eat.
This was TOTALLY different from duck hunting on TV, where a bunch over guys lay around in a duck blind and jump up to ambush incoming ducks.

We were in the middle of nowhere. He would have us sneak up on water potholes, or bends in the small river that ran miles and miles through "nowhere".
Often we snuck more than a hundred yards groveling on the ground, making as little noise as possible. Muzzle orientation is PRIMO doing this.
Because we were below the ducks "eye level", it made no difference what we wore. As long as we made "no noise".

And then, when within 15-20 yards, we'd stand up. I was allowed my "single shot" as soon as the ducks jumped off the water. But, no surface sitting "pot shots".
My Dad waited until they were at least 30 yards out, and he'd shoot at three. After all, the objective was food for the table, and he had a Win. 1897 12 gauge.
He was a depression era kid. His gun was a tool he bought used in the '30's for $15 and a box of shells. That was a LOT of hard-earned money. He was totally
disgusted if he didn't get a Mallard for every shot. Teals, no. Not good eating. Oily. Once I made a mistake and shot a Teal. BAD mistake.

When a sophmore in high school, I mail-orded a Win. Model 12, 30 inch barrel, full choke. The first time we went hunting, I did my "let them jump off the water
and shoot" deal. I hit a Mallard. Nothing was left but the head, a bit of breast, and one wing. Nothing to eat. My Dad made me stay in the car the rest of the day.

"Nothing to eat, and NO sportsmanship either. A totally wasted shell. About time you learned the realities of life !". Yes, I got the message.
He was a hard man, but fair.
Gone now, of course. He was a WWII P47 Thunderbolt fighter pilot. I've got his coffin flag folded into "the triangle" with three shell casings inside.


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## TAPnRACK (Jan 30, 2013)

I'm building one this Summer... scheduled for a refresher/advanced LE Sniper School in Oct. We'll be expected to learn stalking and surveillance (undetected). 

Got a buddy (already built one) to help me with the burlap & jute work. I'll post pics when done if anyone is interested.


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## denner (Jun 3, 2011)

If you are hunting with a firearm as opposed to a bow, I'd suspect you'd be required to wear blaze orange over the suit. I generally prefer a tree stand for deer and the suit may be just a little over kill up in a tree, but on the ground I would believe them to be quite effective given the wind direction and scent control.


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## Capt Rick Hiott (Aug 22, 2010)

When hunting on private land here in South Carolina you dont have to wear orange.

On public land,,,yes. A hat or a vest or both.


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## denner (Jun 3, 2011)

Capt Rick Hiott said:


> When hunting on private land here in South Carolina you dont have to wear orange.
> 
> On public land,,,yes. A hat or a vest or both.


In my long experience hunting, just because you hunt on private land doesn't guarantee no other hunters you may not know about are hunting the private land as well, or are on surrounding land. Rifles have a good 300 to 500 yard range. Do what you wish but I'd be careful moving about on the ground in a Ghillie Suit during firearm hunting season. I would not hunt without blaze orange on the ground either on public or private land during firearm season, but that's me.


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## SpanishTrail (Jul 24, 2013)

In my opinion, after hunting Whitetail in Wisconsin for 20 years, any camo suit is not as important as marketed. Most animals see in black and white and grays. Most important, stand down wind if possible from where you want to shoot. Their sense of smell, like most animals, is their keenest sense - exception to this is if you are hunting your own property. In that case, local deer already know your scent as well as all family members and are not spooked, but in fact calmed. This may actually be an advantage if the wind is against you. Wear clothes not washed in detergent, just water and hang outside for a week - out of the rain of course, before the hunt. I don't believe in store-bought scents, another marketing gimmick I think - although a fresh road kill of anything laying a few feet from you can be a good cover. Next important of course is be still and quiet as possible - obvious I know, but some forget this. These are the main points in bow hunting at 30 yards and even better at 80 to 100 with a pistol. 
I wore camo when "still hunting" in Wisconsin because you move towards where the deer are bedded at about 10 feet per minute in blizzard conditions with the wind in your face - in that case appearance is important because they'll finally see you when you're on top of them but hopefully it's too late for the meat.



Steve M1911A1 said:


> Well, I tried one on, once. Does that count?
> 
> If you already limit yourself to still hunting, I suppose that sitting around in a ghillie suit is not much different from sitting around in fleece or down.
> I, personally, wouldn't try to stalk an animal in a ghillie suit. But then, I'm getting too old to creep around through the underbrush anyway. Maybe it'd work for you.
> ...


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## Cannon (May 1, 2016)

I've used them for waterfowl hunting, there very effective as long as you use natural foliage to help you blend into your surroundings, there hard to beat if you want to hide in plain sight!


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