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I’ve been making threats to build a ghilli suit for spring turkeys. Any of you guys have any experience with making these things. Point me in the right direction.:)
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Good topic, Clay- I’ve been thinking along the same lines(just an old sniper at heart!). Remember number 1- fire-retardtant coating( nothing worse than a ghillie suit on fire,with occupant inside, screaming as he lights the woods on fire) and number 2- insecticide to keep those nasty ticks and other vermin from making a home and number 3- DON’T WEAR IT DURING RIFLE SEASON or when the Sasquach hunters are out!
Bert -
Clay, there are plenty of online articles on building gilli suits. If you want to build your own you will need a suitable jacket such as a BDU four pocket, some nylon webbing, and either burlap strips or you can purchase commercially available jute. (lengths of dyed twine) You then stitch the netting to the jacket. Once the netting is in place you then tie the jute on in whatever pattern you like. You can match it to the foliage in which you will be hunting. I’m not much on gilli pants as they tend to grab every possible thorn, thistle and brier in the woods. If you do choose to use pants, go light on the jute or burlap. You can rearrange the colors until your satisfied with it.
Tom
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I made one several years ago. I took a set my camo hunting clothes. I cut little slits in the shirt and pants and cut burlap in to 2 inch strips about a foot to 2 feet long and just run them in the slits and tied them in. It looked great and worked pretty good. BUT….one tip….Do not put it in the washing machine. hahahahahaha wow what a mess…I got my hunting clothes out and then got the handfulls and handfulls of burlap out. Yeah I should have used a little common sence but oh well live and learn. Its pretty funny now and it was then too
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I am looking for ideas for making a realitivly light weight suit for warmer weather.
I’m thinking about trying to find some sort of mesh or netting (maybe .5 inch or so) and forming that into the jacket part, then tying strips of burlap to it. Anyone tried that, or have any other ideas. I just don’t want to be sweating my butt off in this thing.
ch
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I’ve been looking at the kits online. I’m like Tom I don’t think I would like the pants. There is a kind of cape design that might be cooler instead of the full clothing type.
Maybe you could use a mesh shirt as a base garment?
Duncan
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I had a full suit but the pants were such a “pain in the pants”, I separated the netting and jute from the base. I then stitched each leg together to form a “blanket” of sorts about three feet square. This along with several of the small bungie cords and some clips goes into my backpack. It makes a quick blind when stretched between a couple of saplings or draped over a log in front of you. The netting is pretty stretchy so you can spread it about four feet or so wide.
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About two years ago I purchased a ghillie suit kit. The kit came with dyed jute twine, a 5’x5′ nylon net, fire-proofing substance, and instructions. I believe it was a “Tracker” ghillie poncho style kit, if I remember correctly. I am college student and I purchased it around Xmas break and spent most of the break working on it. The first step is cutting the net to the desired shape. Next step, tying the gazillion knots of jute. I am serious when I say a gazillion. It is very time consuming. I wish I would of paid the extra 40 dollars and purchased it pre-made. I enjoy traditional archery and the projects that it provides me, but this is one project I would recommend purchasing complete. If you want to save money and have the time, then go ahead.
Joel from Nebraska
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Hi Clay, I have a few suggestions that may be helpful, avoid military Ghillie’s most have a ‘skid’ plate up front for crawling about the last thing an archer needs. If you use a commercial mesh based jacket sew the front up 2/3 and use it as a pullover this allows you to remove any fastenings, if its tight at the top of the legs slit it up the sides.
A welded mesh base allows you to cut it about without the material unravelling, go at least a size too big so that it will pull over your normal hunting gear, this will also ensure that the sleeves are long enough to cover your hands, cut out the palm area and put in finger loops.
A separate hood will move with your head so as not to restrict vision.Burlap is unbeatable, cut into strips about 2” wide as long as you like die and fix with commercial dies keeping some that original dead grass colour. If you can weather it for a few months takes away the smell and mutes the colours.
Using carpet adhesive (the type that remains soft, goes on white and dries clear) start at the base and work up glue on end and cut to length, no more than 4” long on the front, longer on the back and under the arms where you are trying to hide the transition from trunk to arm. Use colours in blocks and strips, always a shade lighter than the area in which you are going to be hunting, don’t worry about using local veg its just a pain, wilts in summer and looks out of place that’s when it’s not telegraphing movement. Same with the hood add an old baseball cap or similar if you like to keep material from your face, may have to cut the brim down, add plenty of tail to the hood so that the head shoulders become one.
Take an old kitchen fork bend the end 1/2″ at right angles and use this to strip the burlap DON’T DO THIS IN THE HOUSE.
Finally get a volunteer to go stand/sit in an area where with veg is the same colour as that where you are going to be hunting if necessary and it generally is take cans of spray paint the type model makers use and touch up area that you are not happy with.
joel_k_31 suggestion of netting is good use it up front to make a low hide to hide gear and legs, use it behind to loose your outline when cover is thin.
That’s enough from me, I’ve read smaller books, Mark.
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MattyC, Scissors get trimming, forearms and chest area leave hanging material but remove the ‘bulk’. I’m not a fan of commercial Ghillie’s but think of it as something to build on.
Some of the commercial suits look just like a big pile of grass cuttings if this is the case with yours get some colour into it, spot spray it first to make sure the material does not react to the paint.
Watch out for the brambles, Mark.
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Ghillie suit can be seen as a mystical cure-all when in reality they only complement good field craft:
Shape
Shine
Shadow
Scent
These are the things we all need reminding of from time to time.There is some really good camo on the market ASAT is excellent as ‘M’ says.
Duncan, capes or veils are good and flexible and have been used for thousands of years, for a base just use the printed camo mesh, it does not run when cut and is easy to add material to, might be worth washing beforehand to fix the dye.
I’ve got some time off in about a week if I get my lazy self into gear I’ll build a smock and possibly a cape,its not difficult at all but time consuming.
Mark.
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Seriously and no put-down intended … are you guys sitting out in the middle of fields or deserts with no shade or natural cover, that you feel compelled to resort to such obviously and admittedly bothersome human-bush costumes? I do not say this to feel superior, believe me, but merely because it is how it is, to wit: I wear a mix of old camo garb, dark-colored pants and dark plaid shirts and jackets, while gradually replacing all remaining camo with more traditional garb … not because it’s more traditional but because I can find steal-deals on used wool pants and plaid shirts in thrift stores, wear the same stuff I wear hunting without embarrassment if I need to stop in town for something, but mostly because IT WORKS. Sit in deep shade with good cover behind you (low cover in front is a bonus but unnecessary), sit still as possible always and don’t even blink when game is close, and in general practice good old-fashioned woodsmanship and you don’t NEED no Ghillie suit, high-end camo, Quadruple Bull blind or any of the “modern hunting” rest. Also it puts the hunting-skill onus on us rather than on the stuff we can buy (or make), saves us lots of money we can use for tags and trips, and lets us travel through the woods light and easy. Again, my intent is not to hijack this totally valid thread or to suggest “my way or the highway.” It’s just that every time these gear topics come up I’m left to plead longingly: We don’t need more gear. We need more personal committment to hunting hard and hunting smart!” Or so he says. dp
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Hi Dave, the voice of reason as ever, nothing beats good field-craft and going afield with little more than a bow some arrows and lunch in your pocket.
Ghillie suits marketed for hunters are almost always based on military requirements and it is patently not suitable, see MattyC’s comment, my offer was to make something much more suited to bowhunting, the sort of thing that will allow you to sit in a thin hedge or in sparse low cover.
Personally I rarely use camo pattern gear and like you being able to walk into town without attracting unwanted attention is comforting so a jacket of this type that can just go into a stuffsack is useful.
Mark.
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Dave, agree whole heartedly with your comments about additional and unnecessary gear taking the place or acting as crutches for poor woodsmanship. But we’re not talking about range finders and electronic game calls. We’re just talking about a type of camo that breaks up the human shape and gives a little more leeway in setting up on turkeys. I have no desire to sit in a popup blind and wait on a bird to come to me. For me, that’s just not turkey hunting. That’d be like jumping ducks off a pond and calling it duck hunting. More like duck shooting. I want a little more flexibility while I’m out hunting turkey. I want to be able to plop down beside a tree the way I did when I was hunting with a shotgun. I want to be able to move and plop down again without having to limit myself to the perfect setup. I think a ghilli suit or bushrag will help me do that.
BTW, I’ve got mine done. I’ll post some pics a little later.
ch
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I’ve been trying to do the same thing as Dave, but I’m going back even further in time. I’m having a heck of a time finding a plaid, woolen, loincloth though. I was thinking maybe I should go with fleece though, since there will be less shrinkage if I were to get caught in a rain storm. 😯
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He may have a ‘gently used’ rack there…
It’s a funny thing about that ghilli suit. On the same day that it was delivered, a dozen cedar shafts came. When I fletched them (poorly), and glued on the nocks and points, the strangest thing happened;
The ghilli suit seemed less important. When I shot the cedars, it felt like everything about this changed. I’m reminded of a comment someone else posted about an evolution, of sorts, including going to traditional equipment, from carbon to aluminum to wood arrows, leaving the camo at home, etc. I think I understand a little bit better now. -
I made my ghilly almost 20 years ago for a cost of 7 dollars, and it has served me well, at 6’4″ and 300#’s, I learned pretty quick that no matter what I wore a deer could pick me off in short order in a treestand, and that I also made a pretty good target for poachers too. so now I hunt exclusively from ground level, and the ghilly has made it easier to remain hidden from not only deer but many other of God’s creatures too, a ghilly is just a tool that allows you to blend into your surroundings better and around here just seeing a deer is a challenge let alone getting close enough for a shot…..I’ve shot 36 in my suit with a bow..so far…..
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Patrick wrote: I’ve been trying to do the same thing as Dave, but I’m going back even further in time. I’m having a heck of a time finding a plaid, woolen, loincloth though. I was thinking maybe I should go with fleece though, since there will be less shrinkage if I were to get caught in a rain storm. 😯
Less itch too 🙂
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Not to get off topic of the gillie suites, but has any tried the Predator camo at all?
I myself am thinking about investing in a good gillie suite. but im thinking the predator camo might be a close second:) -
[quote=Bert]Good topic, Clay- I’ve been thinking along the same lines(just an old sniper at heart!). Remember number 1- fire-retardtant coating( nothing worse than a ghillie suit on fire,with occupant inside, screaming as he lights the woods on fire) and number 2- insecticide to keep those nasty ticks and other vermin from making a home and number 3- DON’T WEAR IT DURING RIFLE SEASON or when the Sasquach hunters are out!
Bert[/quotetHey Bert; Thanks alot,you just got me in trouble! After reading your reply,you had me laughing so hard I woke my wife up,and she’s mad at me now! Funny but all darn good points.I really never thought of them,but have thought about buying one of those things..Thanks for making my morning,that was really funny…Wade
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