I am seriously considering investing in a ghillie suit for the upcoming season. Anyone out there who has had hunting experience with them please share your stories and more importantly the pros and cons of hunting from the ground with the ghillie. Are they worth the investment dollars? Thanks in advance gentlemen.
I love hunting in my ghillie and I think they are definitely worth the investment. My only advice is to get either a "burlap" rag. style like the Rancho shaggy suit, or if you get one like mine with the synthetic strings, get a poncho or long coat style. Mine is a two piece with jacket and pants and my only problem is with the pants, the synthetic strings hang on EVERYTHING! Any thorn, twig or vine will hang me up and make walking/stalking nearly impossible.
I have had branches hang between my legs locking them together like hobbles on a horse!
I think the "burlap" rag style wouldn't be nearly as bad as tangling in vegetation.
Mine is made of screen material with a net sewed to it. The strings are tied to the net. (Like a reverse "bug tamer" suit) There is plenty of netting exposed to apply your own natural branches or leaves.
It is hot to wear especially here in Florida.
Even with the negatives I have stated I love it.
I have had birds land on my arrow, 'possums nearly walk on my feet and deer and hogs within feet, not yards!
Trim to make shooting possible and enjoy being invisible!
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John
(John, fixed your pix. JC)
Let me try that again,
I didn't delete any pics from photobucket!
(http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm28/sendero25/ocala_hunt_009.jpg)
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A good way to get a lot of "ghillie" info quick is to do a search here.
Just type "ghillie" and select "Powwow" and see what happens. :thumbsup:
I really enjoyed last season with my ghillie suit. Let me say that I was not successful if measured by kills, but I had a heck of a time hunting! It was MY fault alone that I did not close the deal! I did all my hunting from the ground and with the suit I felt invisible! I had several shots presented and some I did not take because I had already shot a deer and had short time to find it and didn't want a second. I passed on five others from the same spot within a few minutes of shooting that one. I thought the shot was good but couldn't find the deer. I will likely never climb another tree. Some of those deer were peering around me as they tried to see behind me from 15 feet away! I was using a Dawgware quiver and actually reloaded my bow while one of them was looking at me. My biggest worry is that some hunter might shoot me for a big foot! I'm 6'4" and don't hide well in the woods. I was talking on a cell phone or rather listening while I was looking for that wounded deer, and when I spoke back to my buddy, two deer that had walked up to touching range (literally!) scared the ship out of me when they exploded away from my voice. I didn't know they were there and they didn't know I was there until I said something. All I could do was laugh.
My suit was home made using burlap strips sewn onto a nylon net type of bug pancho. I varied the colors of black, natural burlap, orange, green, and dark brown. The orange was to try to alert other hunters I WAS A HUNTER! I found it very warm too. I hunt in GA and our temps are not bad through much of Nov. I wore long johns and tee shirt under for most of it. Give it a try. I bought tree stands and safety suits and never took them to the woods. I walked slowly and quietly and got to see a lot of deer that didn't see me firstand I was close to them! Gotta play the wind always! Good luck I hopre this helps you.
go to www.ghilliesuitsource.com. (http://www.ghilliesuitsource.com.) I got the bowhunter suit. Cant beat it.
Leafy suit..... multiple encounters with many deer on ground 2-10 yards away. Had a 4 pt make a scrape so close to me i had to plug my nose as he pee'd on his hockks!!!!!!!!The most fun i have had hunting.
Thanks JC, just saw your post!
I am buying one this year, getting a little to old to be up twenty feet in a tree. :coffee: Shoot straight
Trim your chest area, and bow arm. I shoot with it on now to practice up for bow season. Its a Rancho Safari Longcoat, with booney hat and face mask, I also have the leg gators.
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Vance, did you get that Goat.
Vance...You are my HERO :notworthy: :notworthy: Because of your picture, I had to get a Ghillie suit myself!!
Mmmm oh man, I have an old leafy suit that I am going to transform into a suit now after seeing the photos above- it's on. Anyone know if the synthetic material or jute has uv brightners or what material wouldn't spook game? I'll have to do a ghillie suit search I suppose this has already been covered--
Very :cool: Vance
:thumbsup:
i've got a rancho safari guillie.. made in the U.S.A. and looks great!
i NEVER go hunting with out it.
i hunt predators for a living and on one trip we had a coyote do a full circle around us and we turned with him, he just walked around and sniffed at us confused.
on another trip my dad had a falcon land on him.
and on yet another trip we had a coyote jump over us trying to get to our foxpro caller.
as far as i'm concerned a suit is a MUST.
-RightTrail, i'm pretty sure they dont have uv brightners. the most important thing with a guillie is that you break up the human outline. no leafy suit or regular camo does that, but a guillie gets rid of the head and shoulders outline and thats what matters the most.
i've done many many predator hunts and have learned a lot over the years.
trust me when i say, if your a bow hunter.. you NEED a gullie!
Todd,
I have a UV blacklight that I use on camo, and mine doesn't show the "blue glow" so common on stuff with UV brightners.
I don't think the company I bought it from says anything about it though.
I do wash it in "sport wash" that is scent and UV free.
John
As a side note, I made a "ghillie blind" out of a "fish net" you might find as a decoration at a seafood restaurant, it is made out of hard brown twine. I tied in a bunch of jute twine to give it a 3-d look. I spray painted Olive Drab paint in sploches to break up the brown jute color.
The jute twine is natural and doesn't have any UV brightners in it.
John
I have one of those ghilly suits from Cabelas. It works a lot better than the leafy suit I was using a few years back. My deer hunting buddy told me that I disappear when I'm in the woods. He was looking for me one day while we were hunting. I've had close encounters with turkey, fox, black bears and white tails. On a couple occasions I had turkeys close enough I could have grabbed them by their necks.
Just remember a couple of things. Trim along your bow arm and your chest for string clearance. Wear a face mask or use burned cork to hide your face. Wear some type of gloves to cover your hands. Move slow and use enough cover behind you to help break up your human outline. Most important ALWAYS keep the wind in your face.
Good luck and shoot straight.
Thanks for the info guys, my search as always has yielded a bunch of additional info as well. I have just a few weeks to prepare for turkey season so I better get after it. I can't buy one right now but I think I could make one in time. I have an old volley ball net and the old leafy suit mentioned above, just have to figure out a good way to attatch the material to the suit, I don't really want to attatch the netting to the already netted leafy suit...any ideas? want to keep the weight down-
In the photo that I posted, that Doe is straight down wind of us. There were two of us Lamb"O" shooting photos. I passed on her, we were stalking a Buck about 10 yards to her right. I needed to get past her and a bush for a shot. A sound BUSTED us.
I drag mine behind a ATV, and bury it in the dirt each spring, before Turkeys. I let nature wash and dry it, Rain, Snow, and Wind. I try very hard never to expose it to UN-Natural odors.When I travel with it I use one of those SUPER SIZED Zip-lock bags, then hang it when I get to the hunting area away from camp odors. I'll spray it down with Permanone and Sent-Away every so often. It really shines if your in a situation with un-certain winds. It has served me VERY well. :thumbsup:
I would also add TRIM ANYTHING that you even think will bother you. You don't want to even think there will be a problem,if your thinking about anything other than the shot, It's a DISTRACTION !!. Wear it often and use it often to get comfortable with it and in it.
RTWT sent you a pm!!
"On a couple occasions I had turkeys close enough I could have grabbed them by their necks."
I could do that too, but only if I wore mine to the grocery store! :)
Looks like I'll be heading to wally world for some jute!!!
Keep'em comin guys...good stuff :thumbsup:
TTT^^^^^
Anyone using the ASAT leafy suit as a pseudo ghille?
Thanks.
I sure like the mobility of mine rather than a blind...Doc
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Anyone tried the ghillie suit for bow hunters like on combathunting.com ? The jute/burlap is removed from the bow arm and an area of the chest, leaving just netting in those areas.
I was thinking about purchasing one for $100. Opinions?
QuoteOriginally posted by inthere10x:
Anyone tried the ghillie suit for bow hunters like on combathunting.com ? The jute/burlap is removed from the bow arm and an area of the chest, leaving just netting in those areas.
I was thinking about purchasing one for $100. Opinions?
I never heard of this one...Pick one that works best for you. They all have their advantages and disadvantages
Is the Rancho Safari one worth the money seeing as though cheaper ones exist? Do the other ones roll up and carry like the Rancho one? Would you guys recommend getting the Rancho one with or without burlap?
Go to Bushrag dot com and take a look at theirs. I use the chamilion, put the kit together. Synthetic leafey material on a netting poncho, some small amount of jute line/string. Cut lenth of netting to fit me best. I have been very happy with mine. I have thought about a Rancho Safari also but havn't the extra $$ for two. I like the light weight of mine, just roll it up and go put on when I get to where I'm going. Not the best for moving around in but if careful one could stalk VERY slowly. Keep it stored in a box with earthsent wafers.
I have the 4 seasons camo that Rancho Safari makes. There is a wide range of greens, and browns in mine. In my opinion the Rancho Safari is the way to go.
(http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn125/frassettor/DSC00433.jpg)
I did a lot of hard thinking on the ghille suits, and decided to bite the bullet on the Rancho Safari. In my mind I put it next to treestands - I've got everything from cheap Ameristeps to LoneWolfs. The LoneWolfs almost always end up in the field with me, so why compromise on something thats designed to get me closer to game. I'm sure a suit that I made or one of the others availible would work just as well, but I'll pay for the convienence and engineering that went into the Rancho. (it really helps that I got to see one up close and on first before I made up my mind)
:thumbsup:
QuoteOriginally posted by tippit:
I sure like the mobility of mine rather than a blind...Doc
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v110/tippit/VermontTurkeyHunt.jpg)
If you don't mind, Doc, could you explain what that "halo/wreath" thing is? Looks like it's mounted on your bow somehow - does it mess with your field of view?