Tonight I am going to try my ghillie suit and recurve for the first time together. I have a hardwoods with CRP next to it then a green field. The deer are moving from the woods to the field. My plan is to sit in the CRP with my ghillie on. I know the trail they are using, I just hope they come out before dark. I am pumped. I hope to get my first trad kill tonight!!!
Good luck. Post some pics either way.
This will be my 6th time out so far this season. Last year I only hunted 5 times all season. In 11 days of the deer season I have hunted 6 so I am happy. I will let you know if I get one.
best of luck to you
Let me know how that suit works. I just bought one this year. Haven't used it yet cause its to hot here.
6 out of 11 ain't bad, buddy! I still have to wait until Saturday before I can make it out.
Last year was my first using a ghillie suit and I had a ball. I shot two does with it on the ground and was as excited as if I had just shot a big buck. Bob
Good luck this evening! shoot straight and don't hurt yourself draggin' :-)
Good luck Matt!
Well I was set up at 4:15 and had the wind in my face. The deer trail runs left to right 15 yards in front of me. 20 minutes before dark, 2 does came out of the thick timber and busted me right away from 25 yards. They did not know what I was so the lead do crossed the creek and walked on the trail. She had to continue 5 more yards for me to shoot but spooked out before she got there. She kept looking at me the entire time. I think when I made my suit, I was thinking late fall, early spring and made it more tan than green. Where I was had a lot of green weeds and green golden rod. I also did not have a lot of cover behind me. Being it was my first time with a ghillie, I thought I could get a way with being in the open. Next time I need to get closer to more cover. The two does went back into the woods and circled out into the field 200 yards away from me. They were standing by the truck when I walked out of the woods. Will they use the trail again or did I kill that spot for the year?
Try sitting with your back to a tree.
Give it a couple of days and those same deer will use the same trail.
You could just lay your suit on the ground and make it look like a scare crow and sit in the back of your truck.
Good idea onestringer. I plan on hunting there again in a week. It is a great spot for me to hit right after work. Only a short walk in the field and no climbing trees. I will get one of those old girls.
Matt. . I find that mine (brown and tan) does the same thing in early season. I will eventually acquire a green version. When the leaves get brown, it is a whole 'nuther story. I have had deer darn near come up and kiss me.
I also think that trail will be used again tomorrow.
ChuckC
I made a ghillie back in 81.Out of nip net and different camo neting.This cut way down in weight.I never hunt with out it.out of 96 bucks 70 pls was killed with my ghillie on.32 With selfbows most from the ground as well as over 50 gobblers.
5 Of the bucks were in corn field all under 10 yards.My closest was in 08 at 3 yards.The list gos on and on.
I am excited to hunt more on the ground. Soon the corn will start coming off and some farmers leave a little behind. I want to sit in it and get close to one. I am thinking about making a light ghillie suit that is greener also. Last night was fun and my heart was pounding. I had a plan and was so close. How do you draw back on a deer when it is so close? I know they will see me.
If they busted you right away, the ghillie suit might have a UV signature ... making you look like a glowing alien from outer space.
Since I started using a black light to check all my clothing and gear, I haven't been busted like that.
http://www.atsko.com/products/atsko-special/glow-detection-kit.html
I did have string contact issues with the ghillie suit headcover, and solved the problem by cutting away the 'leafy' material for string clearance.
How do you get rid of the UV problem? I have never washed it. It is made out of the synthetic material and a nylon under coat. Could I wash it in a bucket and rinse in a different one?
The Atsko web site above has a link to products.
I use the Sport Wash on all my hunting clothing, down vests and sleeping bag, etc. to wash out the regular laundry UV-brighteners. Hand washing is good, let the item soak for about 30 minutes, then hand agitate, rise well, and let air dry.
If there is still a UV glow, then spray on the UV-Killer product.
I'd recommend using a black light first to see if in fact there is a UV problem. The Atsko special on the UV detector kit with free shipping is a real bargain ... you can easily spend twice the amount or much more for a black light.
You have to realize that whitetails are homebodies.When they are traveling in their core area,those places they travel everyday,they know every tree,every stump,every bush.If a new "haystack" appears next to their trail,you are going to see a whitetail turn inside out.And they won't forget the experience.You will have to move your ambush site and it's appearence before you have a prayers chance at those same deer.
I don't know if the spot allows it but,as others have said,I think if you were backed up to a big tree,blowdown or something else you could blend into,the ghillie suit could have done it's job.I think you added an obvious change to the terain that they knew shouldn't be there.
Go look at Big Jim's video on the "Bush in a Bag".As big as that guy is,look how he becomes part of that tree.He didn't sit just anywhere.He found an object big enough to blend into.
Whitetail does spend every waking moment trying to keep themselves and their fawns alive.They are probably the toughest big game in North America to take,once they get a few years experience.Don't take them for granted.The ghillie suit is an amazing thing but you still have to work it into the landscape.
Imagine if you came home from a long vacation.You open the front door and there in the living room is a pile of dirty clothes and muddy,size 15 boots-none of it was there when you left.Muddy tracks going down the hallway.What is your first reaction?An adrenaline spike,your hairs stand on end and you back the heck out of their.
That's what happened to those deer.
There is a few spots on the trail where I could get some cover. I will not sit in the same spot again.
Look into that bow ghillie add on. Guru and Mud were both playing with it earlier in the year. I think that will be a very good addition. I will make one before I go out in my ghillie again.
ChuckC
Okay, any directions on a bow ghillie? I have some materials left over from the suit build.
What JimB said. Not necessarily that the suit is not working, its just doesn't make you invisible, you still need to blend in. They would react the same to a log being placed in an area they are familiar with.
It smells new to them!
You have to get cover behind you......
just go to guru's ghillie suit build-along in the how to forum, everything you need to know is all there.
good luck!!
I can attest, it's no magic bullet.. But it can work magic... It helps break up the human silhouette outline and helps you blend in... but it's strength is to help you blend into the background and I truly believe it's a matter of having depth!!!
Sitting in a grass field you may have looked like a outta place bush that moved.... Slip back up the trail a ways look for a good spot down wind of the trail and see what happens???
Back cover is imparative and you have to be still. Good luck.
I got a coyote last week useing my ghillie suit and had my back up aginast a 4' diamiater maple tree with nothing in front of me. I think your back cover is more important than whats in front of you.When I shot the coyote he was 3 yards away from me, but i saw him coming so i had time to get ready.
doug77
I've backed up into a cedar, sitting on a DB chair and sat dead still. I had rabbits playing all around me, making noises I've never heard, squirrels all over, but deer winded me and never came in closer than 60 yds, neither did the hogs. Oddly enough I could get away with lots of small movement, and finally stood up when it was too dark and the skeeters moved in. Until I took a full step, nobody even noticed. Ghillies work. Wind rules though.