How are you guys using ghillie suits in the woods? I'm assuming you carry them in and put them on once you're at the spot you plan to hunt. Just curious how you are using them.
That's what I do .
Kinda hard to walk through the woods with one on , but some do .
I like to have mine in my backpack and put it on when I get on stand .
What adjustments do ya have to make to be able to shoot w one on? Id guess some trimming is required?
practice, practice with it on
Since I walk to one spot and hunt, I carry mine in and then put it on. Also helps to keep from picking up anything that might attach itself to it along the way.
Yes, some trimming on your bow arm might be in order plus I use an extra long arm guard for assurance.
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I trimmed the bow arm and bow arm side of the chest , and then I use a sleeve type arm guard .
I carry in and them slip it on. Like the other guys said, shoot with it on and trim where needed. Have fun, they are a blast to hunt with!
Ghillies are a blast to hunt in. You hear all these stories about game coming too close to shoot and you don't really believe them until it happens to you. Talk about an adrenaline rush!
I prefer the pants, jacket, hood option over the long coat. You don't want to walk anywhere while wearing one. They are like one giant piece of Velcro. If you walk near a blackberry bramble or multi-flora rose you'll get hung up and stuck for days!
Besides your ghillie, carry a pair of pruning shears, zip ties, and a folding saw in your pack so you can trim things out of your way in your setup.
Darren
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What Darren says is true, my closest kill shot has been about 3-4 yards after the deer walked past close enough to hit with my bow. You definitely want your arrow well tuned and flying straight right off your bow. There have been a few times when I have worn the suit while moving but the situation and surroundings have to be just right and movement is about as slow as the minute hand on a clock.
I haven't worn or made one since was in the Marine Corps. But, give you same advice gave others.
1) carry it in and out.
2) don't forget to add natural camo to it.
3) Trim and/or use quality arm guard, take many practice shot's before season to find issues.
For mine ( a Rancho Safari longcoat) I ended up cutting off the bow arm at the elbow, and find that I just don't need it. I have used one for a long time, mostly hunt from the ground lately and love it. As above, carry it in.
Okay
I carry mine in.... spray down once in... once I cool down, then I put it on...
I use a tree seat.... till about 10 yrs ago I used a homemade plywood model with glued on computer packing foam for a cushion.... then I got the millennium tree seat... either way, once tree seat is set, clear the ground enough room to stand and shoot... or turn and shoot 360 degrees... that is wide enough to shoot behind you, which means around the tree you are sitting against... one thing about deer, they tend not to follow the script... you kill them where you find em
Position yourself downwind 15 yds off a food source or trail to a food source... in the shade is paramount IMHO .... or an outside curve- deer love to pause and look down the trail before proceeding....
I actually have killed more deer from the ground- hillier suit or not.... by this method... but more does have died from this tactic targeting trail downwind from permanent stands....
Once they learn where they are at, they typically willl scent check them before presenting a shot... but here in the gun hunting south, tradition runs deep.... and on leases permanent stands are as plentiful as can be!!!!
I carry mine into the woods using my day pack. I don't use the head covering only the jacket and pants. I also used it extensively in the Treestand and I found it to be very helpful
Don't really even need the sleeves. I think there was a video showing someone slit the sleeves and they just hang over the shoulders.
You are going to be moving when taking the shot anyway.
I don't like the hat either, it always seems out of position when I draw the bow. I would trim it way back as well.
Are y'all using these on deer only or other game as well?
Only deer for me so far.
I don't use mine much, but plan to more in the future, particularly if I can get the smell out. Have an original jute Rancho Safari. In short, it stinks, mostly like jute. Have washed it a couple of times and hung it in the sun for days. Still stinks.
Odor is strong enough that I think nearby critters might detect it even with the wind primarily in my favor. Don't know if it's a smell that would spook them though.
Plan to wash and hang it again this summer. Appreciate any advice on how to eliminate or reduce the odor.
Also put mine on when I get,to my spot.
I have many types. Now using Big Jims version.
One,of,his,suggestions,is,to make a slit on the bow arm shoulder and put arm through it eliminating the sleeve.
I don't care for the hooded part on any of them.
I have a Terry Green type hat with added strips.
Have not had a legal deer close. Lots of little bucks at arm length though.
Seriously, i cut off the whole arm at the elbow ( bow arm). You dont need it. Jerry...dont hang any elk urine wafers on it..that takes Years to get gone....
I wear mine, as I am a stillhunter, no stand for me.
I've seen documentaries of sniper training with guys breaking their suits in crawling through mud holes and moving a lot with them. Pants don't seem too important and would be the most likely part to snag on brush. Would be more mobile with just the top on. I don't know if I'd use one if it's something I have to carry with me and put on once set up. I seem to get into hunting situations very quickly once I enter the woods would be nice to have suit on and still hunt. If it slowed me down that would only improve my ground hunting.
You can stillhunt in it, but obviously not through a briar patch. Going super slow and being acutely aware of your surroundings is key, which is usually what you do to be successful at still hunting in the first place.
while we are on the subject which is the best suit out there,, me personally I'd base that on which is the most quiet when you move?
Which is the preferred suit and what is the simplest lightest system? I saw a bdu jacket based one made for bow hunters. seems like that and a leafy hat could be a nice ultralight combo.
I've always made mine from BDU pant and jacket, filling in the front side as needed for bowhunting that I had always left bare for crawling.
I did buy one a couple of years ago that I liked the look of and it is a Bushrag jacket/hood & pant. What I liked about it was that it is built on a lightweight bug suit and has the netting sewn on same as I do on my own.It's a combo ghillie/leafy type with the leaves made from sections of different colored mesh. I'll likely remove the leafy material and replace with jute because in the sun it has a sheen to it at some angles.
No matter what type you get, bear in mind that it'll be like wearing your warmest coat sitting or moving. I live in the south and I don't even bowhunt early anymore due to heat and ticks, which I have a new appreciation for. I have a close friend and avid turkey hunter who contracted "Alpha Gal" from a Lonestar Tick bite, Lyme diesease is bad but a walk in the park compared to Alpha Gal. I also spray the SHHHHH out of my suits with Permanone. Also as an aside, I wore my suit Turkey hunting quite a bit because it was my goal to kill a bird with my Shrew LB without a blind. Snakes are plentiful during turkey season and one day during a long sit, I made a fair sized Racer mad enough to hit my suit. Well...Needless to say it was on, because when a snake hits a ghillie, he sticks.
I use, and like, the Rancho Safari longcoat with no jute (ultralight). I have used it extensively. I use their boonie hat with a half face cover of another origin.