camouflage gear

Hi does anyone have a perference as to which pattern of Camo gear to

wear. British or German are my two fav's but i am buying some new

stuff and could do with some advice

Hi

 

I could be silly and suggest Russian camo - when was the last time a Russian soldier got shot in the USA? It must be good.

 

But to be serious; it depends where you are going. The best pattered tropical camo is going to be useless in Lappland or in Arizona. Your question is a bit like the old 'which should I buy, a Leica M6 or an RX67?' There are different patterns of camoflague for different types of terrain. Tell us the sort of conditions you plan to use it in.

 

Regards, Ross

I went into a hunting supply store and asked where the camouflage clothing was. Neither the clerk or I could find it.

Check Cabela's www.cabelas.com There is more there than you could ever need. The trick is to pick a type of patern that will help conceal you in whaterver conditions you are going to be working in. for example, you won't use a green type camo in the snow. It just doesn't work that way.

For information in your area, check with an archery or store that caters to bowhunters. They are more likely to use this stuff than anyone hunting with a gun,

Well, tiger stripe looks cool but if you really want something versatile, a ghillie suit is the only way to go. You can customize them in the field as necessary. Used properly, you could probably get by w/o ever having to use a blind.

Gavin,

 

I spend a life time in the field as a hunter of many different species, in most all parts of the U.S. and many other countries as well. I also spend my entire working career in the sporting goods (hunting) industry selling guns and camo gear. I now hunt only with my 35mm - a lot less recoil than my old 7mm and I get to shoot the same animals again and again :>).

 

Camo gear is marketed much like fishing lures, i.e., designed to catch the fisher person more than the fish. As suggested, just look at Cabela's listings. Why so many different patterns? Because it's just like selling cars - the more colors/options offered, the more you sell.

 

To answer you question; use any subdued colors that closely match the colors you are hiding in. Normal clothing will do, camo patterns are not needed. Do animals "see" the same as we humans? No, and from a distance of more that a few yards all camo looks about the same - just one color blob with the human silhouette. Be sure to break up your silhouette with some natural objects, i.e., trees, bushes, rocks, etc. The biggest non-camo factor is your face. Mesh head nets w/eye holes will do wonders. The other biggest non-camo problem is movement. No movement is best, but if you must move make it slooow. If you are shooting birds, try using a large sheet of mesh camo netting to cover over yourself completely - here again, movement will give you up. A blind is best but not as portable.

 

Have fun and keep shooting.

 

Cliff

Yeah! What Cliff said! Animal senses are lots sharper than ours, and I swear, birds have x-ray vision! Photographers tend to move a lot. We also stomp, clank, rattle, slosh, gurgle, snort, (and how DO you describe the noise the film wind makes? A ZEEEP?) and smell funny.(To animals, that is. But sometimes...) They generaly KNOW you are there, and if you appear non-threatening, move slowly, and/or go to places where the animals are used to people, plus shoot a lot of pictures, you tend to get lucky oftener.

 

Low profile, all the way. Muted colors. (faded) Thrift stores are good source of inexpensive, disposable clothing. If need be, you can modify it to suit the environment with magic markers, spray paint, or a roller and a gallon of Dutch Boy, for that matter. But my wife has a black blouse with green leaves and BIG red hibiscus flowers. You would be surprised how well it blends into the brush. I do get some strange looks, tho. Even large red and black mackinaw check will blend nicely in shaded surroundings. The face mask is a good idea, too.

 

Comfortable is the thing , buy it large, and military surplus has BIG pockets to cary all the rattling, clinking equipment we need. Civilian copies of military clothing ususlly is lighter, and you won't sweat so much. Anyhow, what's the matter with Lederhosen and an Aloha shirt?

Gavin,

I must agree with most of the posters. As far as I know, all mammals and birds are colourblind. They see in black and white. So as long as you wear colours that are the same tone ( darkblue, darkgreen, whatever) it shouldn't make much of a difference. The red cape in the bullfighting in Spain is for the spectators, not the bull...

Herman Hiel

Hi Gavin,

 

I think that there's actually no evidence that one camouflage pattern is better than another. The US military is experimenting now with a pattern that looks like large pixels rather than leaves. Subdued colors are the key. If you like the British and German stuff, there's no reason you shouldn't get some.

 

However, birds are definitely NOT color-blind, so a bright red shirt will not be a good idea.

 

Martin

If all birds are colorblind, what is the purpose of so much bright color on them during mating season?

I'd like to think I'm pretty well versed in camouflage; I wear it to work every day. I've also built two ghillie suits, and I'd have to say that these are the best option. The trick, as above, is to break up your outline and blend with your surroundings. A good ghillie suit, with a broad-rimmed hat with some type of "veil" draping down and around your shoulders, is a good way to do this.

 

I've found that the best suits are made with either a light fabric flight suit (for full body camouflage) or with a cloth poncho (for upper body only), a nylon net with 2-3" square mesh, and strips of burlap dyed to match your surroundings. Unwinding thick hemp rope helps break up the burlap somewhat as well. You can either get burlap sacks and cut them, or you can get rolls of it from a good surplus store.

 

So, here is what I've done in the past, step by step.

 

Shopping list:

 

- Light cloth flight suit or cloth poncho (for the cloth poncho, I recommend the night desert pattern, it's got a great hood you can use in lieu of a wide-brimmed hat)

 

- Cloth wide brimmed hat (preferably a military "boonie" hat)

 

- Nylon mesh laundry bag (any color will do, but if it's a loud one, you'll want to get spray paint and paint it brown, tan, black, or olive drab so it'll blend)

 

- Yarn needle

 

- Synthetic yarn or twine

 

- Nylon mesh net, with squares 2 to 3 inches per side. Should be 3' wide and around 6' long (for poncho) or 12' long (for flight suit), depending on your height.

 

- Burlap, either in rolled strip form or a bunch of sacks. I recommend the strips.

 

- Hemp rope, if desired.

 

 

Building your suit:

 

1. Cut the laundry bag in half. Usually these come with seams on the top and on at least one side; the half you keep should retain the seams, it makes it easier to secure to the suit.

 

2. Cut out a rectangle about 1-2 inches smaller per side than the laundry bag. At each corner, make a small (1/2 inch or so) diagonal cut.

 

3. Fold the edges of the rectangle in and line up the laundry bag half over the rectangular hole in your suit. Sew the bag into the suit, creating a double hem for better security.

 

(For those of you who may be wondering, this gives your suit a mesh backing so your skin can breathe. These suits get very hot, even in winter, and the mesh back guarantees you don't sweat yourself to death!)

 

4. Cut the nylon net into panels no bigger than 2' by 2'. Using the yarn, sew the net onto your suit, panel by panel. It doesn't need to be pretty, nd you don't need to sew every single panel of the net onto your suit, just enough so it's loose but secure. Take advantage of the hems in your suit to secure the net. For full suits, make sure you don't have netting all the way down your pant leg, or you will trip!

 

5. Using the burlap and/or frayed hemp, start from the bottom and tie strips of burlap and/or hemp to the net. Try to create a layered effect. Use enough burlap/hemp to cover the suit, but use it sparingly -- the more you use, the heavier this suit will get.

 

6. If you're using a hat, sew netting to the hat and apply hemp/burlap strips so that you have a small veil in front (like bangs) and a veil/headdress effect to the sides and rear.

 

I thought I had a photo of my first suit on the web already, but it appears not. I'll upload one when I get home from work.

OK, here we go; I found the photo of my first ghillie suit. That's me on the left; I also designed and helped build the suit for my buddy on the right. These were made from a night desert camouflage cloth poncho for a woodland environent, and they worked very well.

 

Two disclaimers about this suit.

 

First, it was my first effort, so although it could have been better, it still got the job done (I almost got stepped on by the cadets I was training).

 

Second, as you can see, the front of the suit lacks burlap, as do my legs. This is because my first suit was made for hiding in foxholes or trenches as well as for moving quickly; so I'd either be running or lying down prone with natural cover hiding my legs.

 

I have another suit made for the desert grasslands, but unfortunately I haven't gotten a phoo in it. (Guess they couldn't see me.)<div></div>

I'm a long time hunter, especially those late season wary mallards! I try to wear a camo that has the about the same overall darkness as my surroundings. My favorite pattern is a swamp grass pattern (such as Shadow Grass), since where I live and hunt is very grassy. A face mask and camo gloves are important because your face will shine like a beacon! These come in both mesh net and more solid cloth or neoprene (I'm not a neoprene fan.) While movement is the main thing, the camo makes a difference with birds especially. Last Saturday I was duck hunting on a huge public lake and I simply lay down in the clumps of slough grass in my grass camo. I had ultra-wary ducks landing within five feet of me! When taking photos, I often have my back to a tree or bush to hide my outline. The ghillie suits mentioned earlier are excellent but a bit expensive or time consuming to make. Wild turkeys are probably the wariest critter in North America. I have actually seen several big old toms walk right by a guy dressed in a ghillie suit, who was simply sitting on the ground. I was damned impressed! My main source for camo is Cabelas.

 

 

Kent in SD