| Years ago, when Ghillie suits first became available | | | | to protect the hunter while not causing him to itch |
| for hunters, they were extremely expensive. My | | | | to death? |
| husband brought dozens of burlap bags and asked | | | | Manufacturers began experimenting with materials. |
| me to make a suit for hunting - birds & turkeys. | | | | They used 'scent-lok' and FAUXLIAGE, fabrics, |
| Being the gullible twit that I was, I labored over | | | | leaf-shaped additions, cotton, polyester, nylon |
| this task for a couple of weeks. It was a fun-less | | | | fabrics, along with many others. The evolution of |
| job. By its nature, burlap is heavy, dank, smelly, | | | | the Ghillie suit has been a long one. |
| itchy - and flammable! The emphasis should be on | | | | Many of the fabrics "swished" and were a dead |
| itchy - real itchy! | | | | give-away to the animals the hunter was trying |
| At the end, however, we figured we'd saved at | | | | to shoot. Others had a sheen that caught an |
| least $280 of the $300 cost of the suit, according | | | | animal's eye long before a hunter could draw a |
| to my deer husband;-) The results were | | | | bead to shoot. |
| impressive, the suit worked well and Richard | | | | Hints |
| brought his limit home. | | | | 1) It has taken over 20 years of experimentation |
| Richard was surprised how close the turkeys and | | | | for manufacturers to create really 'successful' |
| other birds would come towards him. According | | | | Ghillie suits. Lots of their "almosts" are on |
| to Richard, he "could see the whites of their | | | | clearance counters. Run home and do some |
| eyes!" | | | | research on the Internet before investing in |
| However, the suit's materials were awful. When it | | | | clearance ghillies! |
| rained, his Ghillie suit became sodden and smelled | | | | 2) Remember that patience is more important |
| worse than before. Drying it out was a challenge. | | | | than a ghillie suit! Animals are very sensitive to |
| The suits were heavy and caught on twigs and | | | | movement! If you, or someone hunting with you |
| branches. One good thing about them is that they | | | | is wiggly, use a blind. |
| did not encourage movement, so the hunter | | | | 3) Turkeys have no curiosity gene! If they see |
| inside stayed rather still. To say that the early | | | | movement, they leave! They leave investigation |
| Ghillie suits were 'a pain,' doesn't begin to cover | | | | of movement to those gobblers having a |
| the situation. | | | | death-wish! |
| Very quickly, hunters learned that suits made of | | | | 4) Ghillie suits are a wonderful addition to a |
| real burlap bags weren't desirable (unless you lived | | | | hunter's tools. However, they can never replace |
| in a very cold climate). What else could be used | | | | patience! |