The Details of Ghillie Suits and Shadows

The first detail to pay attention to is your ghillie suit itself. It may look great just hanging there empty, but when you insert your body into it, things get distorted and gaps may appear. Make good use of a full length mirror and a good friend to find places that need a little help. Keep some extra thread on hand and fill these places with thread or leaves or rags or whatever is called for. The improvement of your suit should be an ongoing affair. Bulk it up over time by adding more thread and in colors that will enhance its effectiveness.

Once you are semi-satisfied with how it looks in the mirror, take it outside along with the aforementioned friend and a video camera. You can see your shortcomings on the video as you and said friend talk about it over beer and nachos. These tactics will most likely be scoffed at by the hard-core military types since they have been trained to do all this on the fly under somewhat trying conditions. Lesser mortals may take their time and have their friends critique their progress over beer and nachos.

In the field, remember you are trying to imitate a bush. You have to overcome the fact that even with a ghillie suit on, you have protrusions that scream to the world that you are a fearsome two-legged beast. Some ghillie suits are made in one piece that covers from head to feet and therefore conceals your two-leggedness. Other suits are jacket and pants sets and you will have to take the advice your Mother gave your sister. Keep your legs together.

The problem of the head sticking up out of the bush is easily overcome by vegging out the area between the top of your head and the outside of the shoulders.

Another little detail is the shine from your smiling face. Frowning doesn't help. It still shines. Facepaint and a veil should stop that little worry. Don't forget the hands at this point.

There are two schools of thought on movement. I will point them out and leave them for beer and nacho discussions. One thought suggests that you imitate the movements of the big cats on a stalk. Quick, short moves with total stillness in between. Another says to imitate the movements of the sloth. Slow, fluid, and continuous. I suggest experimenting and using what works best for you.

One detail you should never forget and be creative in finding answers for. Peter Pan may have lost his shadow, but you are not going to be able to do that. Just be aware that it is always there and learn to work with it. Whenever possible, merge your shadow with another.

All the while ask yourself if you are blending in. Are you the only "green" bush in an area full of brown bushes?

The color doesn't matter for hunters, but paintballers and other war game folks should pay heed.

Choose your ghillie suit according to the activity you have planned for it. A paintballer is going to need a lot more mobility than a hunter under most circumstances. While a full body poncho is great for a still hunt, it might be overly restrictive to a hyperactive paintball warrior. The warriors will need a jacket and pants set or in some cases, a head and shoulders poncho.

The more you put into your suit, the more you'll get out of it.