whats the best way to hide my rifle while in the field? I've seen ghillie suits for rifles advertised but have not seen any personally, anyone try them?
Thanks

Randy

[ 06-15-2003, 06:14: Message edited by: velvetant ]

Easiest way would be to leave it in the truck. I would just put some of that cammo tape on it. The stuff is SUPPOSED to peel off without affecting the finish. I've never used it so I can't say for sure. I wouldn't want too much stuff fluttering around on the gun while I was trying to aim.

This topic causes me a litle anxiety. Ghillie suits disguise you nicely but I've never likled being that camoflaged because I think it's safer if other hunters can see me. You don't want to become a target yourself. You can buy camo tape at most gun shops or even Wal-Marts. Does your state have any rules on wearing orange? Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

3M makes this stuff called "Coban" it's a self-adherent wrap, it adheres to itself with out an adhesive.It's used in the medical field to hold bandages in place instead of a sticky tape. It kind of meshes with itself, light biege in color like an "Ace" bandage, breathes well, so no heat build-up and allows for air circulation. You might be able to find it in a drug store, I talked the Nurse out of a couple rolls, the last time I was getting some stitches.

Now wait a minute, hide your rifle from what? I keep hearing that turkeys are very good at spotting anything that is out of place and skeedaddling out of the general area, but my experience with deer is that they are dumber than a fence post, and often will walk right up to or under the tree you are in (I guess you have to hold still), only shying away at about the 13' foot range, even with one of those hunter orange safety vests on. Maybe all the deer I see are blind or dumb? Maybe somebody else can comment on the varying levels of suspicion of various game animals?

I hunt quite a bit here in Idaho . Small mule deer are dumber then a doorknob. Old ones are quite alert,and more then ever since then wolves are now there predators, the change in there response time to being aware of danger is amazing. I've gotten a elk each of the last 6 years also.
I'd say motion and scent are deer and the elks main que. Move slow and your gun color won't mean much. Several times I've had my orange shirt on and the deer acted as if I was just a odd rock, until they got a scent, then it is like a hammer hit them. I'm sure they see flashes of reflection from the metal of watches, belt buckles, shoe lace eyes and stainless steel barrels on occasion.
Speaking of motion, we once hunted ground squirrels
with bows. You can get about 20 yards from them if you move very slow. You can turn a 200 yard shot into a 20 yard shot if you want to.
To me motion is the name of the game, I'm sure those suits would help alot, but the "bush shots" will be murder.
Joe, I got 3 good bush shots today
Fred, I'm one up on you, I got 4

Think a non-reflective finish on the steel and an oil finish on the wood. Parkerizing or black phosphating isn't terrible expensive to have done. Look in the Yellow Pages for a metal finishing place. Take out ALL the springs before you send the rest of it for coating.
Then get rid of any gloss finish on your stock. Strip it to bare wood and apply several coats of either boiled linseed oil or tung oil.
Plan 'B' is to wrap your rifle with burlap. Held on with non-shiny tape. Don't forget the scope. It can't be shiny either.
The idea of camming is to change the visual shape of your rifle/shotgun and not to have any light reflecting surfaces.

I agree that motion is the main alert to a game animal. Having on a ghillie suit or sitting in a tree stand or hiding in a blind doesn't change the fact that you have to be still. You can't smoke, check your watch every 3 minutes, play with your laser range finder, check to see what setting your scope is on and so forth. You have to be still. When I first lived in western Tennessee, you could put a tree stand 8 feet off the ground and the deer would pass right under it. By the time I left (20 years), the deer were definitly looking up for hunters perched in trees.

I don't have a problem sitting still, using cover, wind in my favor and I have deer and turkey pass within 30 feet quite often. My problem is the wiley coyote. the area I hunt shots are no farther then 75 yards and these dogs have been shot at a lot by ranchers and are very smart/skittish. I'm already hiding so I thought if I can break up my guns outline(rifle ghillie suit) It might give me a better chance.
thanks for all the replies

Randy

If you are after yotes,give them something else to cue in on. A chicken wing with feathers on,twisting in the breeze or a tantalizing scent,will definitely distract them from your hide. derf

This is the varmint hunting forum.....not deer hunting.

That said....I agree with the above post that as long as you limit your motion, severely limit your motion, while calling predators you won't have a problem. The camo tape, vet wrap, etc. mentioned above will all work. You can also use a camo stock or camo your whole rifle and stock with one of the film finishes offered. A matte finish and matte scope will go a long way by themselves. You don't want anything "flashing" on you.

Good Hunting,

Bob