I mentioned earlier this week that I cleaned up my store room to get all my hunting gear organized. I also mentioned that in previous years, I only went as far into the pile as I needed to go to find whatever I was looking for at the time. This year, I did a full-scale reorganization of everything I have, and in doing so, I actually got to the back of the pile.
Most of the way to the back, I pulled out a dusty tub that hadn’t been opened for probably close to two decades. I pulled the top off, and inside was my old ghille suit. I haven’t used that thing since I made it, and that was probably before my kids were born. I think I used it once, but I used it for an antelope hunt, and while it worked marvelously, it was incredibly hot. It was way too hot for an early fall archery antelope hunt.
But it got me to thinking that it might be great for elk hunting. Last year, even though it was still early in the season, it got pretty cold up there in the mountains. I think the temperature was 80 degrees one day, but that night it snowed, and the next day the high temperature barely broke freezing. The ghille suit would be fantastic in those conditions.
Besides, I put a lot of work into that thing. I cut thousands of strips of burlap, and I even tattered most of those strips so they were even more grasslike. Then I dyed bunches of strips and mixed them all up, and finally laced them into an old BDU jacket. The thing weighs about 20 pounds, and it’s bulky as all get-out, but when I’m in it, I’m invisible. And hot.
Maybe I’ll take it with me this weekend. If the temperature gets low enough, I’ll give it another try. Then I’ll probably forget about it for another 20 years.
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