ghillie suits

[Lt.]

i was wondering if anyone could tell me how to make a ghillie suit, and what supplies i need to make it( i would probably be in a woodland environment).

 

thanks

[MattOravik]

I made one but you don't want to use my method! I took some woodland camo BDU's (top and bottoms) and strips of different colored burlap and sewed them on piece by piece. They didn't have a hood obviously so I took a camo boonie hat and sewed strips to it to. It looks awesome but it was very tedious and is actually still an on going process.

 

-Matt.

[Bluehawk]

i was wondering if anyone could tell me how to make a ghillie suit, and what supplies i need to make it( i would probably be in a woodland environment).

 

thanks

I watched a decent program about snipers making their own ghillies on Military Channel... they spend a lot of time on it, and wear them in by slopping through everything imaginable.

 

This what wiki says, which is not worth much, but gives a general idea:

 

"High-quality ghillie suits are commercially manufactured, but military snipers generally construct their own unique suits. Manufactured Ghillie suits can be anywhere from 1 to 4 pieces. Proper camouflage requires the use of materials present in the environment in which a sniper will operate. Making a ghillie suit from scratch is time-consuming, and a detailed, high-quality suit can take hundreds of hours to manufacture and season for use.

 

Ghillie suits can be constructed in several different ways. Some military services make them of rough burlap flaps or jute twine attached to a poncho. United States Army ghillie suits are often built using either a battle dress uniform (BDU), or a pilot's flight suit or some other one-piece coverall as the base.

 

On the base, rough webbing made of durable, stainable fabric like burlap is attached. A nearly invisible material like fishing line is used to sew each knot of net to the fabric (often with a drop of glue for strength). The jute is applied to the netting by tying groups of 5 to 10 strands of a color to the netting with simple knots, skipping sections to be filled in with other colors. The webbing is then seasoned by dragging it behind a vehicle, leaving it to soak in mud, or even applying manure to make it smell "earthy." Once on location, the ghillie suit is customized with twigs, leaves, and other elements of the local foliage as much as possible, although these local additions must be changed every few hours, due to wilting of green grasses or branches.

 

Ghillie suits are essentially impossible to clean. They are useful though in many long distance battles. Although the underlying garments are tough and washable, the attachments tend to be too fragile to survive washing. In practice, this is a moot point, as dirt is an essential part of the suit's camouflage. Generally, snipers are unconcerned with being fastidious because they are rarely inspected for correctness of uniform, and they stay far away from the target.

 

A new generation of ghillie suits are being made with synthetic threads. The synthetic thread is much lighter than the natural jute or burlap. It is also somewhat washable.

 

Although highly effective, ghillie suits are impractical for many situations where camouflage is useful. They tend to be very heavy and hot. Even in moderate climates, the temperature inside of the ghillie suit can soar to over 50 °C (120 °F). The burlap is also flammable, unless treated with fire retardant, and the wearer may be exposed to ignition sources such as smoke grenades and white phosphorus.

 

To enhance safety, the US Army Soldier Systems Center has developed an inherently fire resistant (FR) ghillie suit fabric to replace the jute or burlap. This new material does not need to be treated with any additional flame retardant, as the fire resistance is inherent in the product and the FR ghillie suit fabric will self extinguish. This material was successfully field tested in late 2007 at the Sniper School at Fort Benning, and has been standard issue since June 2008."

 

Funny though... yesterday I saw an urban policeman SWAT-type guy on a TV report running into a hostage situation wearing a ghillie. Why, I cannot imagine. Probably some sensible reason, but it looked pretty weird.

[Mercenary25]

http://www.geocities.com/stalker217/ghillie/

 

There you go.

[Mercenary25]

Also, if you do search in google, there are plenty of site that shows you how to construct your own ghillie suit.

[hawkdriver]

Best advice, buy the book Ultimate Sniper by John Plaster.

[RTS]

I don't know the rules about advertising one's services on the forums...but we make them professionally, and unless you

want a lot of frustration I would suggest buying a professionally manufactured base suit and garnishing it yourself to match

your intended AO. If I can be of more help, PM me.

[Lt.]

thanks for all the help, i really appreciate it.

[Fly USMC]

What is one worth, more specificly this one pictured??? I have the chance to buy it. suposedly used in Iraq and The Stan by USMC sniper.

 

S/F

John

[Nkomo]

What is one worth, more specificly this one pictured??? I have the chance to buy it. suposedly used in Iraq and The Stan by USMC sniper.

 

S/F

John

John,

I can't tell you about that one specifically, but I bought a ghillie suit used by an Army soldier (5th SF Grp or 101st ABN) down at Ft. Campbell 6 months ago for $100. I paid the money and ran out the door! I felt that $100 was a steal.

 

I personally would pay $150-$175 for the Marine ghillie if it was offered to me (maybe more). Sniper items are always sought after and command high prices. Hope this helps. If this one was on Ebay, I could see it going for some serious money.

Arch

[Lt.]

John,

I can't tell you about that one specifically, but I bought a ghillie suit used by an Army soldier (5th SF Grp or 101st ABN) down at Ft. Campbell 6 months ago for $100. I paid the money and ran out the door! I felt that $100 was a steal.

 

I personally would pay $150-$175 for the Marine ghillie if it was offered to me (maybe more). Sniper items are always sought after and command high prices. Hope this helps. If this one was on Ebay, I could see it going for some serious money.

Arch

 

that ghillie suit looks the real deal. normally, online, ghillie suits cost cost about $200-$300 for the jacket, pants, and headgear.

[Bob Hudson]

I got this one when I bought a couple of duffel bags full of gear from a guy who'd just gotten out of the Army (he was with the Rangers and did a tour or two in Afghanistan). It was a commercial model. I buy lots of gear from former Marines who were Recon and they always have lots of commercial gear; tactical gear, hydration systems,