While making your own ghillie suit from scratch may seem like a great idea at first, few people who start this project realize just how much time and energy it takes to make a high quality suit. From cutting out strips of burlap to tying on each strip one piece at a time, the project can take weeks or months to complete.

Unless you have time to kill, purchasing an affordable, high quality ghillie suit might be a better route to take. Ready-made ghillie suits are just as effective and can be customized to fit your needs.

Ghillies come in 2 basic styles: ponchos and suits. They are made from several different materials. Netting, mesh, or a BDU suit is often used for the base, and burlap, jute twine, or synthetic material are used for the strands.

How Ponchos Are Made

The ghillie poncho is made from netting with either natural jute, burlap strands, or synthetic strips. The extra holes in the netting allow you to customize the suit by adding or rearranging the strands or by adding leaves, twigs, and foliage from your surroundings. If you want the lightest weight possible, choose synthetic rather than jute or burlap.

You can easily put on or remove the poncho as needed by slipping it over the top of your clothes. If you need to move through an area of dense brush, simply take off the poncho and roll it into a small bundle.

Most ponchos include a large hood with extra strands that hang over your face for concealment. Since the poncho only hangs down as far as your knees, you can walk through low brush and step over branches without getting caught on every little twig. The downside is that it’s difficult to crawl on the ground or move through dense brush while wearing a poncho.

Another advantage of the poncho is that it’s easily adaptable. You can drape the poncho over any object or stretch it overhead to provide cover and camouflage in a variety of situations.

How Ghillie Suits Are Made

The second type of ghillie is a suit, which includes pants, a jacket, and a hat. The base can be mesh (which is lighter and cooler) or a BDU suit. The strands can be made from jute, burlap, synthetic, or other materials. For the lightest weight possible, choose a mesh ultra light ghillie suit with synthetic strands.

The biggest advantage of a full suit is that it provides full coverage from head to toe. The BDU suit is designed for crawling on the ground, with strands located only on the back half of the suit. The BDU suit is lighter (with only half as many jute strands) and easier to run in. Depending on how you plan to use your suit, you will need to decide whether a ghillie suit (with strands on front and back) or a BDU sniper suit (strands only on back) will best meet your needs.

This type of suit is best for covering open ground. Walking through dense brush is difficult, since the strands tend to get caught on everything. Also, wearing a 3-piece ghillie suit can get fairly hot, so wear light clothing underneath to stay as cool as possible.

Advantages of a Poncho	Advantages of a Ghillie Suit
Slips over clothing Lightweight Simple (one piece) Adaptable	Provides full coverage Available in lightweight synthetic Stays on at all times Provides good camo cover in open terrain

KillZone is partnering with Buckmasters by providing hunting blinds for their Disabled Hunting Services program. Below, disabled hunter Jeff and his nephew Cody pose with the turkey Jeff shot from inside the KillZone Turret XL Blind (background). The picture was taken during the opening weekend of turkey season in Georgia.

To find out more about adaptive hunting equipment and Disabled Hunting Services, visit Buckmasters.com.

The 360 Hub Style Ground Blind is great for turkey hunting, deer hunting, and even duck hunting with the zip-open roof window. It offers 360-degree visibility, with no blind spots where game can sneak by you.

Here’s a ground blind review on the 360 Hub Style from one of our customers, posted on the forum at USAHuntingPros.com:

Post Subject: KillZone 360 Hub Style Ground Blind

“Just got mine today and I can’t wait to try this thing out in the woods. I popped the blind up tonight inside and I couldn’t believe how easy it was.…

The size of this thing is awesome. From corner to corner 72”x72” and there is plenty of room for movement, seats, heaters, and two people can fit comfortably for those who like to film or hunt with another person.…

So far this thing looks awesome and I can’t wait to put it to the test come season to see how it holds up to the weather and outdoor climates. For the price, I don’t think you can beat it.”

In a follow-up post a few months later…

“Just an update on the blind. I used it all during turkey season and couldn’t of been more happy with my purchase. It withstood some nasty weather and high winds and did not once pull out from the ground or get any damage. The blind has plenty of room for two people and has quiet zippers and attachments to open and close the windows.

I rate this as the best blind I have purchased so far for its price.”

See the full forum post with pictures at USAHuntingPros.com! Or get a 360 Hub Blind for yourself!

Need some new tricks up your sleeve for turkey hunting this season? Check out these tips for turkey hunting in a ghillie suit from Landon, our resident turkey hunting expert at KillZone!

• “Pack the ghillie suit in. Don’t wear it because it gets caught on EVERYTHING!”
• “Wear a camo hat under the hood because it keeps the extra netting or string out of your way when aiming down the sights.”
• “Dress light because those suits can get hot.”
• “Don’t put the gun wrap on a pump action shotgun. Just bad news all around.”
• “The string ones go well in swampy areas, the netting ones go well in leafy areas.”
• “For spring – go mostly green. Fall – mostly brown.”

KillZone has a large number of ghillie suits to choose from, all at affordable prices and FREE shipping to the lower 48 states. For a limited time only, you can save an extra $15 on any KillZone ghillie suit, camo poncho, or sniper suit!

The 360 Hunting Blind is now back in stock, just in time for the spring season!

This hub style ground blind is great for turkey hunting, deer hunting, and even waterfowl hunting with the zip-open roof window.

Read what other hunters have to say about this blind:

“I had previously bought 3 other pop-up w a little hunting success. Never liked all the blind spots in them. Then I bought one of the 360′s, 5 deer kills in under a month, my son had 3 deer kills in a week. After season I bought 2 more. That should tell you the whole story. Worth every dime, roomy, east to set up, and room for three people if you want to put that many in it. Deer totally ignore this one.” (Review by al. hunting fanatic)

“I have used Primos hunting blinds and Ameristep binds the last 2 seasons. They are good blinds but no where near the class of this blind! And at a fraction of the cost. It is without a doubt the best blind I have used. Ordered the blind and received it 2 days later. Those big KY toms won’t know what hit ‘em this spring.” (Review by Daniel)

Get yours now before your next hunt! Now only $119.99 + Free Shipping!