Gear Review: A Practical Ghillie Suit for Waterfowlers

I should have been easy to spot sitting at the water’s edge on a marsh stool, black shotgun in my lap. And, if I had only been wearing regular camo (right) I would have been easily recognizable as a duck hunter. In an Avery Killer Ghillie suit (left) I looked like a harmless clump of weeds.

Not long after this picture was taken, three mallards hung over the decoys 10 yards from where I sat. They never knew the two of us were there until it was too late and we splashed all three.

Avery Outdoor’s Killer Ghillie is a practical ghillie suit for the waterfowler. The camo is made from dried raffia fibers which resemble dead marsh grasses perfectly. Just as important they don’t soak up water and get wet and heavy as other materials can and they dry quickly enough you can wear the suit again the next day. The bundles of the dried fiber are tied to mesh netting on a nylon jacket and pants. With the coat and pants on and the hood up, you’re invisible.

There are challenges to wingshooting in a ghillie suit. You have to make sure you push the gun out away from you as you mount it to keep from hanging up on all the extra material. I cheat by easing the butt to my shoulder beforehand while leaving the gun down. When it’s time to shoot I raise the comb to my face and I’m ready to go. I also found out the hard way that it’s sometimes difficult to see with the hood up, and that a few strands hanging down in front of your dominant eye can be enough to throw off a shot. That’s easy enough to fix with scissors.

While the degree of difficulty may be higher in a ghillie suit, so is the excitement level. Hiding from wary late season mallards by sitting still in plain sight is a real kick. You can even get away with a little bit of extra movement, although looking up at the wrong time flares birds whether you’re wearing a ghillie suit or not.

Avery’s Killer Ghillie Jacket fits over any coat. The pants go on over regular pants but would be a struggle over waders. I left them on in Fig. 1 because I didn’t want to take my kneeboots off in the muck to get the pants off. This suit really works and it will help you hide in places you didn’t think you could. For a lot of hiding situations you could get away with the coat only.

Mack’s Prairie Wings is the best place to find Avery gear. The suit comes in coat and pants sold separately for $79.99 apiece, one size fits all, in All Terrain, Open Country and Snow, and there is a longer green coat for turkey hunting.