Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Guide for camo using the "4SM" rules

I will attempt to explain to you how you can almost completely disappear in the wild. The five reasons are known as as "4SM" , which is how you remember it, they are:

SHAPE
SHINE
SHADOW
SOUND
MOVEMENT

SHAPE :
In the wild, you will notice the complete absence in some man-made shapes, for example- triangles and squares. This is because almost nothing in nature is symmetrical. To a human being, the single most distinguishable object in the world, is another human being. So what you want to do is to break up your shape and blend in with the background. Firstly make sure that you are wearing DPM, or some other type of camouflaged clothing, this already begins to break your shape up and blend you into the background. Now to look like swamp thing : put two to three elastic bands at uneven distances around each one of your limbs. Now look around on the floor in the type of area you will be hiding in, e.g. ferny, long grass, short grass, etc. Now say you are in an area of long grass, about two or three feet high say. Rip up some of the grass and put it under the elastic bands. The most important thing you must remember while doing this is what it will look like when you lie down. Ideally when you lie down you should resemble some kind of green porcupine, everything should be sticking up, as it would be in nature. Once you've done your elastic bands start stuffing it everywhere, in your webbing, your hair/hat, you boots, anywhere. The basic reason for this is so that when you lie down and crush all of the grass underneath you, there is a still load sticking up in the air to fill the gap. Bear in mind, that if you are travelling through lots of different types of terrain then you will need to keep changing the foliage you are wearing.

I suppose that sky-lining comes into this section as well. Never, ever go along the top of hills or ridges, if you need to walk near the top of a hill then stay 5- 10 meters off the peak. If you walk along the top of a hill then you will stick out like a sore thumb. Think: nice smooth hilltop...tree...tree...walking person making himself very obvious by framing himself against the sky. If you are off the skyline then you immediately become 10 times harder to spot as you are blending in with you surroundings. Also never look over something if you need to see what's on the other side of it, look around it. This is for the same reason, your head will stick out a mile if you start poking it over rocks and mounds, much less obvious to look around the side.Basically you need to remember to break- up the shape of anything man made and recognisable, including yourself or any vehicles you may have lying around.

Shine:
Believe it or not, your skin emits a shine reflected from the sun or moon, that the human eye can detect quite easily. You need to eliminate your skin's shine as well as on anything you might be carrying. To eliminate the shine on most of your clothes is very simple- wear Trousers, boots, long-sleeved top, some kind of scarf or scrim netting, a hat and gloves will cover a very large proportion of your skin, usually leaving only your face. Obviously make sure that you clothes are camouflaged. To eliminate the shine from your face use a camo head net. So that's the shine from your skin gone, now shine from things you might be wearing/carrying. If you are wearing a watch, either take it off or make sure it is well covered, though it might be very amusing to shine light in someone's eyes, they will see you, and probably shoot at you. Any jewellery, glass objects (e.g. bottles) should be in a nice bag or a pocket, just use common sense. Now if you are wearing a nice pair of boots that are your pride and joy and you regularly polish them you aren't going to like this. You need to get a few handfuls of mud and grit and slap them all over your gleaming, brand-spanking new boots. It seems a shame, but I assure you they clean up to what they looked like just before (honest). They are also probably black, and pure black doesn't naturally occur in the wild. Follow those steps and you have just eliminated shine.

Shadow:
This is more important than you might think. You need to constantly be aware of where your shadow is, or it will betray you. If you are hiding behind a few meters behind a bush and the sun is to your one of your sides, and someone is on the other side of that bush, they will see your shadow behind the shadow of the bush. The best way to deal with this is to get into shadow that is already there and get as low as possible. This will eliminate almost all of your shadow.

Sound:
Quite obvious; keep sound to an absolute minimum. Anything you have on you that rattles, or squeaks or thuds and bangs when you walk or run must be sorted out. Put a cloth or clothes around anything that rattles, oil anything that squeaks, and soften anything that thuds of bangs. You should be able to jump up and down and only hear the faint sound of your boots hitting the ground. Don't talk and use hand signals, or some other arranged code to whomever you wish to communicate with. This applies especially at night, because people's sight won't be as good their other senses kick in with style, especially listening. If you are in a group, make sure that everyone gets the messages or signal.
Movement:
If you are hiding, keep as still as you possible can. Take long, deep, controlled breaths, move absolutely nothing. The human eye will immediately pick up movement . So get comfortable before you settle down. If you have an itch, don't scratch it, if you need to take a leak don't. After all there maybe someone else who is hidden an looking for you. Move only when you are sure that there are no enemy in the surrounding area. Movement will also scare the wildlife, it will either make them very, very loud, or quiet .Use your common sense and stick with these basic rules and you will become virtually invisible to the human eye.
These rules apply when out hunting and have been posted as a guide from my military background. All these points help us understand how the animals react in the wild and how to hide from them in order to secure a one shot kill.

Monday, May 26, 2008

See one, Do one, Teach one.




Anyone who uses air rifles to hunt knows that camouflage and concealment is almost second nature as we all need a shelter to sit under and wait for the quarry to flock in. That said, how many of us can build a waterproof comfortable shelter that you use time and time again. When i go out shooting i only take with me the most useful tools, my rifle, a fire kit ,para cord and my knife. All this knowledge i have learned over the years and by reading Woodlore books by the great author Ray Mears. Once i had read about how to do things like fire lighting , water collection and shelter building i went out and put all the things i read into practice, remarkably everything worked out and i am still here to pass on the valuable learning to everyone who accompany me on shooting trips. The simple things we learn can save our lives when we know how to use them in practical situations and i continue to use all my knowledge every time i am out shooting.



I must thank Ray Mears for printing his knowledge so we can all learn how to make the most of the land and for the help and advise his books have given me over many years.



If you want to explore the world of Woodlore then visit this site http://www.raymears.com/ and you can also find more about the man himself at www.myspace.com/raymears .





RAY MEARS GOES WALKABOUT BOOK:
The brand new book to accompany Ray's upcoming BBC series on the Australian Outback is now in stock and available to buy from Woodlore. Each copy of this book comes individually signed by Ray himself. For further information and to purchase please visit http://www.raymears.com/Bushcraft_Product/621-Ray-Mears-Goes-Walkabout-Book






Thursday, May 8, 2008

welcome to longshot

I thought i would take this opportunity to welcome "Longshot" to our blog and i hope you will find his posts informative. Longshot is one of the admin team from the most excellent forum "airgun-one.com".Here you will find reviews on some of the best rifles around,help and advise.
Please go and join the best air rifle forum i have had the pleasure of being a member www.airgun-one.com Remember to add that you were directed to the site from this blog as we are all here for the same thing "to provide a place for all air gunners, regardless of your experience, to meet and have a chat and share info and all those tips and tricks that we pick up along our way"
I hope your stay with us at D-V-S will be a long one and i look forward to reading your first post.
Again, from all of us at D-V-S a warm welcome to longshot