field

[colliegreyhound123 0]

what do u do 4 good field craft

[ArchieHood 3,692]

I make things with twigs and branches.

 

[gurtwurz 792]

for starters get in a field!! learn to move slow and as silently as possible, against the wind, dont skyline or let your silouhette be seen, make sure your pockets aint full of rattly keys,change and suchlike, learn when to go on bended knee, or belly crawl if and when you have to, don't look over obstacles,try and look around em instead and oh the list goes on... that's my starter for ten, i'm sure there'll be loads of advice from the other lads cos i've left loads out

 

all the best, wurz

 

oh yeah, stay close as poss to hedges, dont walk a yard away from em thinking youre invisible-cos you aint!!!

[craig33 10]

learn by your mistakes mate and try not to do the same thing twice unless it works

and everything gurtwurz said .

craig

[pianoman 3,584]

You have to convince your quarry that you are not really there.

 

So you have to eliminate as far as possible, all the elements that give you away. Your scent, your shape, your movements or shift. Sheen=anything that shines and reflects. Shadow, which can both help hide you, or give you away. And Sound. Rabbits particularly are superbly equipped for hearing your approach and smelling precisely what you are and where you are coming from. Their eyesight isn't their strongest sense. They see in black and white and rely on movement to detect friend from foe and speed to get away. Pidgeons and corvids are superbly sharp sighted and can detect the slightest difference in their "Photo-memorised map" of their overflown terrain. If they spot you, and they will if only a bit of you gives you away, they rapidly change direction and head for somewhere safer fast.

 

Sound is your first priority.

The most modern, scientifically proven, military cammouflage clothing will count for nothing if you come jangling and jingling like a bloody morris dancer on crack! Get rid of anything that rattles, jingles, taps, scrapes or rustles. You don't need your loose change and keys with you. Hide them where you can easilly find them in the dark. I carry my pellets in a screw-lid tin that's lined with a cheap bit of Halfords chamoise leather superglued into place. Absolutely deadens the usual sound of 200 pellets in tin and keeps your ammo clean in your pocket. I shoot with a powerful spring rifle and keep it on cock. After hours of keeping it cocked and loaded. I've not yet had a spring lose power or wear out faster and I've been doing this for years with my guns. No excuse for a PCP. Carry only what you are essentially going to need. And always watch out for what you are about to step on. Leaves, twigs, gravel all makes an alarm call noise. And tread lightly as you can. Most animals of the air rifle hunting variety can detect the slightest vibration tremor in the ground and a heavy step is just another giveaway of your presence .. And always switch off your phone!

 

Scent is next.

Your girlfriend may think you smell lovely in so and so's aftershave and your clothes washed in Daz summer flower power, but, to a rabbit's nose you're absolutely minging! And they can smell you sweetly coming a mile off. Always approach your shooting ground with the winds towards you, in your face and NEVER in freshly washed kit. Nice soapy smells eddy and swirl in all directions, regardless of the direction of the breeze or how effective the cammo you have is. Weather your gear by leaving it out in the garden, let it get wet with rain and pick up a loamy, peaty soil smell. And as Gurtwurz suggested, get a bit of woodsmoke on it. Anything that stops you smelling of Man.

 

Shape and Shift.

Your movements need to be as minimal or as low and slow as possible. Gurtwurz's post counts here. Stealth is the keyword. One glimpse of a human outline and you can forget seeing anything to shoot at for anything from half an hour or, if at all. Learn to crawl on your belly, on all fours and use every feature from hedgerows to little other than a nettle clump for cover (try not to get stung going through it like a silly bugger, but close and around it) If the ground rises or depresses along your shoot, approach the apex as low down and silently slow as you can or you might as well shout "I'm here!!" at the top of your voice!

 

Shimmer and Shadow.

Low strong sunlight will glint like a beacon off polished surfaces like a scope lens, the metalwork of your polished rifle etc. Also it will throw long shaddows. Your human shadowshape can be as much as 30 yards long and more with the sun at your back and any movement just makes it worse. To flying birds heading for roosts you appear to have a bloody great arrow pointing you out Always use the shadowfalls of trees and hedgerows to hide yours in. Keep within shadow-throw of natural ground features and you'll eliminate glint and glare too.

 

That's about all there is to Fieldcraft really. It's not just a question of how much you spend on cammo. It's an aid to be used in conjunction with a lot of commonsense steps to concealing your presence . Now go practice.

 

Good Hunting

 

Simon

Edited November 11, 2010 by pianoman

[andyfr1968 772]

You have to convince your quarry that you are not really there.

 

So you have to eliminate as far as possible, all the elements that give you away. Your scent, your shape, your movements or shift. Sheen=anything that shines and reflects. Shadow, which can both help hide you, or give you away. And Sound. Rabbits particularly are superbly equipped for hearing your approach and smelling precisely what you are and where you are coming from. Their eyesight isn't their strongest sense. They see in black and white and rely on movement to detect friend from foe and speed to get away. Pidgeons and corvids are superbly sharp sighted and can detect the slightest difference in their "Photo-memorised map" of their overflown terrain. If they spot you, and they will if only a bit of you gives you away, they rapidly change direction and head for somewhere safer fast.

 

Sound is your first priority.

The most modern, scientifically proven, military cammouflage clothing will count for nothing if you come jangling and jingling like a bloody morris dancer on crack! Get rid of anything that rattles, jingles, taps, scrapes or rustles. You don't need your loose change and keys with you. Hide them where you can easilly find them in the dark. I carry my pellets in a screw-lid tin that's lined with a cheap bit of Halfords chamoise leather superglued into place. Absolutely deadens the usual sound of 200 pellets in tin and keeps your ammo clean in your pocket. I shoot with a powerful spring rifle and keep it on cock. After hours of keeping it cocked and loaded. I've not yet had a spring lose power or wear out faster and I've been doing this for years with my guns. No excuse for a PCP. Carry only what you are essentially going to need. And always watch out for what you are about to step on. Leaves, twigs, gravel all makes an alarm call noise. And tread lightly as you can. Most animals of the air rifle hunting variety can detect the slightest vibration tremor in the ground and a heavy step is just another giveaway of your presence .. And always switch off your phone!

 

Scent is next.

Your girlfriend may think you smell lovely in so and so's aftershave and your clothes washed in Daz summer flower power, but, to a rabbit's nose you're absolutely minging! And they can smell you sweetly coming a mile off. Always approach your shooting ground with the winds towards you, in your face and NEVER in freshly washed kit. Nice soapy smells eddy and swirl in all directions, regardless of the direction of the breeze or how effective the cammo you have is. Weather your gear by leaving it out in the garden, let it get wet with rain and pick up a loamy, peaty soil smell. And as Gurtwurz suggested, get a bit of woodsmoke on it. Anything that stops you smelling of Man.

 

Shape and Shift.

Your movements need to be as minimal or as low and slow as possible. Gurtwurz's post counts here. Stealth is the keyword. One glimpse of a human outline and you can forget seeing anything to shoot at for anything from half an hour or, if at all. Learn to crawl on your belly, on all fours and use every feature from hedgerows to little other than a nettle clump for cover (try not to get stung going through it like a silly bugger, but close and around it) If the ground rises or depresses along your shoot, approach the apex as low down and silently slow as you can or you might as well shout "I'm here!!" at the top of your voice!

 

Shimmer and Shadow.

Low strong sunlight will glint like a beacon off polished surfaces like a scope lens, the metalwork of your polished rifle etc. Also it will throw long shaddows. Your human shadowshape can be as much as 30 yards long and more with the sun at your back and any movement just makes it worse. To flying birds heading for roosts you appear to have a bloody great arrow pointing you out Always use the shadowfalls of trees and hedgerows to hide yours in. Keep within shadow-throw of natural ground features and you'll eliminate glint and glare too.

 

That's about all there is to Fieldcraft really. It's not just a question of how much you spend on cammo. It's an aid to be used in conjunction with a lot of commonsense steps to concealing your presence . Now go practice.

 

Good Hunting

 

Simon

 

Great reply, Simon, really good advice there.

[markha 99]

Fieldcraft is a massive subject, Simon should be thanked for bothering to type so much for you

 

The last of the 6'S'(smell, sound, shape, shine, shadow, silhouette) isnt mentioned too often, and this is 'Seismic' or vibrations through the ground, mainly from your footsteps, especially if they are heavy because you 'think' you are a long way from your prey and dont start to creep, often you will always then be a long way from your prey!

 

If you can get a copy of this book it will teach you a lot about fieldcraft in a nature or hunting context:

Nature Detective

[pianoman 3,584]

Andy, Markha Thank you kindly very much indeed gentlemen.

 

ATB

 

Simon