The scout sniper student has been gearing up for this moment throughout his training. It is the last test that he must pass before he officially earns the title of scout sniper. He has carefully prepared his gear: a ghillie suit – a camouflage suit to conceal his body, as well as his weapon – painted to match the terrain and tied with burlap. He has crawled on his hands and knees for hours to get to the best location to allow him to “snipe” his instructors. Finally into position, he fires his round and waits to be evaluated. The instructors search the forest in front of them for any signs of the sniper. A member of the evaluation team, upon instructions from the spotters, walks toward the sniper and stops. “Sniper at your feet!” is called out and the student has been caught. But what gave him away? It was the black hole that the spotters noticed – the black hole that his scope created. Everything else was camouflaged but he forgot about the glass of his scope.
This can not only effect a scout sniper but also hunters as well. When you are hunting, your prey notices things that are out of place in the woods. Anything man made will be easily spotted. There are many ways to take care of the “black hole” problem, but we will discuss 3 here: The nylon sock, the birds nest, and the ghillie hat.
By using a nylon sock or stocking, you can easily remove the black hole effect. By stretching the nylon over the front of the scope and securing it with a rubber band, you have removed the black circle and created a flat, non reflective surface which is harder to see from a distance.
Another way to deal with the problem is to use the bird nest technique. What you need to do is get a hand full of grass and form it into a birds nest, but with a whole running through the center. Place this nest inside the scope ring at the end of the scope. Adjust the grass so that you can see through the scope. This allows you to still utilize the scope but get rid of the “black” and break up the circular outline of the scope.
The last method utilizes a ghillie suit (GS) hat. Most GS hats will have a veil that makes the hat longer in the back than in the front. You simply turn your hat round and drape the veil over the scope. This will hide the scope and will allow you to still use it when hunting.
The best method to use is probably the nylon sock, due to the fact that it is easy to acquire as well as to put on the scope. The GS hat comes in next for ease of use, but of course, you need to be wearing a GS. The birds nest method comes in last because, although you can easily get the materials for it, it will take a little time to get the grass fibers to stay in the scope and also allow you to see out of it. Using these methods the next time you are hunting could drastically improve your concealment in the wild. You can find out more about additional skills relating to wilderness survival.
These tips can be useful for any hunter or woodsman who needs to stay concealed from his prey. When using all three together, you can be totally concealed.