Choosing the right camo Hide Netting

[silverwolf54]

Further to my request for info on Decoys.Can anyone advise on Camo Netting to construct a Hide.I have seen a Hide Kit on Ebay ,has anyone tried one?.Also is there a specific colour or type of Netting that is better.The Farm where I shoot is pretty open ,but my thinking is to build a Hide close in to the perimeter Hedge rows.

I am also targeting Sitty Trees ,but a popular one is covered in a type of Holly ,so clear shots at Pigeons and Squirrels is not easy for an Air Rifle.

[marsh man]

I would go for a 4 or 6 mtr , 3 ply , Woodland Stealth Ghost pattern net from A 1 Decoys , light to carry and good concealment , its always better to have it to long rather than it being to short , the width is normally 1.5 meters .

This time of the year you can use any growing weeds or the odd bit of Holly to add on to the net so it blend in more with the surroundings .

[steve_b_wales]

The best one I have ever used was made by Camoreal. It seemed to blend in with most backgrounds. I still use it and I'm on the lookout for some more soon.

[Dave at kelton]

I am not sure there is any one net unless you always shoot the same terrain. I have several including  real tree and military standard brown green and desert. I mix and match to suit the background.

[hedge]

I've used posh netting and standard army netting with the same levels of success. The main thing for me is that your quarry can't see through the net and/or detect movement.

It's always nice to have a hide that blends in to your surroundings (makes you feel good) but I've also hid behind bales, buildings and all sorts.

You can supplement with vegetation etc if needed.

I now wear greens/browns and don't worry about camo clothing. If you are well concealed then your clothing shouldn't really matter. My mate shoots in jeans and a t-shirt.

My current net preference is army net (mainly due to price) with a green mesh liner (helps conceal movement better).

https://www.bstfabrics.co.uk/Emerald-Green-Airtex-Mesh-Eyelet-Sports-Vest-Lining-Fabric-150cm

Don't get too hung up on it. The main thing is the b*ggers can't see you!

 

[wymberley]

16 hours ago, steve_b_wales said:

The best one I have ever used was made by Camoreal. It seemed to blend in with most backgrounds. I still use it and I'm on the lookout for some more soon.

If you find any genuine Camoreal, please sing out. 

[GingerCat]

Get 2 - a darker woodland one and a lighter stubble kinda colour. 

Stealth nets are a bit thin, I find using both nets works great. Just chose the most suitable one to the background. As others have said the colour makes little difference in reality as its movement that they see first (and your face so get a cap) but I'm sure blending in helps. 

This way its still light to carry, you have a choice to match backgrounds and if you put the inner one a bit lower you can still see through the outer one. You'll remain hidden  from view  even if you make it in the middle of a field with nothing around you. 

You'll need 5 or 6 metres of each for a decent sized hide. Both will easily fit in a bucket seat. 

[TIGHTCHOKE]

This is what you are trying to achieve.

 

 

[Old farrier]

57 minutes ago, TIGHTCHOKE said:

This is what you are trying to achieve.

 

 

Cripes didn’t realise you had to camouflage the trees as well 😊

[Walker570]

You will need two or three colours if you shoot all year round. One thing to bear in mind is the three Ss...shape shine and shadow plus movement. As tidy as that hide of tightchokes is I would have hung a lighter bit of camo or foliage over the front to break that straight line.  Have no doubt these birds and animals know their front room as well as you do and if I put a different chair in your front room I am sure you would spot it imediately.   I hate these lightweight camo nets because they flap about in the wind.  Try to set up so you can see through the top foot or so, then you don't have to keep popping up and down to see if anyhting is approaching.  Have fun.

[JDog]

Decoyers get hung upon the type and colour of netting. They shouldn’t. All that is needed is a net which will hide the decoyer and his dog. 

[old'un]

Must agree with JDog and others, don’t get to hung-up on colour or shape, I have set an hide in the middle of a fairly big rape field and the pigeons did not bat an eyelid to it.

[TIGHTCHOKE]

2 hours ago, Old farrier said:

Cripes didn’t realise you had to camouflage the trees as well 😊

If a job's worth doing.............

2 hours ago, Walker570 said:

You will need two or three colours if you shoot all year round. One thing to bear in mind is the three Ss...shape shine and shadow plus movement. As tidy as that hide of tightchokes is I would have hung a lighter bit of camo or foliage over the front to break that straight line.  Have no doubt these birds and animals know their front room as well as you do and if I put a different chair in your front room I am sure you would spot it imediately.   I hate these lightweight camo nets because they flap about in the wind.  Try to set up so you can see through the top foot or so, then you don't have to keep popping up and down to see if anyhting is approaching.  Have fun.

That is a permanent hide on a field that the crows get used to, not far from the A47 Nev!

[pigeon controller]

The hide is important as JDog stated to " to hide the decoyer and his dog" the colour spectrum can be from dark green to light sand but the main thing to remember is to stay still , look through the hide not over the top and the remember, Move, Mount and Shoot.

I never stop watching pigeons while driving, shopping and listening to the wife. You will see them land on skips,cars, rotary washing lines etc , so they are not scared by colour or shape.

I have shot birds in the summer standing still in the shade under sitty trees and only moving at the final moment with out hides.

The problem with decoying is that you focus the birds attention on one specific area of the field which you are trying to conceal yourself as well so the hide is there to conceal your movement while you recover from the previous shot , reloading etc. 

I seem to remember Sporting Gun had an article and they built a hide in the centre of a field out of the bright red safety netting used at roadworks and the birds came to the decoys.

Those are my thoughts on the subject as some may remember I make my own hide material with summer on one side and winter on the other but that is just a personal preference.

[hedge]

If we're showing off hide building skills.

 

[marsh man]

17 minutes ago, hedge said:

If we're showing off hide building skills.

 

I can see on the added branch , the leaves are back to front and is also upside down , as my ole teacher used to say , there is room for improvement 

No , I am only joking , it look fine and the odd bit of fresh branch make a difference in breaking the outline up a bit . THANKS for sharing .                            

[Old Boggy]

55 minutes ago, hedge said:

If we're showing off hide building skills.

 

You might have trouble reloading with the cartridges outside the hide

OB

[hedge]

1 hour ago, marsh man said:

I can see on the added branch , the leaves are back to front and is also upside down , as my ole teacher used to say , there is room for improvement 

No , I am only joking , it look fine and the odd bit of fresh branch make a difference in breaking the outline up a bit . THANKS for sharing .                            

I'll take that on board! 😀. Fortunately the crows didn't notice. 

42 minutes ago, Old Boggy said:

You might have trouble reloading with the cartridges outside the hide

OB

How rude! That's  my `snack bag` - almost more important than my cartridge bag..... 😅

[oldypigeonpopper]

On 07/04/2019 at 10:57, wymberley said:

If you find any genuine Camoreal, please sing out. 

hello, i looked this up and seems very good, made in USA ?  the uk importer came back as Deben ? any way pigeons and crows dont seem to care about my 16ft x 4 ft  Chinese netting,  about a tenner posted

[motty]

I own about a dozen different net types. Some I use more than others. I try to blend into the surroundings a bit, but I don't see it as too important. I very rarely add foliage, as I think it unnecessary.

[motty]

On ‎07‎/‎04‎/‎2019 at 15:30, Walker570 said:

You will need two or three colours if you shoot all year round. One thing to bear in mind is the three Ss...shape shine and shadow plus movement. As tidy as that hide of tightchokes is I would have hung a lighter bit of camo or foliage over the front to break that straight line.  Have no doubt these birds and animals know their front room as well as you do and if I put a different chair in your front room I am sure you would spot it imediately.   I hate these lightweight camo nets because they flap about in the wind.  Try to set up so you can see through the top foot or so, then you don't have to keep popping up and down to see if anyhting is approaching.  Have fun.

I don't really agree with this. As Peter Theobald would say "pigeons do not have the power to reason that a bush has appeared overnight."

[OLDSHOOTER]

refer to  web site WISH .great bargains commo nets  great sizes lots of options.

[Jim Neal]

On 07/04/2019 at 14:28, TIGHTCHOKE said:

This is what you are trying to achieve.

 

 

I recognise that field... bloody cold at 6am in winter!

[TIGHTCHOKE]

You do indeed! And yes it is!

[Old Boggy]

Whilst on the subject of hides blending into the background, I seem to recall someone experimented some time ago with a hide made from that red plastic barrier material and it made no difference whatsoever, proving that pigeons cannot differentiate different colours.

As others have said, providing it's thick enough to hide the shooter and he remains below the net and still, then I don't think that colour/shade comes into it. However, we still like it to blend into the background as much as possible and there's nothing wrong with trying to achieve that, if only to rule out another reason why the pigeons won't decoy.

OB