Everyone has heard of what camouflage is, but far fewer people have seen a ghillie suit. You might not see it at all unless you are looking hard. The ghillie suit dates back to Scotland when barons would pay men to patrol their properties to repel illegal hunters. Ghillies, as they came to be known, would get in the bushes and wait for poachers in outfits they would craft from rags and frayed materials.
Nowadays ghillie suits are used for a number of activities from the deadly act of sharpshooting to the much less deadly game of paintball. The materials used have changed but the concept behind the covering remains the same. Even when the enemy or mark comes within a really close range to them, the modern ghillie suit wearer can remain unseen and look like a pile of sticks in the forest.
Ghillie suits have been associated with sharpshooting because of their straightforward concept and high effectiveness. Around the time of the conclusion of the eighteenth century the art of sniping began. To destroy and break the spirits of the enemy, rebels would pick off targets from far-away areas. Snipers came about when weapons became more accurate and a shooter could...