Budget camo jacket (must be quiet)??

palmer_mike

Well-Known Member
I have recently been bitten by the bug, but on my last (and only so far) stalk, the guide told me my jacket was way too noisy and lent me an old one to wear. This worked out fine as I managed to bag a muntjac doe (hooray!!), but i'm now looking for a new jacket.
I'd prefer it to be realtree as I find this an effective camo pattern for when i'm rabbiting and i'l need this jacket to be useful for that as well.
The budget is the major problem, as i can't really afford the likes of rivers west etc! More like around the £50 mark is poss!
Any ideas?
 
Don't feel that cammo is an essential 'must have'.

I would also go ex army for that price range.

Boyes !! never thought of them as a gentlemans outfitter, can just picture the queue of deer stalkers on Hessle road LOL.
 
mate what size are you i have a few ex army para smocks your welcome to one free of charge if it will fit i dont use them anymore atb wayne
ps ones a 170/88 and ones a 170 /104
 
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Yup ex army or Jack Pyke. Just bought the JP one for my son from Bushwear and its great, wind and waterproof and plenty of pockets. The hood is a bit cheap but it's not an expensive jacket.

Seems quiet enough too, well this afternoons roe didn't notice us !
 
mate what size are you i have a few ex army para smocks your welcome to one free of charge if it will fit i dont use them anymore atb wayne
ps ones a 170/88 and ones a 170 /104

Just like to say what a top bloke wayne is,
He's sending me a para smock!
Stalking Forum does it again.
 
As detailed before I think that the army surplus windproof smocks make a great stalking jacket. When you wash in the nikwax waterproofing they are waterproof enough for forest type stalking. You will be amazed at just how waterproof the nikwax wash in treatment for cotton makes the smock, I certainly was when I began experimenting nearly 2 years ago.

If you need to be 100% waterproof then get a German mil surplus flecktarn goretex jacket off ebay for less than £20 and wear it UNDER the windproof smock on really, really wet days. That way you keep all your pockets and your quiet outer layer but you gain the benefit of a totally waterproof shell.

If being quiet is the priority then the more recent MTP camo pattern windproof smocks are a little quieter than the older DPM ones as they appear to be made of softer fabric, however this situation might vary from lot to lot and so might not always hold true. The new MTP pattern also appears to work pretty well in terms of camo effect in most stalking situations and I would say it is a little better than the DPM which always appears a bit dark to me. The MTP camo pattern smocks have been fetching a bit of a premium on ebay as they are less common but if you are careful you can get a new one for not much more than £20 and I've seen new DPM ones going for less than half of that.

I own a range of jackets, including several by Musto, but I find the mil surplus windproof smocks to be ideal for lowland stalking and would not go back to the Mustos for that purpose. If you really must spend a lot of cash then Country Covers and Arktis do very good jackets based on the windproof smock with a few modifications, they also do a waterproof liner for about £50 that could be used under any smock.
 
Thanks guys for all the tips. I'm looking forward to getting a smock in the post soon so will prob use that for the time being, this will buy me some saving up time until next winter!
 
Hi Mike,

I bought a camo jacket on this site ( http://www.camp-hunt-shoot.com ) a while ago and could sleep in the thing it's so warm, comfortable and quiet. Problem is that the one I got doesn't seem to be on the site any more so I can't give you an exact make on it but if you email them and tell them what you're after, they might be able to help.

Hope that helps Mike.

Dado.
 
Deerhunter Ranger jacket, if you can find one. It's a "combat jacket" type coat and should be worn as part of a layer system. That means you can use the same jacket throughout the year. It has a Realtree pattern, so avoiding the DPM look.
 
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