How effective is a suit like that (specifically like the one in the image)? The fact that it appears to be all brown seems like it'd be poor cover in a field or forest. Wouldn't you want something that has a mix of different colors in it? I mean, it looks like a rotting hay bale, which works if you're surrounded by lots of rotting foliage, but what if you're not?

[–] IphtashuFitz@lemmy.world 17 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Depends entirely where the sniper intends to use it.

If you’re interested, look up Carlos Hathcock, a USMC sniper during the Vietnam war, and considered one of the best snipers for a very long time. I don’t recall the details offhand but one of his confirmed kills was a high ranking military officer. He spent something like 3 days in a gillie suit crawling something like 1000 yards across a field, took out his target, and successfully evaded troops searching for him that walked within feet of his location.

[–] FrostyTheDoo@lemmy.world 9 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Keep in mind he's thousands of feet in the distance. Up close yeah it's fairly obvious he's not a real plant, but as a speck on the horizon you're fukt

[–] PersnickityPenguin@lemm.ee 4 points 2 years ago

An old favorite helps to answer this question:

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2014/feb/19/sniper-camouflage-simon-menner