I picked up a few things on proper shooting attire from Buz Fawcett, Jack O’Connor, and others along the way during my travels. I discovered that we, as American hunters, don’t have to be dressed in blaze orange and camo, or just turning up with whatever we are wearing for the day such as jeans. Sure maybe camo is great for sitting in a deer stand in Nebraska freezing weather, or your Sitka from head to toe for elk in December in the Montana mountains, but we can learn a lot from the Brits’ attire, using driving shoots and safaris, as good examples of both cold weather and warm weather wingshooting attire options. And, while catalog companies such as Orvis and LL Bean used to provide quality options for hunters, now they are just largely marketing companies for goods made in China by non-hunters, so you have to dig deeper to find quality manufacturers, rather than just relying on catalogs.
Willis and Geiger was my long time favorite outfitter for safari clothes. A new company is trying to replicate their old lines at https://avedoncolby.com. Safari participants are encouraged to wear olive, tan, brown, and khaki colors for safaris. They should avoid blues and blacks because they can attract tsetse flies, which can carry a sleeping sickness disease. Meanwhile, bold colors can scare off animals. The same is true for shooting stateside.
A Tilley hat often completes the warm weather look, as felt is often impractically hot.
Wellies are pretty impractical for most Western hunting, but the French model with leather lining by Le Chameau is very nice. However, in the West, absent duck or snipe hunting, Russell moccasins are generally my favorite all-around boots. And, I generally deviate from Buz’s English recommendations and go for more of a proper safari look.
And, you can’t really beat a custom safari felt hat, or what they call a Terai, from Priest Hat Company, which is now https://www.facebook.com/SilverTipHatCompany or the practicality of a wool driving cap. A beaver felt hat with a 3” brim will help your shooting if you wear it low in front and high in back. A Tilley or an Orvis straw for warmer months, also look reasonably nice.
Yellow shooting glasses will help and Browning shooting glasses are cheap and as good as many.
Buz says that knickers help your body move during the mount, with Wellington boots and Barbour waxed cotton jackets for rain. Or you can try German wool army pants, which are stylish and very warm, they come in differing weights. We like khaki safari pants for most warm weather hunting, often with chaps or half chaps.
Shooting gloves are a must. The thin leather Orvis shooting gloves are the best we have found, but there are many options.
A tweed shooting coat and plus fours, nor the opposite extreme of a safari bush coat are neither really ideal for the Western upland hunter, although I have experimented with both. A good compromise is a cotton bush shirt, bush pants, and a vest or jacket, such as a Barbour or the French, equivalent in Ventile, which is even better as it is not waxed cotton and it has Gortex.
Quilomene makes a nice waist pack setup for upland hunting.
https://www.cathcartlondon.com
https://www.oldfieldclothing.com
Euro-Chasse Clothing & Accessories http://www.eurochasse.com/
Russell Moccasin Hunting Boots http://www.russellmoccasin.com/
Quilomene San Carlos Vests http://www.quilomene.com
Mike Keetch, Custom leather whistle lanyards and leather/canvas half-chaps.
Which is not to say that English attire is the only way to go, as nice Western attire can also look good, when done right. It’s the camo crowd and blaze orange band of bandits, that can create some bad reputations for hunters, especially when drinking in the middle of a day at a restaurant, and then going back out to drive and hunt. Consider the reputation that we cast off as hunters and make sure it is a good one.
Look the part, but make it a good look. And, make it a look that’s right for you.
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2025 Update–There are some new companies coming out that replace some of what was lost with the old. Check out Martin Dingman, C. Woodcock & Co.,
