Keep your hat on when out and about implores David Duffy, no matter what the conditions are…
It was a wonderful spring afternoon in the early 1980s and I had decided to take my Sako .222 for a walk without my hat on the farm in the Hunter Valley. I thought I might see a fox or a feral cat if I was lucky, with a chance of a wild dog coming out of the surrounding bush to harass one of the calves. But it would most likely be one or two rabbits that I would bag.
I was walking on the track near the soil erosion at one of the bends in the creek and the biggest, hairiest spider fell out of one of the gum trees and landed on my head. Instinctively, I quickly brushed it off with my left hand. To this day, I do not know what sort of spider it was… suspecting it to have been some species of tarantula, notwithstanding that they are often found much further north. From that day onwards, I always wore some kind of a hat when hunting.
Australian temperatures and conditions either in the Outback or the Top End are often significantly different to hunting conditions in North America or Europe. Yet we tend to wear similar headgear as our continental counterparts. On a few occasions I have worn the usual baseball-type hunting caps while hunting in summer and as a consequence been fatigued to a much greater extent than had I been wearing a broad brimmed hat. At other times, a broad brimmed hat has not been ideal because of strong winds or freezing conditions. I tend to think the importance of selecting the best hat for the specific hunting conditions is underrated.
You may be caught in blizzard-like conditions with snow or sleet and gale force winds when hunting in winter in Tasmania, the Victorian Highlands or on an overseas hunt when temperatures plummet towards minus 20°C. In such a scenario, a fur-lined trapper hat would be a good option.
The authentic beaver fur trapper hats are expensive and you might run into problems at customs if bringing one back into Australia. When any such blizzard passes and temperatures improve, the trapper hat may become too hot and sweaty, even if you can tie the ear coverings up over the crown.
A normal hunting cap needs to be also carried in your backpack. I have an inexpensive imitation trapper hat which although having synthetic ‘fur’, is still warm in the coldest conditions. When you hunt, if your ears are covered, you often can’t hear the subtle sounds which indicate the presence of an animal and you really have to use sight even more. However, even a beanie covers up your ears and reduces your senses. The only way around this is not having your ears covered unless necessary, such as when it becomes cold or in strong, chilly winds.
What I like to use most in cold conditions is a balaclava folded up like a beanie. If a cold wind develops or if temperatures drop substantially, I can pull it down to gain significant protection. An open-face balaclava will be useful if looking through binoculars or a scope without fogging them up but won’t cover the face if it becomes really cold. I like a balaclava with a rectangular eyepiece and I have cut a hole for the mouth in mine to help with the fogging issue on the lenses.
A normal hunting cap is usually worn most of the day and the balaclava kept in my backpack along with a neck-warmer when it might turn severely cold. They don’t take up much room or add any significant weight.
In mild temperatures a baseball type hunting cap is a good option. I do wear these a lot. A blaze-orange cap which the animals don’t usually see as bright as we do, is fine for hunting on public land where there is a chance of coming across other hunters.
I have a Ridgeline jacket which has a hood with a wire frame which helps keep your face dry in wet conditions. Using a normal hunting cap in conjunction with the hood if the elements turn cold and windy or in a storm is not a bad way to go. On one of my caps, I have covered the peak with black insulation tape to help keep the front dry if there’s a high probability of several days of hunting in the rain.
For much of the hunting in Australia, especially in spring, autumn and summer or in Arnhem Land or Cape York, I like a broad brimmed hat made of rabbit pelts. I have a similar shaped black hat of buffalo hide and it becomes too hot for hunting in summer. In South America I picked up a genuine sombrero at a rodeo in Chile. The design of the hat is good, but it doesn’t fit me well and it’s black which turns hot. So, I never wear it.
The size of the brim on your hat really needs to be carefully considered. One of the hats I use extensively is an Akubra but it doesn’t have as broad a brim on it as what I use in summer. I’ve also attached a leather chin strap. When going through thick bush, it’s not knocked off my head as easily and the narrow brim with chinstrap makes it much better in the wind. Also, I can drive a car without the brim interfering with the seat headrest. I also use this hat whenever I go kayak fishing. However, it doesn’t provide as much sun protection as the broader-brimmed Akubra Territory.
Besides fatigue, it’s not a good idea to regularly expose your skin to sun for long periods in the Australian summer. A broad brim protects the eyes more than a baseball-type cap from the sun at side-angles and is much better at safeguarding your head when going through thick bush from both branches and spider webs.
Another hat which I sometimes use when hunting is an Austrian hunting hat. Due to the price of this hat, I tend to use it when it is unlikely I’m going to damage it. It fits me perfectly, is made from rabbit pelts and I even like the dark olive green colouring. Hats such as these and Akubras not only keep your head cooler in the hot sun and drier in the rain but also help your head remain warm in the cool of the morning when heading out before light.
When you’re wearing a broad brimmed hat, it may be fashionable to bend up the brim on the sides or twist it down at the front. But winding the brim upwards reduces the shading effect on the side of your head and bending it downwards at the front will most likely cause it to hit the scope when you’re trying to shoot game. So, I suggest the stylish contortions of the brim should be avoided.
However, I do find that having the crown of the hat convex instead of concave gives more airspace between the top of your head and the hat. This seems even more comfortable and is often the way hats were worn more than 100 years ago in the field.
Just like with hunting boots, it’s important that your hat fits you perfectly. If it is too tight it can easily give you a headache after a few hours or if it is loose, will continually be knocked or blown off.
I took the sweatband out of my Territory hat as it was marginally too tight and now it fits perfectly. I know the sweatband has a purpose but fitting me just right was more important.