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One of the most important items I use in my shooting activities is a pair of gardening Secateurs. I use them for creating "hides" out of living bushes etc. Man made hides are never natural looking and you always need to supplement their lack off this with additional camouflage. With natural bushes and shrubs all you need to do is prune them to the shape you want. I look for ones that have a dome shaped structure, or one with one side growing longer etc. I use the secateurs to cut out the inside of the bush/shrub making an area where I can lay down/sit/stand up depending on its size, I then use the cut pieces to weave between the other branches to cover openings. If you have some string you can tie branches to grow in the position you want. This type of modelling takes time and investment, I've been doing this for the last thirty years on the land I have access to, but you can get good results in a year or two as the vegetation grows. If you have your own shoot and keep sweet with the farmer there is no reason you can't do the same.
The advantages are that you have a naturally concealed position to shoot from, a position that the game are used to seeing on a daily basis and is a natural part of their environment.
Secateurs are also really useful for clearing obstacles along a stalk route, you need never fear that bramble root, just prune it out the way. Our Stone age ancestors did the exact same thing, they moulded their hunting territories to maximise their chances by creating game drives and hunting blinds out of natural materials, so can you.

Brilliant info.

I'll be getting me a new set to pop into the hunting bag I have. Thanks TH.

Good tip TH, I got a folding pair from B & Q made by Draper I think. Great for snipping kindling for cooking fires, or trimming staves etc.

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Savour these beasts
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywo...2vy2gfh2_b

Yes I have those folding Draper ones as well, very useful and get a lot of use.

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Actually mine are Spear and Jackson, not draper:

http://www.garden4less.co.uk/proddetail....tAodehcAjQ

Dev how do you sharpen yours, I use a flat file on the anvil edge to remove burrs and a wet stone on the cutting edge but the results are often unsatisfactory?

(15 April 2014, 10:38)Devonian Wrote: [ -> ]Yes I have those folding Draper ones as well, very useful and get a lot of use.

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Actually mine are Spear and Jackson, not draper:

http://www.garden4less.co.uk/proddetail....tAodehcAjQ

excellent tool!!

I've bought one off ebay for £4.99+£1 delivery, only one left at that price!

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http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111306188938#ht_23wt_1086

To be honest I haven't sharpened them yet.

I've had them for a about 4 or 5 years and they mainly get used on bramble/hawthorn/sycamore but they have kept a good edge in that time. The movement is very close between the two blades and they have no problem at all in cutting through branches up to say 15mm or larger.

In fact the quality of the tool pretty dam good and better than most standard secateurs I have used, no movement or play on the pivot, and no dinks or damage to the cutting blades either.

Generally all I do is give them a clean to get rid of any sap etc and a bit of GT85

(15 April 2014, 10:52)NorthernRaider Wrote: [ -> ]Dev how do you sharpen yours, I use a flat file on the anvil edge to remove burrs and a wet stone on the cutting edge but the results are often unsatisfactory?

because it's rounded, you'll find it easier to use a kitchen knife sharpener. A round sharpener for a heavily rounded surfacem I find easiest.

we get loads of cheap ones from either the larger Tesco's or Wilkinsons, about £2 or so each, get a handful and when they go rusty or blunt throw them away and get another pair out of the drawer(we've been doing this for the last 15 years).

(15 April 2014, 14:46)bigpaul Wrote: [ -> ]we get loads of cheap ones from either the larger Tesco's or Wilkinsons, about £2 or so each, get a handful and when they go rusty or blunt throw them away and get another pair out of the drawer(we've been doing this for the last 15 years).

I think in this instance I'd stick with the ones I have, fold up nice and small like a leatherman with a nylon belt pouch, or just stick them in your pocket.

And they are very effective compared with your average cheap secateurs.

But back to the OP and yes secateurs get my vote for Tool of the Week!!