As we all know those little bottles of wind checker powder can cost around $3 to $4 each and they are half full. If you're like me you can go through a bottle in two or three hunts. To offset the cost I have tried different materials such as chalk for chalk lines, cornstarch, hunter specialties foot power and talc power. All of these items worked but they didn't give the really fine powder that floats on a light breeze. Then it hit me the other day when I emptied out the fireplace...Wood Ash!
So I did an experiment tonight. The winds here are extremely light so I filled a wind checker bottle half full of sifted wood ash and tried it out and... Bingo it worked!
Here is what I did.
I cut a 6" x 6" section of window screen material.
I scooped up some "cold" wood ash and sifted the ash through the screen onto a sheet of paper to separate the coals from the ash and then through out the coal chunks.
I then moved the empty screen over a clean sheet of paper and poured the sifted ash onto the screen and sifted the ash a second time. This gave me some very fine material.
Then I put a small funnel into my wind checker bottle and poured the "twice"-sifted ash into the bottle.
The total cost of my wind checker powder was about 5 minutes.
Thanks man that is a good idea I am going to try it!
ive always used baking soda but ill try that. thanks for the tip man.
-cory
Not trying to hijack the thread but I think it was Guru who had a thread on using Milkweed pods for windcheckers. They are free and float on the wind for a long time and very easy to watch.
Denny
Good idea, Tom!
:thumbsup:
good idea. make sure you don't get it in your eyes.. could cause burns.
Another long term (you can watch it forever) floater is the yarn used for tying salmon egg flies. just pull off several strands of the filaments and let thm go. They are typically orange or red or yellow in color and you can see them float far away.
ChuckC
I use corn starch -will try the ash...nice idea
I never thought of the stuff on the market advertised as wind checker powder as expensive. I'm all for doing things myself to save money, but this ain't one of them.
i use cornstarch as well ........... it works great !!!!! ........ cheap and easy !!!!!
I use the foot scent away foot powder to refill my bottles. At $7.00 a bottle, I get about 3-4 years of refills out of one.
Mike
Milkweed pods here....one milkweed pod will last for years...just keep it in a plastic bag in your fanny pack or pocket. It's also environment-friendly....you're helping making feed for the Monarch Butterfly. Don't need any silly plastic bottles of stuff. :p
Fire extinguisher powder....contact a business that recharges fire extinguishers...I got a quart of it for nothin'
Here's a whole field of wind checkers 8^)....
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v134/oldearcher46/01.jpg)
Wood ash is used every hunting day all over southern Africa to test the wind and has been for many, many years, maybe even before recorded history. Usually it is tied up in a loosely woven cloth bag and shaken to release a little ash. Very effective.
Allan
cattails, just break one open and stuff a 35mm film canister full.
Cornstarch works great and it's cheap.
going to try the wood ash. We have two pellet stoves that produce a very light ash. Should work great.
Thanks,
Mike
milk weed infestation-the farmer's friend. Best ask the landowner
Yeah I like cattails, never head of a milkweed pod? might not have em round here.
Also like the wood ash idea! thanks for the heads up.
J
Cotton ball (or milkweed pod) attached to inside of bowlimb with rubber band. Pull off a thin wisp and watch it float. Better than powder 'cause it stays visible longer...and wind patterns can easily shift 20 feet beyond where you are.
Gatekeeper....Great idea..I have plenty of ash.
I am going to try it :)
i've used corn starch for the last 15 or so years.
I hunt elk for a solid month every year, sometimes longer, and am still on the first bottle of wind powder. When the breeze is obvious --you can feel it on your skin and/or see it in the vegetation -- no need to use the powder. When I do use it, I shake the bottle first then very gently and slowly squeeze a little out, barely visible. This not only saves powder, but gives a better read than squirting the stuff out like a firehose, which I've seen folks do. Befire the powder I used a bic, but the powder also shows drift, if you don't use so much it weights itself straight down. Another good wind indicator is the direction the game is running away from us! ;)
milkweed, works great!!!!
Dangle a 3-5 inch long piece of thread or a feather from your bowstring or a limb.
Then you only need the powder or ash when it's wet, or when the wind is swirling. But then when it's swirling there isn't much I can do anyway.
QuoteOriginally posted by longstiks:
Not trying to hijack the thread but I think it was Guru who had a thread on using Milkweed pods for windcheckers. They are free and float on the wind for a long time and very easy to watch.
Denny
Used these for years and I think they are about the best thing there is because they will show you thermals and everything. They go up and down and don't disperse like the powders.
Been using milkweed for yrs
I started using the milkweed after guru's thread and love it. I remove the seeds so its just the fluff. you can see it forever.
35mm film can in my chest pocket...with a hole cut in the lid.
The nice thing about cornstarch is the multiple uses, check the wind, helps keep your feet dry(its foot powder), prevents chafeing(body powder) and you can thicken your gravy with it at night. However the milkweed is a better choice, lots of times the wind will be blowing one direction where you are standing, but could be the total opposite a few yards away, powder won't show you that. If you don't hunt where milkweed is growing around everywhere, hunt ducks or geese and save the down, one duck will give you enough down for years and it floats forever.
Remember, don't use the same cornstarch that you put on your body and feet in the gravy. Bring enough so that you can use fresh cornstarch.
I will try the ash, I use 2 pieces of unwaxed dental floss. Tie to the loops and fray the ends with my pocket knife. Makes a great wind indicator, either walking or in the stand. Cheap too!
I thought we were supposed to forget the wind and just hunt? :D
Nice job my friend. My puffer is just about empty. I'll be giving this one a try.
I love using both a puffer and the milkweeds. Just one more thing to do while on stand. Both give you a little different information as milkweed is still too heavy at times to give the most accurate representation of what is happening in light wind.
I also carry a piece of heavy bright colored yarn ....... like the yarn the girls tie up their hair with ......... pull off just a few fibers at a time .......... "floats like a butterfly " !!!!
Some times I use a large rock. If it moves before it hits the ground then I know that it is probably to windy to shoot out past 1 yard.