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.