Wind Control

[OldMan]

Maybe if you\'re out in the open. That\'s why we have our own methods to suit how, and where we hunt.

 

[timberland]

Use a sqeeze bottle filled with baking soda, check it constanlty. I do the thread deal too but the problem with that is you have no idea where the thermals are headed. Often a thread will tell you the wind is heading east when actually its only headn east before sweeping up or down. If you want to know exactly where your scent is being taken you need a puffer of some sort.

Will, This is why I use the Milkweed seed silk. I remove the seed as to not plant more and use the silk which I store in a small plastic container. I can let one go and it will float in the wind and even catch updrafts from the thermals. I have wtched them float along for 100yds at times. Free and they work excellent.

+1

 

[bowhunter]

Maybe if you\'re out in the open. That\'s why we have our own methods to suit how, and where we hunt.

Pete I have dropped them from a tree stand in the middle of a timber and watched them float slowly down to the ground and off with the wind. I have seen them pass a spot where the sun shines through the trees and rise 15-20 ft quickly then begin to float down again. They work in the woods but if your talking so thick \"where a rabbit wouldn\'t go\" you probably wouldn\'t see them very well or they would hang up on the closest branch.

 

[OldMan]

All I can go by is what\'s worked for me all my life. As long as I keep the thread blowing in my direction i\'ve never been busted.

I wasn\'t pushing my method on anybody to use. Everybody should use what works for them.

 

[otcWill]

Sometimes the fact that something has worked for us all our lives prevents us from seeing a better way when it comes along. I\'m gonna have to get me some milkweed and give it a try (seeds removed of course)!

 

[cnelk]

X2 Will
I cant wait to drop some milk weed from my tree stands!

 

[OldMan]

Sometimes the fact that something has worked for us all our lives prevents us from seeing a better way when it comes along. I\'m gonna have to get me some milkweed and give it a try (seeds removed of course)!

I\'ve known about milkweed for quite awhile. You didn\'t read my post. How would I use milkweed without moving?

I see no reason to change from a method that has always worked. How do you improve on..........always worked?

 

[elkmtngear]

Sometimes the fact that something has worked for us all our lives prevents us from seeing a better way when it comes along. I\'m gonna have to get me some milkweed and give it a try (seeds removed of course)!

X2...great idea! :upthumb: Sounds like a superior method of not only gauging the wind where you stand, but also thermals and variations according to contours, etc.

I\'m an old dog, but I am still capable of learning new tricks.

 

[OldMan]

I\'ve been thinking about this thread. (pun intended) I understand about the thermals, and I\'m sure I know why my method still works.

What i\'d like from someone using milkweed is to give me an example of how just using the thread will get me busted, and then I can respond. Lets say that i\'m headed west. The wind is headed directly east in my face. I\'m working on the assumption that the elk are directly west of me. How can the wind bust me? I\'m sure i\'ve worked out all the examples you can ask me, and what I would have done to prevent from getting busted, but go ahead and ask.

 

[timberland]

I think I know where your coming from, SH. When looking at the big picture of thermals moving around the mountain, I think of them like a river with eddies and pockets of dead areas and channels and even where the wind is opposite of the general flow. This is where the milkweed shines by showing wind direction at a distance away from the hunter. I works really well from treestands where you need to know where your scent ends up 20-50 yds away and you have no way to make adjustments to your position. When mobile on the ground you have the ability to slide higher, lower, left, or right to keep the wind in your face. I\'m sure you\'ve hunted through some of those eddies and back drafts. The aren\'t really that big. I also think that animals don\'t like to bed where the winds are switching back and forth, they like a steady wind like you and I. So back to the big picture, prevailing directions and thermal clocks are number on priority, but the eddies are number two.

 

[WW]

Consider this! We don\'t have milkweed in the mountains where I live. We (DON\'T WANT) milkweed in the mountains!

I know what milkweed is and know perfectly well how it naturally spreads. Pulling the seed off sounds like a time consuming job and I\'m sure you are bound to miss a few of them.

So here is a simple trick that works just as well and you don\'t have to worry about spreading noxious plants around.

Get yourself a little plastic film canister or one that diabetic test strips come in. Drill about an 1/8\" hole in the top. You can cut an (X) slit also if you want. Fill the container with cotton balls and push a little bit of the last ball through the hole. Place the cap back on the container.

When you want to test the wind, all you have to do is pull a little piece of the cotton off and let it sail in the wind. The cotton will automatically feed out the hole as you use it.

Also, you can tape it on your bow limb so you don\'t have to fish around in your pocket for it when needed.

 

[timberland]

WW gets a new hat for \"tip of the week\". :clap: Just kidding about the hat.

 

[OldMan]

Good one Bill. I seem to remember that method, but it\'s faded from my memory.

 

[bowhunter]

WW. The seeds are quite large and easy to remove. A few minutes and you would have enough clean milkweed silk for a season. The seeds are about the size of the O key on your keyboard. They are flat and brown where as the silk is white. You wouldn\'t want a seed on or the silk wouldn\'t float as well in the air. I understand not wanting to spread them and I don\'t. I also understand they are not everywhere. I have a lot of the darn things where I live and hunt. I usually spray or mow them to remove them from my pasture.

I have heard of the thread idea and it does work. I have also heard of a marabou feather tied on the end of the thread. This works well except in the rain.

Another wind checker could be down feathers from an old worn out pillow or down clothing :idea: