wind detectors

[BowEd]

Gathered a few of the milk weed pods the other day while pulling weeds from around the corn field here.
A person waits till their mature and will pop open with the slightest pressure.Remove the down with the seeds attatched.Brush off the seeds and reinsert the down intact into the pod again.
Then sew the pod up to within an inch of the point tip and let dry leaving an opening to pull down at your leisure to test the wind.I like to travel light while hunting and this works for me.It's also very convenient to use.
It's surprising if one checks the wind as to exactly what it's doing at least from  tree stand.


This down has been used before by many as wind detectors but while putting the down into a plastic container with a slit in it.

[White Falcon]

Better than putting it in a plastic bag.

[WhistlingBadger]

Good idea.  Thanks for sharing.  Looks a lot better than sticking some in a film case or zip loc.

[superdav95]

Cool. Thanks for sharing.  I’m gonna try this

[Allyn T]

I store all my fluff in a mesh cloth bag and then take a few pinches and out them in a mesh pocket on my side pouch on my hunting saddle. I don't worry about the seeds, I just pick em off if they are still attached and drop them wherever I'm at.

[BowEd]

Yes.That'll work also.Like I said earlier many ways to use this fluff.

[Don W]

I need to try this. I usually just pick up dry leaves and drop them. It seems to work.

Didn't natives use feathers hung from their bows for this too. I thought about trying that as well

[BowEd]

Milkweed fluff will detect the very slightest type of wind and it does'nt take much for deer to detect it.
The biggest preventative from detection is to be down wind of your shooting lane,but in a hollow out of the wind in a stand amongst a lot of trees the wind can swirl.
That's why I have a lot of stands setup on my smaller [30 acre] hunting area right by my house.I'm lucky or set it up myself to be able to observe deer movement.I never sit in same stand more than twice in a row either.
You may think your undetected and not see deer but that is'nt the way it is.I do my best to get in there undetected.
I put a lot of time into this and it's the reason I'm successful most of the time.I don't use trail cameras either.
Knowing their habits and movements/where they come from and go is as important as any wind detector.Reading sign of activity.It's called scouting the area and knowing your deer.Especially the does.Bucks can come and go at any time but does generally remain.
To hap hazzardly wander around looking for a deer without these preliminary steps usually does'nt work.Especially in a higher deer
 populated area.They see you 9 times out of 10 before you see them.Especially this time of year where there's a lot of cover out there yet.
A little off the subject but it's all important and part of a close range successful hunt.There are other things I do too I'm not mentioning.

[Allyn T]

Don the milk weed is awesome because it doesn't just show wind direction you can actually watch the wind current how it drifts through the woods. I've had deer come in behind my and knew they were under my scent channel because of the milk weed. It's also so light it will rise with thermals. If your sitting in the sun with no wind you can just watch it rise up and away.

[WhistlingBadger]

Didn't natives use feathers hung from their bows for this too. I thought about trying that as well

I tried this last summer.  Had a couple of turkey chest feathers with lots of down.  I attached them to the handle of my bow with 3" strings.  Looked great and did work for showing the wind.  Then I went out shooting on a breezy day, and the dang things were whipping in my face every time I lifted the bow!  The wind indicator feathers did not survive that hike, I'm afraid.     Maybe attaching them to the top or bottom tip would work better, if you aren't hunting in brush.  But I'd worry that the movement would tip off critters.

[BowEd]

It's sometimes hard to understand by some the reason for these appendages.I believe and can relate to this reason.Natives and anyone who really loves the outdoors and nature and understands and sees it's sustainable usage of wildlife are always amazed by the abilities of wildlife to survive.It's a power humans don't possess but as we are all a cog in the wheel of the circle of life,the observation of these abilities by humans are sometimes coveted by them.They have a power humans don't posess.
By putting an appendage from the animal that is coveted on a weapon used by humans it's hoped a little of that power may transfer into this weapon.
I say anything that infuses confidence is a good thing.

[JEB]

Good one

[Allyn T]

Well said Ed, we could all use a little wild prowess

[Don W]

I could certainly use a little of the power, and a little less rain at the precise time I have free time to hunt would help. Did they have a "please don't pour cats and dogs this afternoon" dance?

I'm still using the "drop the dry leaves" approach for wind direction. Another reason I'd prefer it didn't rain so hard.