This page has been moved to http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/honest-angler
If your browser doesn’t redirect you to the new location, please visit The The Honest Angler at its new location: www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/honest-angler.
Blowing in the Wind
Bowhunters live and die by the wind, so most of us don‚t think twice about shelling out between $2.99 and $8.29 for a 1-oz. plastic squeeze bottle of Windicator, an odorless talc made by Hunters Specialties. On the other hand, the vegetable kingdom is full of thistles and weeds that spew downy seeds by the thousand into the air.
These are better wind indicators than anything you can buy, and they're free. The finest talc drops like a stone by comparison, and disappears faster than the money you spent on it. A single downy seed, released from your tree stand, will often float up on an air current. What's more, you can follow it with your naked eye for 5, 10, often 15 yards or more, especially against a solid background. Grab a film can and hit the nearest waste land. There are natural windicators for the taking. The edges of parking lots are good places to look.
Milkweed and turkey down....in fact one of my friends ties a lightweight turkey feather to the end of his bow or rifle barrel with a thread....and that works well, too! Why waste money when it's not a necessity..'Ell, I'm so cheap I even make my own brighteyes...even back before there were any!
Posted by: jes | July 25, 2008 at 11:00 AM
The larger topic seems to be why do we spend (waste) money on gadgets and gee-whiz gear? It's like going to a restaurant and buying a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Good grief - make your own at home!
Posted by: jack | July 25, 2008 at 11:29 AM
Bill,
Another easy an most excellant wind indicator is the fuzz on milkweed. At least thats what we call it. The 'flower' at the end of a long stem is hardshelled with the white feather like fuzz growing out. You think that feather in Forrest Gump floated forever, try milkweed.
Posted by: Jim in Mo. | July 25, 2008 at 12:20 PM
Jack
to answer your question, is that most people are so far connected from nature that they wouldn't even think to look at the edge of the parking lot for a natural wind indicator, while they are walking into bass pro shops to buy $10 chalk in a bottle. This person didn't even think to put chalk into an old glue bottle. I crush up soapstone and put it in a elmers glue bottle, seems to work fine for me. Now I'm gonna go outside and look through my yard for some stuff to fly through the air.
Posted by: Scott | July 25, 2008 at 04:09 PM
Dental floss thats been frayed with a knife will show the slightest shift in current much like a flame.Attaches to anything.
Posted by: Dick Mcplenty | July 26, 2008 at 12:42 AM
Aw Heavey now you've done gone primitive on us! How dare you?! Those folks at Hunter Specialties gotta eat to you know! Next you'll be telling us how to make tie-dye camouflage coveralls from $8.00 Tyvek painters coveralls! Man are those advertisers going to be p|zzed at you!
Can a home-made yew bow and flint tipped arrows be far behind? Probably!
SA
Posted by: SilverArrow | July 27, 2008 at 10:41 AM
Bill: reflecting on the PBJ and restaurant analogy, is it true that a real Scotsman would take his own PBJ to a restaurant and eat it?
Posted by: jack | July 28, 2008 at 11:42 AM
Bill, I see you mention wineberries but not huckleberries. If interested, I've been blogging about that at:
http://trbmblog.blogspot.com/
Posted by: carl | July 30, 2008 at 06:13 PM
So why'd they take this blog off the front page? And also I hope this blog isn't cut, cause I really enjoyed it and found it informative.
Posted by: scott | August 08, 2008 at 05:57 PM
agree.
just looks like a webmaster screw up to me. I think we were supposed to get filled in on an urban bow hunting adventure pretty soon, judging by all those somersaults to determine wind direction.
Possibly, though, Heavey got the Heave-Ho on the blog.
Posted by: carl | August 09, 2008 at 07:24 AM
Damn they even put that Merwin guy's picture up instead of Heavey's...what the hell
Posted by: Scott | August 10, 2008 at 08:01 PM
Headline: Hypothetical Heavey Heave Ho Hinders Hunters Hungry for Hijynx
Posted by: carl | August 11, 2008 at 09:08 AM
Yeah I just pulled my head out of my rear and realized the cuffs and collars don't match... Honest Angler's probably aren't worried too much about wind direction unless it's blowing so hard in their face they have to adjust the baitcaster to keep from backlashing.
I had a feeling Heavey was getting a little delusional from lack of proper diet when he called Petzal "our best living gun writer" but I had no idea it was this bad.
Posted by: Dr. Ralph | August 12, 2008 at 11:13 AM
Maybe the new diet drove Heavey over the edge. I don't think he had that far to go.
Posted by: JasonB | August 14, 2008 at 08:39 AM
Could it be that F&S just doesn't 'get' online? BH was actually doing something that other publishers had caught on to a while back - he was creating content that grew the web presence, not just duplicating the content from the magazine. I'll be interested to see what happens next.
SBW
Posted by: suburban bushwacker | August 15, 2008 at 02:13 PM
I believe some suburban 'momma' grabbed ole Bill and is havin' her way with him right now.
Posted by: Jim in Mo. | August 15, 2008 at 06:29 PM
Dr. R,
Ok here's one for you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-5d5IfdYK4&feature=related
Posted by: Jim in Mo. | August 15, 2008 at 06:54 PM
I bet Heavey might of eaten too many of those fish that the Feds warned him not to, or maybe he's hanging low trying to figure out a way to win the bigfoot contest, who knows but bring him back!
Posted by: Scott | August 17, 2008 at 08:29 PM
Bill,
where for art thou?
Posted by: Scott in Ohio | August 18, 2008 at 08:03 AM
Nearly drowned himself in his hip boots according to an article he wrote in the latest magazine. Maybe he's abandoning the idea of blogging about hunting/edible-food gathering around the burbs?
Posted by: Carl | August 18, 2008 at 09:54 AM
er, hip waders that is
Posted by: Carl | August 18, 2008 at 09:55 AM
er, chest waders. Need to be able to edit these things [g]
Posted by: Carl | August 18, 2008 at 10:19 AM
Sh*t or get off the pot Merwin. August, dog days of summer... who's catching what and when/where/how?
Posted by: Dr. Ralph | August 18, 2008 at 02:17 PM
Just like F&S--It's broken & not getting fixed, evidently.
Posted by: Bubba Squirrel | August 19, 2008 at 09:31 AM
To the editors:
Where is Bill? Why does his blog have someone else's picture?
Posted by: JasonB | August 26, 2008 at 12:34 PM