Hey All,

I am dragging up an old whistle thread from a couple of months ago to comment again on cylindrical aluminum "Buffalo" whistles.

I have used the 2.5 inch long version of these whistles for years and often cut them down to fit in small kits. They are loud (almost as loud as a Fox 40), and blow with little effort.

I was in a sporting goods store in Sudbury yesterday and saw a smaller, thinned version of this whistle. The design looked the same and since whistles are not the type of thing you "test blow" in a store I bought 4 red coloured ones without trying them.

This whistle is much smaller (1.3/4" long, 1/3" dia) unfortunately it is not very loud, but the worst problem is that it is easy to "overblow" it and no sound is produced at all.

Buyer Beware,

Mike

When out in the woods, I always keep an improvised whistle with me - and Dad and I used them to signal all the time (I said did because Dad has gone on his last hunting trip 2 season ago - his dementia and back are now bad enough he can't even leave bed)

Anyway - the improvised whistle? An empty .308 shell casing (well Dad's was a .300 Savage casing) - blow across the top of the empty shell, and it's not a great whistle, but it works

Just a thought for an emergency

I guess I don't get it. I understand the concept of improvisation, it's fundamental to survival skills. You can't possibly carry everything with you. It's also fun to do and they tend to be good skills to learn, even if you normally already carry better gear. I also understand improvising a solution to an expensive piece of gear you can't possibly afford. However, I don't understand this sort of thing. A very good and effective whistle that requires no skill whatsoever to use, you can be near death and still make lots of noise, can be had for a very few bucks, pennies in some cases, will take up not much more space in your pocket, perhaps less, than that cartridge and is available easily from innumerable vendors. Why improvise something not nearly as effective when you can afford to carry the best and your life might have to depend upon it?

The whistle Doug packs in the PSP is made by Fox40, it's the Micro Fox40. I carry one in blue color on my keychain. I was at the doctor the other day and he asked me if it's a dog whistle, the kind that produce a sound that's out of the frequency range of humans. I told him the truth, that it's for emergencies and that I don't have a strong voice... He said don't worry if you're ever in an emergency you'll find the strenght to shout...

Frankie

A metal whistle is out of the question in cold weather, your lips would stick to it and even "burn"...

FWIW, here where boating is a warm-weather activity for most, Wal-Mart clears out the orange Fox40 Micros (with an IMO lousy lanyard) for $2 at the end of the season. Maybe in your area too...check next fall!

For carry on a keychain, I found I had to reinforce the ring hole with epoxy glue to make them last. The Micros aren't as loud as the regular Fox40s, but way nicer to EDC. They also make a kiddie's version of the Micro that's easier to blow.

Hi Frankie,

I thought of this frozen lips problem with the aluminum whistles that I modded so I wrapped the mouthpiece with a couple of layers of yellow electrical tape.

Mike

[quote=Doug_Ritter...snip... Why improvise something not nearly as effective when you can afford to carry the best and your life might have to depend upon it? [/quote]

Because we used to hunt maybe 300 yards from the place we parked the car - we are not what you would call "deep woods hunters" - the deer from the "back yard" taste just as good as the deep woods deer (maybe better, as they were eating corn and apples all summer/fall)

At night, you can see the lights from the house

Abot the only survival stuff we would carry would be a lighter, a flask of water, and some toilet paper. Other than that, your hunting knife, and your rope, and a few spare rounds of ammo