The most common use for a straw is for drinking a liquid, primarily water. It is generally a matter of convenience and lessens the need to bow as low to drink out of a stream or shallow-dug well but there may be more difficult circumstances like a hollow in a rock or log that might prove difficult to access water otherwise.

Another use for a straw is to be used as a blow pipe for firecraft. Sometimes it’s expedient to focus airflow onto a struggling ember often to revive the remains of the previous night’s campfire. In this case the “longer the better” is advised to distance yourself from the ensuing heat. Yet another application of a straw is that it can be used as a turkey or varmint call when you make a “kissing” sound at one end. It helps to amplify and enhance the sound that you create and draws in your prey.

So, where do you find tubes in the field to fashion a straw? Here in Northwest North Carolina there are groves of bamboo that are excellent for this use but there is a native plant found throughout the Eastern U.S. that is similar in structure and is known as River Cane. Both of these plants have hollow segments that can be cut out from between the nodes. They are sturdy and can provide very usable lengths.

Realizing that other regions may not have those resources I began to look for other plants with hollow stems. At this writing it is Fall so stem conditions might be different than in the Spring but I was delighted to discover that Day Lilies have very suitable hollow stems that are long. I also found Jewel Weed stems to be hollow but shorter in length. Certain tall grasses have hollow stems at their base. Out of season now but tall dandelions have hollow stems and even though they ooze a milky latex when picked are safe and not toxic in such a small quantity. Umbriel type plants have hollow stems but beware of Poison Hemlock that has purple spots on the stem that may not show when dry in the Winter.

In any case, you might try using these natural straws and see if they make your bivouac experience a little easier and perhaps solve an emergency water access problem that you may encounter.

It came by accident. I was wondering if a plastic drinking straw would work as an emergency tinder. When I lit one, it had an unexpected result. There was a small flame but the straw began to shorten while melting and started to drip. That’s when it occurred to me that the molten plastic might be used to glue items together. I had two wooden slats close by so I lit the remainder of the straw and let it drip on the end of one of the pieces of wood. As the flame got close to my fingers I dropped the remaining straw onto the puddle where it finished burning. When the flame went out, I applied the end of the second piece of wood on top of the puddle and pressed it down. Then I put a heavy object on top of them and waited about 5 minutes. I removed the weight and was able to pick the glued sticks up by one end and wave it around like a wand. Then I grasped the sticks at each end and gave it some torque to test it which proved to be quite strong. With increased pressure one of the sticks broke before the adhesive did.

Although it’s a little difficult to control the melting process I would imagine that it could also be used as a seal for small seams or holes. You can try this out for yourself to get a feel for it’s capabilities. Needless to say, use caution when handling molten material to avoid personal injury and only use flames in a safe noncombustible work area.

Recently at one of my demos a gentleman introduced yet another call from a most unexpected source: a coffee stir straw. These straws are very thin, measuring approximately 1/16 inch in diameter and about 7 inches in length. Without any modifications you can place the end of the straw to your tightly closed lips and begin to suck at the tip, similar to the squeaking sounds that you might make to call squirrels or small game. I do give it a small pinch at the tip before I make a call. With a little practice you can make some remarkable sounds with surprising volume. If you like, you can also cut the straw shorter to make a higher pitch sound.

So if you find yourself without a commercial turkey call and need one, stop by a fast-food stand and grab a coffee stir straw and give it a try. Alternatively the straws included with children’s juice boxes work well too. Check out the video to see the technique and hear the sound.