In today's article we will talk about how to quickly make hunting matches for starting a fire in extreme conditions.
How to make hunting matches
When we are going hunting, fishing, or just on a hiking trip, we are certainly obliged to stock up on essential supplies, including for lighting a fire in an open area and even in extreme conditions. Yes, you will say that I have a lighter or a box of matches for this occasion. This has probably happened to you when your lighter fails due to getting wet, freezing, or the flint simply flew out, and your matches became damp.
Just for such a case, you need to have ignition supplies with you. These products must adequately withstand tests of humidity, gusty winds and, most importantly, burn for a sufficient amount of time to safely ignite a fire in an open area. Such means include the familiar hunting matches.
Properties of hunting matches
The difference between hunting and simple matches is that hunting ones have an additional so-called coating. It allows matches to be moisture-resistant, burn for a long time, and their flame is large and hot. Such matches can maintain a fire for up to 20 seconds. You can set them on fire in damp and windy weather, as they are not afraid of humidity. Hunting matches can be used in a wide range of areas of our activity: hunting, fishing, hiking and just on vacation, where many unpleasant situations can happen, and such matches always come to the rescue.
How to make hunting matches video
So how do you actually make hunting matches with your own hands? See this clearly in the following video:
You might be interested.
It is quite difficult to purchase such a fire source in a ready-made form, and often an avid hunter has to run around more than one specialized store in search of one, which can easily end in failure. And even if you’re unexpectedly lucky, it’s not at all a fact that hunting matches won’t cost a pretty penny, so ideally you’d still try to make them yourself, because there’s nothing complicated in this task. Thus, hunting matches that are properly made with your own hands should not go out under the influence of even very strong winds or heavy rain, otherwise they will be no different from ordinary matches, which cannot boast such unique properties and abilities. In order to make such a stable, and most importantly, reliable source of fire, which not only will not fail in bad weather, but will not become damp from prolonged inactivity, you will need the simplest materials.
Usually, all of them can be found right on the farm, and even if you have to purchase them separately, there is absolutely nothing to worry about, because such components cost mere pennies. And first of all, you will need a disposable syringe with a capacity of five milliliters, because it is its nose, freed from a hollow needle, that is ideal for a cocktail tube, which will subsequently serve as a kind of shell for each hunting match. The fixed tube is delimited with a marker into sectors, the height of which is equal to the height of an ordinary match, after which they begin to make its filler. To do this, you will need only two simple ingredients, or more precisely, granulated sugar and potassium nitrate, which can be purchased at any store that specializes in selling various types of fertilizers for indoor, garden and vegetable plants.
As for the proportions, experts recommend using both components in equal proportions, and the saltpeter should be in powder form. Mixing is carried out directly in a tablespoon, after which it is heated over an open flame (candle, gas burner, etc.) until the saltpeter and sugar acquire the consistency of gruel or thick sour cream. A properly prepared solution should acquire a uniform dark brown tint, but pouring it into a hot cocktail tube is strictly not recommended, otherwise it will simply melt. Thus, it is recommended to refill the syringe only after the temperature of the mixture drops to a level that is comfortable for tactile contact (it should not burn your finger). When the goal is achieved, the valve is removed from the disposable syringe and the prepared mixture is poured into it directly from a tablespoon.
In no case is it recommended to try to draw the contents into the cocktail tube through the spout of the syringe, slowly protruding the valve from it, and this should only be done in the manner described above. At the same time, you should not rush to push the paste of sugar and saltpeter from the piston itself into the tube, since the future shell of hunting matches needs the so-called “replenishment”. It involves the use of fragments of ordinary matches coated with sulfur, to fix which a small void should remain in each tube blank. That is why it is strongly recommended not to collect the entire tube at once, but to collect each fragment separately, for which it must first be cut along the notches previously marked using a marker of a contrasting color.
As a result, you will have to fill each hunting match separately, placing it on the nose of the syringe, as a result of which, in its area (meaning the nose), a necessary void is formed, into which a part of a real match, covered with sulfur, is subsequently inserted. It is recommended to use such a wonderful fire source only after the sugar-nitrate mixture has completely hardened. Naturally, it is recommended to store such matches not in an ordinary cardboard box, in which their heads can also easily become damp and not produce the necessary spark, but in a tin, hermetically sealed container.
Also, we should not forget that it is necessary to place the side part of the matchbox in it in advance, because it is in contact with it that the sulfur head gives a spark and, as a result, a stable flame. As an option, you can try to use other components to fill the tube, and as an example you can give substances such as ammonium nitrate, silver, nitro varnish, etc., etc.
Today we have useful advice addressed to people who like to wander through nature with a gun (hunting season, its opening, is just around the corner) or go fishing. Of course, they don’t give up their hobby even in winter. Some people like winter fishing even more than summer fishing. But it seems to me that there are still more “heat-loving” fishermen. As you know, nature is very changeable, and fishermen and hunters need to always be prepared for any unforeseen situations, especially if you are somewhere far from “civilization.” Here are hunting matches, this is exactly the “arsenal” that you need to arm yourself with when going out into nature. After all, ordinary matches and lighters are very unreliable during long stays in nature. And such matches can help you out in various situations.
How to do it and what will be needed for this?
And you can make such matches very easily and you don’t need any super materials for this. There are no problems with ordinary matches, except for them you also need ammonium nitrate, you will need nitro varnish to cover the matches, and the well-known silver oxide (it is needed in the form of powder).
The first thing we will do is mix dry ammonium nitrate with ammonium nitrate. We will mix these compositions 1:1. When you mix these two components well, add nitro varnish to them and then mix the entire contents again. You will need to achieve a dough-like state of this mixture.
- When you get this consistency, roll out this “inedible” dough into a thin layer and cut it into narrow strips. The width of such stripes should be a very small millimeter or two.
- Next we will need regular matches. We take one of them and spirally wind on it those narrow strips that we have already cut out. You need to start winding from the middle of the sulfur head down and finish doing this in the middle of the match itself. So, we wrap each match (that is, based on the number of prepared strips) and then let them dry.
- When the matches have dried well, you will need to coat them with nitro varnish. You can cover it with a regular brush, which children use when painting. BUT, cover the sulfur head of the match with this varnish DO NOT DO IT! Otherwise, you will simply have problems lighting matches. Some people think that it is much easier to dip the entire match directly into nitro varnish, but again this should not be done, otherwise the head of the match will also be covered with varnish and you will no longer be able to avoid problems with ignition.
- That's it, your hunting matches are completely ready! So you can now safely use them to make a fire, and you can even use not the driest firewood. Such homemade matches can burn successfully even in water, and the wind will not be able to extinguish the flame of such matches.
But in this video they will show you everything well and tell you again. Try it and you will succeed.
We know about ancient methods of kindling fire mainly from history and descriptions of travelers who observed them in the camps of the so-called backward tribes. We ourselves have long ago become accustomed to using matches. It should be noted that in recent years, lighters and automatic ignition on gas stoves have been added to them. However, matches have not lost their relevance to this day. But how much do we know about them? How often do people look closely at such familiar, everyday things?
Matches are different
Even the simplest, “homemade” matches are designed quite cleverly. The main secret is in their heads, which satisfy two almost opposite requirements: the tip of the match should not fall off the stick when ignited, crumble during storage, and the stick should go out almost instantly when it burns out a little.
Even more difficult are the tasks that hunting matches must perform. They are required to burn much longer, they must produce a large and hot flame, and they are supposed to light in both wind and rain. As a result, hunting matches below the head are coated with an additional compound and can burn for 10 to 20 seconds - just what you need when you light a fire in “non-flying” conditions. Covering the head with a special film prevents it from getting wet. So a quality product can light up even in the rain.
Storm matches are even more “weather-resistant”: their coating also contains naphthalene and starch, so even a force 12 wind is not an obstacle to their ignition.
For those who do not often use such incendiary sticks, we note: it is undesirable to use them in an apartment (house) - their flame is too large, and they smoke with a pungent and unpleasant odor.
The most famous way
Hunting matches can be purchased at any specialized store for fishermen and hunters. However, if there is no such thing near your home, and you are too lazy to go look for it, then you can handle it yourself. Most often, do-it-yourself hunting matches are made from ordinary ones with additional substances: silver, nitro varnish and ammonium nitrate. Silver is mixed with saltpeter in equal quantities, and varnish is added to them. Everything is kneaded like dough until it begins to resemble dough. The resulting “plasticine” is rolled out thinly (preferably with a glass bottle, which you don’t mind throwing away afterwards). The pancake is cut into the narrowest strips possible, no wider than a couple of millimeters, or better yet, even narrower. These ribbons are wound spirally around the match, from the head to the middle of the stick. Almost finished hunting matches are left to dry, after which the wound strips are painted with varnish. Do not varnish the head under any circumstances - the match will not light without sulfur. Of course, the work is painstaking, almost like jewelry, but at the dacha, on a hike or fishing you will not be left without a fire.
You can do it differently
Less known is another way to make a hunting match. Instead of the above components, cotton threads and paraffin are suitable. The threads are tightly wound around household matches, preferably in more than one layer. The head, of course, remains open. The paraffin is melted and the workpieces are dipped into it. It’s easier to just throw matches at it and then catch it; but, in order not to wait for the excess “wax” to drip off, it is better to take each one with tweezers and dip it into the melt.
But no matter what method you use to make hunting matches, do not forget to take care of dry “cherkach” (or “strike” - call it what you want). Without it, the most waterproof matches will not light. The simplest method is to keep it in a tightly tied condom.
Will be useful during the holidays too!
Craftsmen believe that such a hunting device is appropriate not only in camping conditions. If you add a few small iron filings to the composition used to process matches in the first manufacturing option, then during combustion you can observe a beautiful spark fireworks display similar to the one they give in bad weather. You don’t want to cancel the holiday, and not every factory product “will agree” to work in damp conditions. So you can please your children with safe homemade products.
People began making fire in ancient times. Several thousand years ago, people learned to make matches. Today we cannot live without fire, either at home or on a hike. However, there are situations when the matches get wet, run out or were forgotten at home, and you can’t do without a fire. Today we will learn how to make hunting matches that burn longer and can help out in any situation. Hunting matches are not afraid of either moisture or wind.
So, first of all, let's watch the video:
In order to make hunting matches with your own hands you will need:
- nitro varnish;
- ammonium nitrate;
- silver coin;
- a plastic cup;
- matches;
- tea spoon;
- barbecue skewer;
- felt-tip pen;
First of all, we must mix silver and ammonium nitrate in a 1:1 ratio. For us it will look like this: one teaspoon of saltpeter and one teaspoon of silver.
Now this mixture is diluted with nitro varnish to the consistency of dough. It is better to use a syringe for dilution. 
We roll out the viscous consistency with felt-tip pens to make a thin pancake. 
Then we cut it into small strips
Next, we stick this mass onto the match so that we still have a leg that we will hold onto.
