Feathers
Contributors to this thread:Equipment
From: bighorn
24-Jun-18
Who shoots feathers? Any pros and cons?
From: Buffalo1
24-Jun-18
Con: 1. Not good when wet. Must waterproof if going to be exposed to moisture; 2. noisy when bumping brush; 3. if a "pass thru" occurs the arrow will probably need to be reflected and feathers are ruined.
Pro: 1. Shoot accurately; can get good helical twist; 2. time tested and proven effective; 3. lighter than vanes which can increase FOC
From: Ironbow
24-Jun-18
Buffalo1 hit all the high points. I might add you will get more pass throughs as vanes tend to hang up and feathers won't. I like that aspect.
From: pav
25-Jun-18
Been shooting 4" feathers for decades. Rarely ever had to refletch an arrow due to a pass through on an animal. Feathers will stand up to a pass through on targets much better than vanes. I agree 100% on treating the feathers with some type of waterproofing.
From: bear bowman
25-Jun-18
I've been shooting feathers for quite a long time. Feathers are noisy compared to vanes. They're more forgiving than vanes. I've personally never waterproofed mine and I've never had any issues. They seem to lose all their moisture at the release (with a compound).
From: mattandersen
25-Jun-18
I switched to 4" feathers a few years back and don't ever see myself going back...I really enjoy fletching and customizing my arrows too. I put a 3 degree twist which helps stabilize arrow flight especially with fixed blades. So far any pass throughs I've had I've been able to re use the arrow/fletching no problem and I've hunted in the rain as well. Treat them for moisture, there are several ways to do so.
From: ahunter55
25-Jun-18
Shot both over the years. Never waterproofed & never had problems in all kinds of weather. More forgiving. My target arrows this year have 2" offset & my hunters have a 4" helical.
From: bighorn
25-Jun-18
What's a good water proofing?
From: WV Mountaineer
25-Jun-18
Why? I shoot the heck out of them on traditional bows. And, while Buffalo did list the paper pluses, in real life there are no pluses out of a compound when you have vanes to choose from too. I know it is your choice but, in practicality there is no comparison.
From: Bou'bound
25-Jun-18
I love feathers and hate worrying about if it is going to rain
From: Buck Watcher
25-Jun-18
Buck Watcher's Link
Best feather WP I found is made by Atsko. Been a Trueflight feathers guy since the 1970s.
