Hi Paleoman,

When I first started shooting, which was only a few years ago, I was out in the rain for a bit. I decided to shoot a broadhead hunting arrow that was pretty soaked. It went straight for the target and suddenly took a hard dip south. I related that to a tech at 3Rivers and he said, wet maybe, but probably the arrow is not really tuned right.

Since then I’ve worked my way up the FOC and tuning ladder and wet feathers are not much of a problem. I don’t hunt much in real rain, but still go stumping when it’s raining and even after retrieving arrows from the creek they still fly pretty dang good.

The Good Doc has written some things on this, which are well worth a look.

Best wishes, dwc

I fletch a few hunting arrows with goose feathers and rain has no effect on them

Terry Lightle wrote: I fletch a few hunting arrows with goose feathers and rain has no effect on them

Where can someone find goose feathers?

Thanks

Am I the only one feeling sarcasm coming on about the obvious answer to this question. A goose of course:D And turkey feathers from a turkey.

Amazing how often we are brainwashed into thinking we can only find a product in a store. I suggest if you want to give this idea a go, and you are not a goose hunter, to connect with the hunting community and I am certain a goose hunter will give you all the feathers you want.

I always thought hair spray was a good option to keep water off of feathers.(writing this I assume a silicone spray would work in a similar manner). Never tried a goose feather but if it works, then there must be a natural oil in them to repel water. Fletch helps to steer an arrow. By default wet fletching does affect flight. Trial and error is the only way to determine at what point this affect is enough to cause a hunter to make adjustment to a shootable vs. not situation.

Have got them from Raven Arrowsfor many years

I am not a goose or duck hunter so someone chime in if I am wrong, but I don’t think geese or ducks’ feathers have oil in them, I think that is why the birds are always messing with their feathers, they are applying the oil with their beaks.

There are a number of products that help make a feather fletch water resistant. Hair spray and silicone sprays work too. However I STRONGLY reccomend that when using sprays, if you’re using plastic nocks mask them off. The solvents in the spray will attack the plastic, weakening the nock. Wait until dry before removing masking. Also the sprays will screw up many of the products used for sealing/creating arrows. No real damage there, but no more purty arrah.

Note that I said that you can make your feather fletches water resistant. Nothing will make them truly water proof. They will become water logged after enough exposure. Should that happen, let them dry, then steam over over a tea kettle. That will help most of them recover their shape.

For years, having tried everything from duck oil to tire spray, I’ve been happy with the white powder stuff. But even that will wild in a prolonged downpour. But I’ve rarely found that a problem since the hunting generally sucks bigtime in major downpours so it’s a moot point. When I have taken shots at game with soaked and wilted feathers I’ve never notice a significant difference in flight, maybe because my arrows are tuned well and my ranges always are close. What does bother me is the loud “Pop!” when you release and the face-shower of cold water. More recently I’ve learned that using low-profile 3″ four-fletch really helps in the wet. Because they are smaller, these little feathers are naturally more rigid and take a lot longer to soak up and wilt. So, small feathers and “fletch dry” type powder products are my solution. That, and packing it in when it’s really raining hard, just as the critters do. In those cases, give me a good tree to break the torrent and a good cheap cigar and warm dry clothes and I’m a happy camper, if not longer an active hunter. IMHO, of course …

Fletch Dry works pretty well but not 100%, but nothing is unless you move to vanes and all that goes with it. I do keep a cheap polystyrene drawstring bag over my arrows in the quiver if it’s really pouring but that doesn’t help the arrow sitting on the string. But sure it hardly ever rains over here 😆 🙄 🙁

I think I heard to put baby bottle liners ❓ over your feathers for wet weather. Dunno, been so long since I had a baby around we still used real cloth diapers and the bottles were made of glass.

I ain’t a happy camper huntin in the rain either so holing up works for me. If I get caught in the wet, I just let the feathers dry out and go about my business. Ruffled feathers 😆 work fine for me.

A tube quiver thats covers the fletching has been the only effective solution I’ve found. Works well and really, who doesn’t need one more quiver :wink:.

being that I live in the wet pacific northwest try going to your local fishing takle retailer and get the spray for dry flies it works good easy to apply and being it is a small bottle fits easy in a pocket

Just posting what I found in a previous thread in Tradbow about AA fletching.

Note the effects this design has with water resistence!!!!

A long look at fletching and EFOC

Forums: Friends of FOC:

Created on: 09/17/09 11:51 AM Views: 2701 Replies: 209

EDIT: Oct 21, 2009.

No real need to go to the other site now. Dr. Ashby has kindly added to this thread below and it’s a much easier read.

(You must copy and paste the ENTIRE link in an address bar)

http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=057257;p=1

Dr. Ed Ashby

Joined: 05/26/2009

Location: Texas

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Posts: 660

RE: A long look at fletching and EFOC

Posted Wednesday, October 21, 2009 at 12:47 PM

Steve,

This is an area of EFOC and Ultra-EFOC arrow design that needs to get more attention from hunters. There are some big benefits, and I’ve migrated to using the tiny A&A fletch on my serious hunting arrows. Of course there’s the decreased drag in flight, with better trajectory and more retained arrow force downrange, along with less deflection in crosswind conditions, but that’s not what I find to be the biggest advantages. The biggest advantages are: (1) a clearly present reduction in noise in flight; (2) the tiny fletching is far less visible to game; and (3) there is a major wet-weather benefit. NOTE: Your shaft setup needs to be well tunded BEFORE you start working on minimum fletching required to stabalize your broadhead. Even at EFOC, small fletching won’t work well when the shaft’s dtnamic spine is not correct.

Wesley did some test shooting for me (I can’t shoot well enough at forty yards to hit those tiny target dots!). From his compound, we took 190 gr. Grizzly BH’s on a 26%-27% FOC setup with the A&A fletching. Shot them dry then soaked the fletching in a bucket of water for a full 30 minutes and, without even shaking the water off the fletching, shot again. At 40 yards there was absolutely no change in point of impact. I think a lot has to do with the stiffness of the low-cut fletching (which you can only get away with using if your arrow has very high FOC). Even after 30 minutes of soaking there’s no visible matting down of the fletching. Those shots were with untreated feathers – no form of add-on waterproffing whatsoever.

For any unfamiliar, here are a few photos of the A&A fletch. Their appearance does take a bit of getting use to. The red ring is the turbulator.

#1: With EFOC 0.5″ tall, 2.5″ four-fletch A&A works for my very poor quality finger release. Once I get a good Ultra-EFOC setup I may be able to go smaller.

#2: 0.5″ tall, 2″ three-flect A&A worked with mechanical release from Wesley’s compound. This is the fletching we water-soaked and tested.

#3: Compare the fletching surface area between the 2″ A&A and the 3″ parabolic cut fletching. When thoroughly water soaked the A&A still stabalized the broadhead’s flight; the 3″ parabolic didn’t.

#4: Looks starnge; works great!

Ed

Good info, Sky. I wish someone made an inexpensive feather cutter for the A&A.

R2,

When hunting in the rain I used to put plastic sandwich baggies and twist ties over my fletching to keep it dry. That and a generous dose of Camp Dry spray seemed to work well. These days I just switch to vanes when it’s raining.

David Petersen wrote: Good info, Sky. I wish someone made an inexpensive feather cutter for the A&A.

I looked at the feather chopper website a while back and they say they will make a chopper for whatever pattern you want. It didn’t say anything about extra cost, so I expect it would run you the usual 30 bucks.

I use a feather chopper to make my shield cut feathers, and it works well.

Lately, I’ve taken to just cutting the shield part of my shield cut feathers off to make a square back. This gets the feathers closer to the nock and makes them a little shorter.

After experimenting with the AA shaped feathers, I found that I didn’t like the really short fletchings. But I do like the squared off back.

So before investing the 30 bucks, use a scissors and cut some out and try them. Then you will know exactly what to ask for. When cutting the feathers with a scissors, cut against the “grain” of the feather. It will cut cleaner.

Thanks, Steve. I just dropped $25 for a Little Chopper in 3″ parabolic, so I think I’ll stick with that for a while. They may not be as quiet as the AA but they’re a darnsight quiter than 5″ feathers.

The use of a SMALLER feather is interesting to me…..I have always gone with a big 5 1/2″ high back parabolic for the reason of “more feather in the rain”. Hmmmm. Sounds like I could be wrong.

I wonder how the low profile banana cut feathers would work when wet?

Good stuff. Time for an experiment. Thanks. 😀

As an avid fly fisherman, I would assume products used for dry fly fishing (fishing with a fly designed to float and not sink) would be very effective for keeping feathers dry. There are several products, produced by many manufacturers. Check your local fly shop if no archery shop nearby.