Got me some Canada goose feathers this weekend .

K

Kevin the grey

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My nephew was kind enough to give me the wings off a goose he shot . I,m going to try and fletch them up on some arrows this winter . They are supposedly more waterproof than even wild turkey feathers . A little softer . They might not be as durable . They are easier to process as the quill isn,t as tough . If I knew how to get the darn quill out of the wing I would make me a quill pen . For arrows I can just cut the quill off after the plumes .
 
Kevin the grey said:
My nephew was kind enough to give me the wings off a goose he shot . I,m going to try and fletch them up on some arrows this winter . They are supposedly more waterproof than even wild turkey feathers . A little softer . They might not be as durable . They are easier to process as the quill isn,t as tough . If I knew how to get the darn quill out of the wing I would make me a quill pen . For arrows I can just cut the quill off after the plumes .
Click to expand...

Kevin, I get the sense that you have trouble getting enough feathers for fletching. What I did is put up the following poster (with the correct name and phone # of course) in local sporting goods stores during turkey season.

Turkeyposter2.jpg


It worked quite well. You could do the same for waterfowl season (yes Kevin, you would have to change the picture :rolleyes: )

As far as goose being more waterproof, that's probably because of the higher oil line in the feather. I prefer goose feathers because it gives a stiffer fletch, more precise looking along the edge - turkey sometime has a tendency to have a bit of a wave to it, not that it affects it all. Although, for primitive arrows, I prefer the look of the turkey.

Doc
 
If you make heavy war english arrows with goose feathers and with turkey, the one with goose would go as much as 25-30 yards further all else equall.
(This concerns arrows in range from 65 gram up to 120)

Jaro
 
I prefer the goose feathers over turkey. Less noise, but they are less durable. Have killed a few hogs at under 20 paces with wet fletches, so I'm not real worried whether or not a wet feather will hurt my accuracy.
 
Hawkwind ? I don,t know what you are talking about . Peacock feathers are easy to get . The hard part is outrunning the Zoo workers . L:O:L

Doc? Funny thing the goose feathers seem more flimsy/softer than the turkey I get . They do have a nice parabolic shape to them . They are a waterfowl and so have better water resistance . All that preening isn,t just to make them look nice for the ladies .

Part of the issue is if the feathers are commercially dyed they have had their natural oils stripped away to make the dye penetrate better .

No turkey hunting here . (I,m moving purty darn soon) Actually there is some. Just not where there are any birds .

Thats a good idea to advertise for the goose feathers . No phone unfortunately . Maybe I could put up my E_mail . Course that might just confuse shotgun hunters . " GreytravelerWHAT? L:O:L
 
Kevin, if you get goose primaries, they have visible line on them, which is the place where the feather meets other feather when on wing. This is called greaseline.
In old times, they cut the feathers along greaseline, which produces shape known as "Pope and young" - only they used as long as 7´´ fletch and forktailed.
When this is on arrow, the wrrow does the sound exactly like in movies "shoosh" - which is very cool. :D

J.
 
Neat trick I learned a while back for removeing fletching is to pinch the "tip" of the feather then grab one side and tear it off pulling down to shear it off the quill. They glue on like a dream and have a lower profile. I glue them on full, then trim after the Super Glue dries. To the blazes with Fletch Tight.
Ya can make a dozen in a night.
 
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