Primitive Archer

Main Discussion Area => Arrows => Topic started by: dueb on November 08, 2014, 12:33:20 pm

Title: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: dueb on November 08, 2014, 12:33:20 pm: Owls have a special adaptation on their feathers that allow them to fly silently. If we can use these feathers as fletchings I wonder if it would make the arrows quieter and help to avoid spooking game, just a thought. Also I was wondering if this is the right board for this?

Here is a link to the site that gave me the idea. http://animals.howstuffworks.com/birds/owl-fly-silently1.htm
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: Grasshopper Mouse on November 08, 2014, 12:37:16 pm: You're cracking the lid on a big can of worms.
Owl feathers, and feathers of the other predatory birds, are very illegal to use for fletching.

Guy
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: dueb on November 08, 2014, 12:47:20 pm: Really? why are they illegal? Is it because they are illegal to hunt?
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: Chad on November 08, 2014, 01:01:12 pm: Quote from: dueb on November 08, 2014, 12:47:20 pm
Really? why are they illegal? Is it because they are illegal to hunt?

Absolutely, if you get caught with them you can't prove you didn't kill it. You could get in trouble for having a hawk (or any predatory bird) feather in your hat.
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: dueb on November 08, 2014, 01:07:20 pm: Good to know, Thank you. I guess that wraps this thread up...
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: tlow13 on November 08, 2014, 01:35:42 pm: I wonder if maybe you could try creating a serrated edge on whatever feathers you normally would use for fletching, since that seems to be the main reason why owl feathers are silent.
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: JW_Halverson on November 08, 2014, 02:37:59 pm: Unless you left the feathers full width, you would have absolutely no advantage in silencing the fletching. And at that point you are now adding a great amount of drag. This is just assuming you were so stupid as to think you could talk your way out of Federal charges. >:D Who needs that kind of stress in their lives?

Better yet, learn to tune your arrows to the bow. If you can reach that near perfect balance between spine, length, and mass of the arrows, all you need is the tiniest amount of fletch to impart spin....and consequently, have silent arrows!
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: mullet on November 08, 2014, 10:26:20 pm: Every time I see one of these Post, and there have been a few in the last year, the first thing that comes to mind is the Fed's monitoring conversations on here.
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: Grasshopper Mouse on November 09, 2014, 12:34:32 am: See?
Worms, big can thereof.

:-)

Guy
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: osage outlaw on November 09, 2014, 01:41:15 am: (http://rabbittalk.com/images/smilies/canofworms.gif)
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: Buck67 on November 10, 2014, 09:33:17 am: I spent some time on the beach in Florida. There were a lot of Pelican feathers at the high tide line. I briefly considered gathering up a handful and using them to fletch some arrows. Before I did I checked the laws. The law explicitly states that possession of a protected bird feather is punishable by law. Doesn't matter how you got the feather, just that you have it. I did a little more checking. The law was passed by Teddy Roosevelt. At that time, whole species of birds, Sand Hill Crane, Whooping Crane, Great Blue Heron, White Egret were being wiped out by feather hunters for ladies hats. Seems that the best feathers were on breeding birds, so they were shooting them wholesale and they didn't have any chance to reproduce. So the law was written to keep ladies from buying hats with feathers. Who wants a hat that can send you to jail.

As the law reads, you can possess the feathers of anything that you can legally hunt. I think you can possess feathers of invasive species (Starlings), but I'd check on that as well. Other than that it is all bad.

A friend of mine picked up a Blue Jay feather and put it in her hat. She was at an event and a Conservation Officer saw the feather. She got a $135 fine for having the feather.

So bottom line, Owl Feather Bad, Turkey feather good.
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: Parnell on November 10, 2014, 10:43:35 am: I can't tell you how many beautiful feathers go to waste down here in S. FL. If you drive out to Immokalee there are always dead vultures, hawks and wading birds with the most beautiful feathers near the Blair Audobon Sanctuary, (worth checking out if you are ever down here). It's bowling for birds by the cars on that road.

Waste is a shame but better than the alternative.
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: Pat B on November 10, 2014, 12:57:07 pm: They are not wasted, Steve. Lots of microscopic critters eat them. ;) The shame is the cars hitting them.
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: Parnell on November 10, 2014, 04:30:33 pm: Quote from: Pat B on November 10, 2014, 12:57:07 pm
They are not wasted, Steve. Lots of microscopic critters eat them. ;) The shame is the cars hitting them.

Agreed. :)
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: dueb on November 10, 2014, 08:39:27 pm: Thanks for the info Buck! ;)
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: Pappy on November 11, 2014, 05:29:36 am: JMO, this day in age I don't think their would be any problem if they resended that silly law. I guess in the big picture you are right Pat, nothing really goes to waste BUT, it sure make me sick to see them on the road getting mashed and mashed again until their is nothing but a grease spot, seen a big Owl [don't know what kind] yesterday morning, this morning just a mashed up mess. Sad to me. :)
It is kind of like lots of laws and thing that we have done in the past, they were fine at the time but the time has passed. :) Again JMO. ;) :) :) :)
Pappy
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: Parnell on November 11, 2014, 10:30:19 am: I get it Pap. It's funny how certain things will bother me and others won't. I'll see a dead cat in the middle of the road and won't give it another thought but then I'll see a tortoise with it's shell split and it just strikes me as wrong. I always stop and grab the turtles/tortoises and give them a boost across the road.

When I used to run high mileage training for the marathon I came across some suffering animals that had been hit. It's a much different perspective then when flying by at 50 miles an hour.

Anyhow...
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: Pappy on November 11, 2014, 11:09:01 am: I hear ya, I do the same with our box turtles, certain times of the year they litter the road I move them out of the way when I get the chance, still it's a shame to not be able to use it after it is already dead. :)
Pappy
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: Buckeye Guy on November 11, 2014, 01:20:03 pm: Pappy
maybe you can lead the way for change

Eddie
yep always good to know that big brother is watching out for us
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: PrimitiveTim on November 11, 2014, 07:21:06 pm: wait, I thought stupid laws only applied to stupid people??? >:D
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: dueb on November 11, 2014, 07:22:09 pm: Quote from: PrimitiveTim on November 11, 2014, 07:21:06 pm
wait, I thought stupid laws only applied to stupid people??? >:D

I wish :laugh:
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: paoliguy on November 20, 2014, 01:31:37 pm: Quote from: PrimitiveTim on November 11, 2014, 07:21:06 pm
wait, I thought stupid laws only applied to stupid people??? >:D

No, stupid laws are WRITTEN by stupid people....
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: Pat B on November 22, 2014, 09:42:49 am: That law was written by smart people. If it weren't for the law, we wouldn't have all the songbirds, sea birds or raptors we have today. There are plenty enough feathers of legal birds for all of our arrows and fishing flies.
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: DC on November 22, 2014, 10:36:23 am: I agree with the law in general. I just wish they'd put a number on it. Like, possession of more than ten feathers or something. It just seems like such a shame to leave something so useful to rot. But human nature being what it is some a-hole would abuse it ??? ???
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: Pat B on November 22, 2014, 11:05:43 am: That's the problem, DC. The a-h*l@ that would abuse the change ruins it for all. We've survived for over 100 years with that law and no one is the worst for it.
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: DC on November 22, 2014, 07:55:47 pm: Agreed. And it's all because of ladies hats :( :(. I talked to the Environment Officer(newspeak for Game Warden) and he said that they don't pay that much attention to that law in Canada. If you just have a few you've picked up they ignore it. That said, it can be used as an attitude adjuster so take care.
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: icu812 on December 24, 2014, 11:18:31 am: Just to give you a taste of how serious they are about this law in the US: my cousin just got 2 years in federal prison for possession of a raptor wing (which he found dead).. he was charged around the time this post was started so I felt the need to reply. It was his first offense.

If you dont wanna buy expensive feathers, there's always the full length duck and goose feathers they sell at craft stores... $2 for a quarter pound of 'em.
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: Badger on December 24, 2014, 04:15:36 pm: I found a road kill crane one time and cut the wings off it. Months later I was shooting 3-d with a gentleman who asked me what kind of fletches I had on my arrows. I told him and his response was I didn't hear that. He was fish and game and did believe that it was roadkill but advised me to remove the fletches and get rid of them.
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: JW_Halverson on December 24, 2014, 07:00:13 pm: Can you elaborate, icu812. Possession and/or killing of a hawk is not a felony and consequently any incarceration would be less than 12 months by law.
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: Comancheria on December 26, 2014, 10:34:50 pm: There is an old saying they preach at you in law school: "Hard cases make bad law." It is easier for legislators to make absolute rules than to make subtle distinctions. And such rules are easier to enforce. Not sure where I come down on this issue, but sometimes game wardens and their departments, (whom I do admire) can act like what comes out of the south end of a northbound chicken. One example:

Down here on the South Texas coast, we have some really shallow bays--mile after mile of water from
6 inches to 2 feet deep. On a warm day, the speckled trout and redfish will get up in the shallows to feed. Now, we also have very few days in a year where the temperature drops below 32. But every once in a while, we get hit by an Arctic cold front of epic proportions. So back in the early 'eighties, one of those babies blasted in and kept the temperature below freezing for over a week. Near zero at night and teens during the heat of the day. Redfish and specs were caught in the shallows and froze to death by the millions.

We also have--and had then--lots of really poor people in the area. So, seeing a gift from God, they ran down to the beaches with washtubs and baskets, picking up the stunned and dying fish--to eat. So what did Parks and Wildlife do? Ticketed them as fast as they could and made them dump the fish--to rot. Not certain whether it is true or not but it was reported that State officials even brought in extra wardens from counties to the north--to aid in enforcement.

True, the two cases are different, but I think it goes to show that a little discretion in law is an important part of getting the citizens to take laws seriously and WANT to abide by them!

Russ
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: icu812 on December 27, 2014, 12:55:48 am: JW,

He didn't have much working in his favor. He has an extensive criminal history and may or may not have been on probation at the time. He most definitely got two years though, and it was his first game violation (if thats what you call it). I dont know what other factors contributed to his longer than normal incarceration for the predator wing. I have read that its up to 1 year and $100,000 fine for the average Joe's first time offense though. Regardless, bad news!
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: Slackbunny on December 30, 2014, 03:32:26 pm: Quote from: icu812 on December 27, 2014, 12:55:48 am
JW,

He didn't have much working in his favor. He has an extensive criminal history and may or may not have been on probation at the time. He most definitely got two years though, and it was his first game violation (if thats what you call it). I dont know what other factors contributed to his longer than normal incarceration for the predator wing. I have read that its up to 1 year and $100,000 fine for the average Joe's first time offense though. Regardless, bad news!

I'd guess that it violated his probation. That seems the most likely and simple explanation. You need to stay squeaky clean when you're on probation because they'll throw the book at you otherwise. You can go to jail for something as simple as drinking a few beers if it violates your probation terms.
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: Comancheria on December 30, 2014, 04:11:18 pm: That's what I was thinking and I suspect you are right, Stack. But the irony is you probably have a lot greater chance at probation revocation for having an owl feather on your arrow than for getting all
Gurgled up with hooch and running someone off the road and killing them.

OK--sometimes I exaggerate--but not by much.

Russ
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: Comancheria on December 30, 2014, 04:24:12 pm: On a less somber note, I live about 25 miles from where the last Whooping Cranes spend the winter. Down here, they tell the story about the good old boy whose elevator didn't go all the way to the top floor, who was apprehended by the game warden for shooting seagulls. "Please, officer," the guy whined, "My family is starving to death and I ain't got no job--and anyway I didn't know it was agin' the law noway!"

"Well, I'll let you off this one time," the warden said, "but tell me--what does a seagull taste like, anyway"?

And our worthy citizen replied, "It's kinda like a cross between a Golden Eagle and a Whooping Crane"
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: carpholeo on January 10, 2015, 12:59:08 pm: I found part of a dead owl. Before i realized it was illegal, I used its feathers on a few arrows. I didn't notice any reduction in sound.
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: sleek on January 10, 2015, 03:18:23 pm: I once found a dead owl on the road. I checked laws and quickly returned it. I felt bad but would have felt worse in prison.

As an aside at the mention of starling. That bird taste amazing and its legal all over the states. They like dog food. I take a handfull of hard kibble and scatter it in a small area. Then wait inside with the door open. Shoot a few soon as a large flock hits the ground. They fly to the trees. Leave em be or they fly off. When they all hit ground again I shot again with my pellet rifle. Great fun and good eating. Taste like duck. Deep red meat.
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: mullet on January 10, 2015, 06:58:55 pm: Russ;
That was probably the same freeze that stunned and killed a bunch of our Snook. I know a few people that were scooping them up so they didn't go to waste and watching for the Marine Patrol.
It happens here in our lakes with the Tilapia and it is legal to load all you want.
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: sleek on January 10, 2015, 07:03:10 pm: I remember that feeze Eddie. They made snook illegal for a while because of it. I hated life, but understood. Have they recovered yet?
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: gutpile on January 16, 2015, 02:37:37 pm: if you are a card toting Indian you can have owl , eagle or hawk feathers.... just sayin
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: Pat B on January 16, 2015, 04:21:20 pm: I don't think it is quite that simple, Gutpile but I don't know that for fact.
Title: Re: Anyone ever use owl feathers?
Post by: son of massey on January 16, 2015, 04:31:01 pm: My understanding (so take this for what you think that is worth) was that members of indian tribes can get special permits to use specific feathers for specific ceremonial things-like a headdress or what have you. I do not believe they have license to pick up and use feathers as they will, there is still a permit system in place for them even if they do have the ability to be in possession of feathers without it being automatically against the law. The same is true of educational institutions-biology labs can have stuffed owls or hawks, but permission is needed for each.

SOM