Feathers

[Broken Arrow]

Yeah, I read in TBB (#3 I think)  That the only purpose for fletching is to keep the back from passing the front.  I noticed on the travel channel's show Tribal life (Pumpah tribe i think)  The natives dont use fletchings.  I think its because they shoot vertical more than horizontal. 

[Pat B]

...and their arrows are probably longer.  Pat

[Kegan]

Like Pat said, they were probably longer. I think Tpoof has a set of aboriginal bow and arrows that were very long. Pretty cool things 9fly well too)

[Lloyd]

Awesome.  Thanks guys.  I just thought if I had some chickens, I would have a steady supply of feathers.  I thought about getting turkeys or ducks, but they were 5.99 a peice as apposed to 1.99.  Next year, I might get a few but for now I'll stick to chickens.
How do you guys get peacock feathers?  You farm them?   Do the feathers look good on the arrow?  Are they radiant like the tails?
Sorry for the child-like questioning, but Im new at this and have a ton of questions.

Peacock wing feathers do not look like tail feathers. Most of the ones I get are cinnamon, sometimes white, sometimes chocolate but the chocolate ones usually are not that good.
Cinnamon peacock feathers look great on arrows. Take a look

[Trapper]

Yeah what Loyd said, I love the red wing feathers of the peacock, to me they look like redtail hawk tail feathers without the black band that the hawk has of course, ........ Now the Cherokees and Creeks used Guine feathers alot because they raised them, and Ive used guine feathers to, they look way cool black with little white spots.       Trapper

[Broken Arrow]

Thanks Guys.

[Loki]

Yeah, I read in TBB (#3 I think)  That the only purpose for fletching is to keep the back from passing the front.  I noticed on the travel channel's show Tribal life (Pumpah tribe i think)  The natives dont use fletchings.  I think its because they shoot vertical more than horizontal.

'Return of the tribe' a British tv series brought six members of a Papue New Guinea tribe to England to see how we lived (they werent impressed ),these men were all Bow Hunters so they were overjoyed and a little confused when they went to a archery club and had a go on the Longbows.Everyone was expecting them to be wonderful shots but they couldnt hit the boss!when asked what the problem was he said "its these things on the arrow" pointing at the fletchings,his people had never used a fletched arrow,he got his own Bow and arrow out and he was hitting the bullseye  .His arrow was twice as long as normal,it flew pretty straight at close range which is all they've ever needed.
Bit of info on the series.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/showbiz/tv/todaystv/tm_headline=return-of-the-tribe&method=full&objectid=19063980&siteid=89520-name_page.html



I like the the Peacock Lloyd uses (Kings arra's those beauty's),i mainly use Turkey but will take Goose and Swan when i can get it  .

These three are Turkey,I know the whipping's a disgrace but hell,they fly!

The other end 

[welch2]

I've used gunie hen,chicken, crow  you name it , here is one fletched with pigeon feathers.



Ralph

[NorthernArcher]

Broken Arrow - The peacock feathers I have are buff (primaries) and black (secondaries).  I got them from a friend of my parents who happened to have a dead peacock.  I'm planning on getting myself a camera this summer, and when I do I'll be posting a LOT of pictures... lol.  The peacock primaries work great!  They are as stiff and durable as any turkey or goose I have ever used, the buff color is beautiful, and they fly quiet enough for a good set of hunting arrows.  The secondaries were good as well, but I prefer stiffer feathers.

I have never tried using smaller feathers to fletch arrows with the two-fletch, whole-feather method, but after looking at those pictures I think I'll give it a try.  They look really cool.  Perhaps I'll fletch a set of cane arrows that way this summer.  The geese are molting right now, so there are plenty of feathers available at the park near my house.  I look forward to getting a camera and sharing some pictures with y'all  .