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Your decision to use feathers was a good decision; for the reason you have listed and for other reasons.

I would think that your need to nock an arrow while keeping an eye on the deer would not occur very often. If I were you, I would go with:

3 fletch setup using a 5" fletch with a 1-2 degree offset.

Use Bob Rightnour's "Fletch Dry." It works quite well. Do exactly as the simple directions say to do.

My fletch has gotten very wet but do not collapse.



Edited by - c903 on 11/14/2002 23:24:22

When it's raining, I like to slip a plastic bag down over the fletchings in my quiver. Nothing keeps a feather from getting matted down like never allowing it to get wet.

Bohning makes a petroleum based feather waterproofing liquid called Dri-Tite. It comes in a small glass bottle with an applicator brush. Just brush it on both side of each feather liberally, and allow to dry. It stinks like heck at first, but dries odorless within a day. That stuff works pretty well. I treat each of my arrows with it before (and sometimes during) the season.

I tried a silicone powder once that was aweful. You are supposed to place it in a plastic bag, then you stick the fletched end of your arrow in the bag and work the silicone into the feathers. My feathers came out caked with the powder and matted down like like had just gotten wet!

Sort of a side note, but if your feathers DO get wet and matted down, you can revive them. First bring them indoors and allow them to dry. Then boil water in a steam kettle. If you hold the feathers in the steam, the feathers will fluff out like new. Just don't hold them in the steam so long that they become soaked again. <img src=icon_smile_cool.gif border=0 align=middle>

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