Wet feathers.....affect accuracy?
 

I shoot feathers, well, because I like them. The one problem I have tho, is of course they get wet. I have used the powder, didn't like it, now I use Scotch-Gaurd, and that works pretty well, but I am wondering if when they get wet, does it affect the accuracy or speed, or any of that other technical stuff?

RE: Wet feathers.....affect accuracy?
 

I don't have any data to prove it other than shooting myself but yes soggy feathers affect accuracy especially with fixed blade broadheads where many times the control of that raised helical is keeping things going straight. That and they just look like crap.:D

My buddy Frank treats his with the stuff made for Whisker Bisquit rests by CAP called "No Snow" He gives them 2 or 3 coats ahead of time and these puppies are as waterproof as you are going to get feathers. I've seen some of his arrows that have passed through animals and the feathers remain bone dry, and even shed blood.
Combined with a Cat-quiver protecting them, they remain pretty darn weather proof.

Good stuff.

I personally have almost zero patience for feathers even though I do like them. I keep switching back and forth but am starting to just lean entirely to vanes. I worry too much about downpours and stuff even though I know I could waterproof them nicely, and wind up hunting with a vaned arrow anyway on a rainy day. I shoot pretty much nothing but mech. broadheads so I can get away with light small vanes that carry more downrange trajectory and energy even though they weigh a little more than feathers........less drag.

RE: Wet feathers.....affect accuracy?
 

Nope. If I can shoot a bareshaft at 40 yards, wet feathers don't matter. Even with a broadhead, I have never seen my groups increase in size.

RE: Wet feathers.....affect accuracy?
 

So Ewolf are you saying that you are the 1 guy on the planet who just hunts with bare shafted arrows?;) If not then why not based upon your above statement? A wet matted feather does not share the same rotation and steering properties or weight and drag as a fluffed out erect feather so if you are seeing no change at all why not just eliminate fletching altogether and save the drag entirely?

You have practiced with waterlogged feathers to determine group variances and accuracy changes or are you just basing it on an "If"?

Curious, because I too can tune a bow just fine and have found that matted feathers are a crap shoot at any significant ranges. Theoretically if all the feathers are affected by wetness to the same degree group size should not be affected significantly vs a dry batch, but you're saying they should also shoot to the same point of impact everytime regardless of wet or dry?

RE: Wet feathers.....affect accuracy?
 

Actually, I shot in the rain tonight. Out to 35 yards with broadheads, i couldn't see any difference. Even wet feathers have more surface area than most modern broadheads. This is with a heavy shaft by todays standards. I'm sure that helps. I will get out the target arrows and shoot them at 50 yards. Some wet some dry, just to see what happens.

RE: Wet feathers.....affect accuracy?
 

I been shooting feathers for the past 12 years and in my experience they do effect a fixed B/H down range. Out to 20 yards my groups are the same but beyond that the POI change with my Muzzys. I'm using 4 inch feathers for hunting.and 3 inch for target. I can't say what a mech. head will do but I think it depends on the type of mech. head your using Iwould think. I got cought in a down pour yesterday at a shoot and with field points I don't see any effect. The hardest part is seeing the target in the rain. I also have a Cat quiver for hunting because of my feathers. They are a bit of a pain sometimes in bad weather but they fletch better then vanes for me and are a little more forgiving. Plus for the most "important" part they look reallllly cool. I like the powder for weather proofing because it keeps the feathers pliable where the spray's stiffen them up some. Jerry

RE: Wet feathers.....affect accuracy?
 

Do wet feathers change anything? Sure.
Does it affect accuracy? Sure. Does it matter? Maybe. If you have tuned your bow to shoot tail high the added weight of the feathers will bring your nock end down and make it fly straighter. A plus. It will impact higher but most people in the rain shoot lower because they are heavier. If you shoot with a shaft that comes out straight out of the bow you'll most likely still be fine although you may shoot to high., but then again your bow will most likely shoot slower so you will be fine as well. Does it effect things? I'd say yes. Is the effect negative? Maybe. Does a hunter need to know how the elements will effect his game? Most definitely. Don't wait to find out.

RE: Wet feathers.....affect accuracy?
 

Yes, wet feathers do have a bad effect on speed and accuracy. How much of an effect depends, as noted above, on how well the bow is tuned and how good your form and release are. I've never had much of a problem keeping my feathers dry. Until those gallon size baggies cam out, I just used old bread sacks to cover up my feathers in the rain.

Covering them up is your main defense against wet feathers. Waterproofing agents are your second line of defense. If you're caught in a downburst, deer aren't going to be moving anyway, so stick your ready arrow in the quiver and cover it up with the rest of 'em. You'll have more problems on wet, foggy, drizzly days because deer are going to be everywhere on a day like that. I just switch to a fresh ready arrow when it looks like the mist has penetrated my waterproofing on the arrow I've had out.

A friend went to England some years back - many years now, come to think of it - and brought back a package of goose feathers for me. They were amazing, how well they shed water. No wonder so many authors and poets refer to archers' "gray goose quill shafts." They were very good fletches.

RE: Wet feathers.....affect accuracy?
 

I'll remeber that when I here or read it. It would make some sense that they (England) would have used goose instead of turkey. I don't think they had any untill finding them here. Quick search on google showed some here in ID.

Also have a friend who has a gray goose that is bound and determined to be run over. That bird has a real attitude. He says it's leading his ducks out into the road to get rid of them. I'll look at her differently from now on.

Might be some kind of joke in there for the "You might be a bowhunter if" thread.

RE: Wet feathers.....affect accuracy?
 

Hey, I look at all barnyard birds in one of two ways: How good they taste and what kind of feathers can I get for fletching or tying flies. [8D]

RE: Wet feathers.....affect accuracy?
 

Hey, those are great pointers, I will be gettting a gallon size zip top bag to use!! Thanks for the input!!

RE: Wet feathers.....affect accuracy?
 

Both feather and vanes serve two functions. They correct a bad release and to rotate the arrow in flight. If you bare shaft tune your setup, there will be little negative effect for a mechanical release shooter. On the other hand, a poor release for a fingers shooter will have substantially more negative impact on the shot.

RE: Wet feathers.....affect accuracy?
 

Or you could use a whisker biscuit and not worry about wet feathers!;)
Seriously. I had some blowhard at an outdoor 3d range one time telling me (after he seen my wb) that a "guy he knew" was hunting with one in the rain and when he took his shot (at a deer) his arrow barely went 10ft.
So being the skeptic that I am , I walked down to the creek , inserted my arrow into creek (fletching end of course;)) , took some water in my hand and saturated the biscuit , and walked back to where this guy and my buddies were standing at the 20yd stakes. I then proceeded to shoot the soggy arrow (and biscuit) into the 12 ring.:D The guy then said "his buddy must have been full of s***" and walked away. My buddies said it was the coolest thing they ever seen. When I shot , there was a cloud of mist from the fletchings passing thru the biscuit. Somebody (that shoots a wb) and owns a digital camera should try this and get a pic.

RE: Wet feathers.....affect accuracy?
 

Bowfanatic, I know what you mean about shooting through the WB when it's wet. I've done it hundreds of times and the arrows fly great. That little burst of mist is kind of cool looking.

I don't worry much about feathers in the rain. I'm typically shooting at such close ranges, that it wouldn't matter. For peace of mind, I put on vaned broadhead in my quiver - just in case. I've yet to pull it out to use while hunting.