Making Arrow Fletchings - Arrowsmithing

Your arrow will fly even better with fletchings crafted from feathers.

The best feathers for length are possibly the turkey or goose. The former being quite widespread across the US...

reply to post by WatchRider


Great thread and a shame no responses yet.

I have been shooting my whole life and used about every form of archery out there. Lord only knows how much money I wasted on gizmo's which did not turn out.

Since this is in the survival arena, I have a few questions for discussion's sake:

1. Is it worth me achieving the mastery of feather fletching sans glue/prepared fletching or vanes? Or do I just store a ton of the vanes I already use to hopefully get me through whatever happens?

2. I wonder if you took archers from the long bow days and gave them a choice between modern, parallel limb compound bow and the modern accessories or what they have?

3. Not a question but it is really hard to match the cosmetic beauty of a well built long bow and traditional arrows compared to modern equipment. The ascetics are just not there.

My guess is that the modern versions simply hold up better over time, and allow for more draw weight, while weighing less, thus improving aim and range. Also, modern arrows are less prone to warpage, and likely a chance of being reused.

reply to post by Gazrok


You are right about the warping-wooden shafts may warp over time if not looked after properly,but they can be re straighted pretty easy over a fire.
Feather fletches are excellent though-I have had many go right through a target,and get lodged half way down the fletches.But if you pull the arrow right through from the back of the target they survive just fine-unlike the new urathane/rubber sort which just peel off if loged in the target.

I have actually replace some of my crossbow bolts with feather fletches,as I hate the way the stock ones peel off if they go through a target.

Each have their good points though I guess.

Originally posted by ABNARTY
reply to post by WatchRider

 

Great thread and a shame no responses yet.

I have been shooting my whole life and used about every form of archery out there. Lord only knows how much money I wasted on gizmo's which did not turn out.

Since this is in the survival arena, I have a few questions for discussion's sake:

1. Is it worth me achieving the mastery of feather fletching sans glue/prepared fletching or vanes? Or do I just store a ton of the vanes I already use to hopefully get me through whatever happens?

2. I wonder if you took archers from the long bow days and gave them a choice between modern, parallel limb compound bow and the modern accessories or what they have?

3. Not a question but it is really hard to match the cosmetic beauty of a well built long bow and traditional arrows compared to modern equipment. The ascetics are just not there.

1 - Just get good at feathers into fletchings, use pine-sap if ordinary glues are unavailable for whatever reason.

2 - If English, What they have / had, Scottish, short bow / crossbow maybe longbow. Continental European, Crossbow.

3. We live more in an artificial machine age nowadays people harken back to the old ways of crafted arms and doings.

Originally posted by Gazrok
My guess is that the modern versions simply hold up better over time, and allow for more draw weight, while weighing less, thus improving aim and range. Also, modern arrows are less prone to warpage, and likely a chance of being reused.

Even arrows that are warped can be shot, a good archer can allow for the warp with a lot of practice and as long as it's not too extreme the arrow flies near-as-dammit true at short range anyway. Also heat-straightening is an option.

Problems with modern arrows is they lack penetration through hard targets, the carbon / metal arrow is so light it lacks mass. Compound bows are utterly useless without a workshop nearby to repair and maintain them. Drawing out of synch in combat conditions can mean cam/pulley failure.
Try making a compound arrow in your workshop compared to a wooden one. Now try doing it post SITX etc.

Longbows / Recurve bows will outlast them. There are longbows dating back to the 1400s and 1500s still going strong also.