Feathers?????

[bob cooly]

I have some 340 Easton Axis arrows that I want to put some 125gn Muzzy Phantoms on and fletch with feathers, 4 or 5 inch. I have never shot feathers on a compond before, give me some ideas you featherfans. 2012 Bengal at 60lbs.

[Sonny Thomas]

??? 340s a little stiff maybe, but 125 gr head might help. Just me... Looking down range speed, 60 pounds, heavy arrow.....4" feathers, full helical.
You like them Easton 340s...I've got maybe 16 used, but darn good. what length you use?

[NuttyNative]

I've got a 1/2 doz of Easton Axis 340's and 1/2 doz of GT 5575 XT Hunters with 4" feathers that I use in both my bows. I like the way they fly and they seem more accurate than the blazers. My groups are tighter at all distances, I prefer feathers.

[Mike G]

I have used 5" feathers on my arrows because they give me that little better stabilizing effect. With my new setup though I have gone with 4" feathers. No real reason just an availabilty issue.

I have found, for me, that the feathers were the better option. Any little tear or warping of the plastic vanes makes the arrows fly more erratic, and I would get what I call flyers. Arrows that were not tight in my group.

I can loose a chunk of feather and the arrow still flies great and hits with my others. If I get an area where the feather is messed up from another arrow hitting it I can cut it out. Although for hunting I always make sure the arrows in my quiver have perfect fletchings.

I know those short little vanes are the "thing" now, but the fletchings are what stabilizes the arrow in flight and keeps it flying true. With a heavier point the longer fletching will give you that little better FOC also.

I have shot groups of arrows with no fletching at all and if the bow is tuned at close yardages they'll group good. Although I never tried this outdoors with wind. Longer fletchings will give you more wind drift on longer shots.

Mike

[elkslayer4x5]

And the bad news is that 5 inch feathers will have more drag, and you'll lose down range speed, I shoot 4 inch feathers, my arrow is stabilized quicker than vanes and still mantain some down range speed. YMMV

[bfisher]

I started my career of bowhunting and competitive shooting almost 40 years ago with feathers. Changed to vanes in the mid 70's mainly because they were more weather proof. Somewhere I changed back to feathers, although I use vanes every once in a while. I still prefer feathers the majority of the time for most of the reasons listed by 4x5.

The size I shoot depends on what venue I'm shooting. Usually 2" for target and 3D, 4" for hunting. There can be uses for 5", but on carbon arrows today they can be overkill. For one thing they wrap around the shaft too much, plus they can provide too much drag which can actually hurt accuracy at longer distances. Too much drag can make groups open up unless shooting heavier points for increased FOC. If a bow is tuned decently 4" is almost ideal.

Some people are jumping on the fad of shooting 2" Razyr feathers. I shoot them for 3D, simply because I bought a pack of 50 so I have them. I don't believe them to be the best option for hunting. Regardless of what people think there is nothing majical about Razyrs. They are still a 2" feather and as such don't provide enough drag for broadhead shooting unless the bow is tuned very well and every shot is near perfect, which we know isn't always the case.

These are my thoughts about feathers. They're old school, but have proved their usefulness for thousands of years.

[bob cooly]

I cut my arrows at my draw lenght 29"s. I know these are a little stiff for a 60LB bow, but feel the need to utilize these arrows. They shoot really well with 125grn. Silktips and Blazer's. Figure the 3 or 4" feathers might give me a bit more FOC.

[elkslayer4x5]

I cut my arrows at my draw lenght 29"s. I know these are a little stiff for a 60LB bow, but feel the need to utilize these arrows. They shoot really well with 125grn. Silktips and Blazer's. Figure the 3 or 4" feathers might give me a bit more FOC.

Sure will! One vane will weigh as much as all 3 4" feathers.

[wscywabbit]

As everyone here has stated, I prefer the control and accuracy the feathers give. I have been using 2" Rayzr feathers for a year now, including hunting and have had phenomenal success with them. And Barry, I understand your misgivings with the 2" and broadheads, but IMO they steer better than the 2" Blazer vanes and my broadheads flew perfect (Both Carbon Express F15's and Muzzy 3's) even out to 50yds where I could hit my small Rhino target consistently.

There are many perks, as well as cons to feathers;

Pros:

Weight; 3 feathers weigh as much as one Blazer
Arrow recovery time is quicker
Durable (even when messed up and ugly looking they fly well)
I also have yet to have a feather "fall off"; with my blazers (and the same glue) every once in a while a vane would just fall off for no apparent reason...

Cons:

Cost, they are slightly more expensive
Speed drops off faster at further distances because they have more drag than a vane
When they get soaked, they tend to collapse on themselves until they are dry, then they can be "fluffed up" and go back to normal
Noise; they are louder in flight than a vane

IMO, the pros out weigh the cons for me, and I probably will not go back to vanes any time soon.

[bob cooly]

Well Trueflight 4" feathers showed up, BHSStore shorted me a pack of broadheads, I'll deal with that tomarrow. They would not fit in my long right Ariz. Easyfletch so I took some miniture files and my dremel tool and fixed it. Will fletch up a couple of arrows tomarrow and give it a whirl through the bengal.