Trad Gang
Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: Tradtical Commando on January 25, 2014, 11:46:00 AM
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While listening to LB-hnter's podcast on stump shooting benefits, he mentioned the need for bright fletching for practice in order to train your "minds eye" if you will, by better seeing the arrows arc and or flight path.
It strikes me as a very valid point that I had never before considered. I suppose I was just wondering who all else felt this way and or followed said principle.
I am an avid turkey hunter, so in my mind I always lean toward subdued colors on everything, so I guess I should fletch up a few bright practice arrows???
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For practice, 3-D and hunting bright fletching can't hurt. Just keep them covered while hunting. A friend shoot black feathers, black shafts and they dissappear in the air, ground and target.
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You should use a bright fletching for hunting to to make it easier to verify a hit. If you flagged your target with for feathers then you weren't concealed enough to make a shot anyway.
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What BBJ said or you moved at the wrong time. All I shoot, for everything, is fluorescent yellow feathers and crown dip-easier to see, follow, and find. Can't recall ever having the bright colors give me away.
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lol You fellas turkey hunt enough outside of a blind with those bright feathers and you will…lol
Point taken completely though, at least for everything but Turkeys. I think I am gonna try dipping and fletching some ( first time).
Do y'all have any color suggestions?
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You could also try a lighted nock. I would guess you could follow the arrow without dips or bright fletching then.
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Depending on how you shoot bright fletch makes a huge difference...dipping your shafts not so much because you can't see the shaft while the arrow is in flight, but they are pretty. If you shoot without gapping and try to visualize your arrows path to the target, bright fletch really helps you program your mind for this at different distances.
I like white or yellow and never had a problem while hunting...but I've never turkey hunted with a bow either. Thinking about giving it a try this spring if I get drawn again though! Killed my first one last year with a 12 ga and had a blast!
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Pink!
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I use orange wraps, nocks, and feathers.
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Lighted nock is wonderful shooting at dusk.
Remember reading in Asbel's first book to choose a fletch color that your eye sees well, he loves red but that does not work for me. I stick with chartreuse or more recently pink and a lighted nock.
I cheat and use a pop up blind for turkeys.
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White nocks help a lot, too.
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I agree about bright and all of the advantages, but I did for a while use dark just so I would have no distraction from my spot until the arrow hit.
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If I ain't hunting its bright feathers. Arrows are expensive and bright feathers cost the same as the others.
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Hot Pink, White and Chartruese. I use the Chartruese and white for spring bear, better in low light conditions. Number 1 choice...Team Pink.
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a281/sf1oak/004-1_zps85474e03.jpg) (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/sf1oak/media/004-1_zps85474e03.jpg.html)
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a281/sf1oak/005-1_zpsb8a20216.jpg) (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/sf1oak/media/005-1_zpsb8a20216.jpg.html)
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a281/sf1oak/P6200001a_zpsf9ca4ce8.jpg) (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/sf1oak/media/P6200001a_zpsf9ca4ce8.jpg.html)
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I too use bright fletch at all times. Helps me see where the arrow ends up. I typically don't see them in flight under 20 yards shooting in well lit spots with light target faces - so when I do see fletch it could be a bad release. Something I like to know about.
In the woods is when I really like to see them; registering a hit (or m-m-m-m-miss) or in looking for arrows in the grass and leaf litter after roving.
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I was afraid I would get taken to the woodshed for mentioning lighted noks but they are awesome for visualizing the flight of your arrows.
I have a few Nokturnals that I have shot easily 100 shot each and they still work like new. I won't hunt without them now.
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Originally posted by jrchambers:
I agree about bright and all of the advantages, but I did for a while use dark just so I would have no distraction from my spot until the arrow hit.
Agreed...It seems to me that even considering following the flight path of an arrow takes the shooters focus away from where it ought to be...I like bright nocks and Fletch to see where I hit only after the arrow arrives on target
DDave
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Originally posted by destructive_mechanic:
lol You fellas turkey hunt enough outside of a blind with those bright feathers and you will…lol
Point taken completely though, at least for everything but Turkeys. I think I am gonna try dipping and fletching some ( first time).
Do y'all have any color suggestions?
I'm going on my first turkey hunt with a bow this spring. Can they really see colors? i typically use white fletching, or florescent. But my quiver has an arrow sheath that covers everything except the one on my bow....
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Bright yellow seems to be best for me. I feel it's important to see the arrow for hunting shots and to "train the brian" during practice.
Kirk, turkeys see colour very well. I don't use bright fletching for them if I'm not going to be in a blind.
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Kirk,
The turkey hunting class I had to take stated that they can definitely see colors. I've used hot pink, but only from a blind, didn't seem to spook the birds. I may not be the one to listen to, I haven't killed one yet. I think I need new arrows-they keep missing!!
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Brother Kirk they can see so much better than us, especially movement. Good thing they can't smell worth a hoot or we would have a hard time getting one.
As long as your movement is hidden from those all seeing eyes you will be fine. Good luck.
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Originally posted by Kirkll:
Originally posted by destructive_mechanic:
lol You fellas turkey hunt enough outside of a blind with those bright feathers and you will…lol
Point taken completely though, at least for everything but Turkeys. I think I am gonna try dipping and fletching some ( first time).
Do y'all have any color suggestions?
I'm going on my first turkey hunt with a bow this spring. Can they really see colors? i typically use white fletching, or florescent. But my quiver has an arrow sheath that covers everything except the one on my bow.... [/b]
My man, hunting a turkey is like hunting a huge skitsophrantic(spelling) hawk. They can definitely see colors, but my concern with anything not subdued is their amazing ability to see movement under any conditions and through the thickest brush. So any color out of the ordinary, or that doesn't fit, will not only make one wary, but the faintest movement of said peculiar color/ or inappropriate camo will make them take off. It is amazing to see one run through the woods though. They have an amazing ability to run at full speed and keep a tree perfectly between you and it. I've actually chased one after a bad shot for over 400 yards through woods and up and down ridges without ever getting a chance to make another shot, and I hung with it well within shooting range. Always had a tree between me and it. It truly was amazing.
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Kirk- there is a guy one here, I think he goes by joebuck, that is an absolute turkey slaying beast with a trad bow, without a blind too. He would be the one to talk to and pick his brain.
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Kirk...if turkeys could smell...no one would kill them. Their eyes are phenominal.....Spring Turkey finds me using my Catquiver with no bright feathers at all.
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i hunt and shoot and do just about everything else with green fletching and green/white crests and a green nock...i see them well so its what i use...for camo in the spring i use green tre bark feathers and you guessed it green and white cresting :p and have to spook a turkey but have yet to shoot one either. :rolleyes: ..although have had several under my stands while deer hunting... :knothead:
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I use pink and blue. Colours that are not natural in the bush. I can see them fly and they are much easyer to find.
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3 flo yellow at practice. 2 white barred 1 brown barred hunting. Thinking of going to bright colors at all times my eyes arnt what they used to be.
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Of course, bright feathers help the conscious and subconscious mind see and remember the arrow's path better. I've been using three white shield cut feathers, white crown dip and white nocks for my practice arrows for about 40 years now. For deer and other critter hunting, I change to natural barred feathers. For turkeys, I drop the crown dip as well. My brother uses three chartreuse feathers and a white crown dip for his target and hunting arrows.
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Absolutely! Use fur tracers behind fletching works great too. Also read Jay Kidwell, Instinctive Archery Insights on this. You actually accelerate learning trajectory/yardage by this visual cue.
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For me I use a bright colored nock.
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Chartruse, flo. orange, and white are the three colors I use for all arrows, regardless of their intended use. If I use wraps they are either white or chartruse. Nocks are always flo orange or yellow.
I made up a dozen arrows with natural barred fletching, man were they cool! I shot horribly with them! I just couldn't see them in flight and they were nearly impossible to find if you missed. I did a dance when I finally lost the last one! That was over 20 years ago and I never considered doing it again, no matter how cool they look.
I must see the flight for repeatable accuracy, and the bright colors show shot placement well on game.
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I fletched up some fluorescent yellow arrows like I saw some on here had. Thy are pretty cool looking. Now I need to fletch up a couple turkey hunting ones and try to give them a go with a bow. Thanks for all the good info.
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I too shoot BRIGHT whether hunting or practicing.
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Turkey guys - you might consider a little bright rabbit fur (Zonker strip for fly tying) attached post feathers - reallys lights up the arrow as it flies and doesn't have as much to notice as a dip and brightly feathered shaft.
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(http://i441.photobucket.com/albums/qq136/bloodtrailer7/c01e851c-0684-4eb9-acaa-2ce5f7ae8e38_zpsafe92975.jpg) (http://i441.photobucket.com/albums/qq136/bloodtrailer7/002-16.jpg)
In flight :goldtooth:
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I have come to like bright or flourescent pink fletch the best. To me it is the most visible in the widest array of light conditions. You will notice many of the other common colors can become harder to see depending on the time of day/ lighting.
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I shoot all white feathers and white nocks on all of my arrows. Even the stuff from the compound.
I just take a black markers and draw a line down the side of the nock to quickly reference cock feather
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like wheels I shoot white nocks dipped white shaffs and white barred feathers. I can see white in flight better than any color.
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Absolutely. Athletic training FACT: Visual feedback! It trains your eye to see trajectory- which in turn gives your brain distance calculation/accuracy. Use feather tracers behind the fletch for even more visual cue.
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Definitely helps me..I like bright orange and yellow fletching
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Kirk, I am convinced that turkeys absolutely can pick up bright colors, even if only the one on your bow. When I first started trying to hunt turkeys without a blind I used bright fletch and kept getting busted everytime they got close. I use flo. orange for all my hunting except turkeys. For those, it's natural barred or natural colors only. It does seem to have helped.
I know that Joebuck is so concerned about turkeys sight that he colors his steel broadheads with a black magic maker. They have excellent vision!
That being said, I have had turkeys walk right by me during deer gun season while wear blaze orange and they never even looked my way. Go figure.
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White crest dip or reflective arrow wraps with white, yellow or chartreuse feathers and yellow or chartreuse nock is what I prefer for practice or hunting. I like to see the arrow and spot where I hit on target. Also good if you don't have perfect vision like me.
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Yes, birds see color. Why do you think the males are so brightly colored?
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Fluorescent yellow for me...I'm colorblind and they stand out compared to other colors. I defiantly think it helps to train your brain during practice as well as determining a hit on a animal...especially in low light.
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The bright colors show me how far I am from where I was aiming. :banghead: