Plains quiver - help

[lisjak]

I intend to make and try plains quiver. Now I have to decide if I will make quiver with exposed fletching or full cover quiver.
What is your opinion for quiver that will be used for general shooting ( please consider, fletching protection, arrows folling out, feather damage...).

I have read that the best material is elk braintan hide. I have access to vegetable tan hides. Could someone describe which is the best thicknes of the leather?
My idea is to use vegetable taned leather and add soft wool or flecee liner in the part where feathers lie. What do you think about this configuration?

[Jeremy]

I can email you some instructions I typed up a few years ago for one style with a few variations.

Braintan hides are tough to come by and not the best choice IMO.  Garment tanned elk, moose or even cow will work well in the 4-8oz range (depending on tannage) and will hold up longer with less upkeep.

Vegetable tanned leather will Not work very well - even at 2-3oz it's still too stiff to collapse on the arrows to keep them in the quiver and from rattling.

You can see a bunch of my quivers at this link:

 http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=48;t=000763;p=2

Exposed or covered fletching is a personal choice.  With my long draw length (30+") it takes quite a bit of motion to draw an arrow from a full-coverage quiver.  They do protect the fletching though if you're moviong through thick brush.  Most of my personal quivers have had the fletching exposed; I hunt in some very thick brush and don't really have issues moving through it.  For just general shooting you may be happier with them exposed.

[Doug A]

I like the fletching exposed.  You can easily protect your feathers with your hands or one of the fleece fletching covers, but in my experience,a full length quiver will damage your feathers.

[Blackhawk]

I will try and post pics later of a plains quiver that I made.  I made the quiver big enough to fully enclose the fletch, but simply fold it back when I want the feathers exposed. It's the best of both worlds and really never had an issue with feather damage.

[lisjak]

Thank's for answers. I have made one plains quiver some years ago. It was quick made quiver from old chrome tanned cow hide. It was quiver with fletching exposed, and I have problems that arrows fell out if I lean forward. My be it was problem with sling atachement or leather. In TBB Jay Massey wrote that chrome tanned leather is to limp. I am not native english speaker and I understand limp as not stiff enough. Soo that's why I intend to make it from stiffer leather.
And another question. What holds arrows in the quiver: fletching touching rough inner surface of the quiver or whole body of the quiver.
How did you wear quiver?

[Pat B]

A true plains type quiver is made with soft leather but has a stiffener(stick, arrow shaft, etc) attached across the top to prevent the quiver from sagging. The softer leather will envelope the shafts and help keep the arrows from falling out. Also the fletching are usually covered in a plains type quiver.

[Jeremy]

Pat's got it.  The leather is very soft and collapses on the arrow, the stiffener helps he quiver keep it from sagging.  Having an "arrow cup" on the end of the stiffener was common to reinforce the bottom of the quivers as well.

Pat, ever try drawing a 32" arrow from a full-coverage quiver?     It requires a whole lot of movement and is likely the reason why many of the quivers from the South West were not full coverage (the arrows were typically cane with foreshafts and quite long, even by my standards).