How long does your Fletching Last?

[Sam McMichael]

They usually last longer than the shafts. Some do develop some wear, but after several years of shooting many are still quiet and accurate. Feather wear has never crossed my mind as a problem at any level. Like I said, the shafts usually give out before the feathers become a problem.

[mahantango]

I also have never worn out feathers, and I shoot pretty much every day - year around. Carbon, cedar, and aluminum. I do shoot cock feather in and tune for really good flight.

[dnovo]

I generally break or lose the arrows before I ever need to refletch. The best thing is to break it with fresh blood on it.

[VA Elite]

My feather tend to get softer and thinner. They did with my compound as well. That was with a drop away rest. Someone want to post a pic of their fletchings?

[nineworlds9]

Originally posted by McDave:
I don't know that I've ever replaced the fletching on an arrow from being worn out, even after hundreds, maybe even a thousand shots.  Sometimes the arrow gets lost, one of the feathers will fall off, or it gets damaged.  Other than that, I've had fletching get a little frayed on one of the hen feathers, but not enough that I think it affects arrow flight.

I'm not really sure why that is. As a 3 under shooter, I nock a little higher than a split-finger shooter would, and maybe that results in more arrow clearance from the shelf.  I try, as I'm sure we all do, to get a clean release, which also helps with arrow clearance.

This exactly, except I shoot split but do still have nockpoint higher than most.

[Flingblade]

I shoot feather to nose, three under and awhile back I switched to right wing feathers.  I have noticed the lower hen wears out quickly so I am now going back to left wing as I never had that problem with left wing.  Anyone else experience excessive wear with either left or right wing?

[Archer Dave]

These red one are right wing. They are cut from full length Trueflight feathers and seems quite a bit thinner then others I have. Maybe that is part of my problem.

[Caughtandhobble]

I use three 5" shield, they last a really long time for me. I shoot daily and I have some arrows that are a couple years old, maybe older. I have only been shooting traditional for a few years.

I think one reason that fletching last a long time has to do with tuning as much as anything. I will say that I do build up my rest, creating a channel for my feathers to have good clearance. Also using good feathers helps out, I have been mostly shooting wild turkey feathers that I have taken. The very worst thing for arrows is shooting more than one arrow at the target.

[KyStickbow]

I shoot 5" shields..and have been shooting the same dozen for almost a year. Fletchings dont look brand new...but they r in pretty good shape. Several have been run through deer as well....washed out and back in the quiver.

[Hud]

To check for where the feather is hitting, put some talc, or Johnson's baby powder on the shelf, blow the excess off and watch for a streak, or rub mark. You can paper test the arrows to find out if they are flying good. Check the following information.
  http://elitearrows.com/proper-arrow/

[Overspined]

Yeah, mine don't seem to wear out either.  Probably a spine issue. With carbons cock feather in seems to help.  Carbons recover so quickly that it can be difficult to really see if your arrow isn't quite right or is hitting the shelf.

[Fritz]

Depends on how many animals it goes through. I never wear out fletching just shooting targets.

[GreyGoose]

I definitely re-fletch more than I break or lose arrows, but I'd say it usually takes 5 or 6 months before I've clipped them badly enough that I feel compelled to re-do them.

[longbowman]

I shoot 5 1/2" shield feathers and shoot thousands of arrows a year and have never had a feather wear down.  The judo tipped arrow I'm shooting right now has worn out at least 6 judo's but still has the same fletch on it.