Wet feathers in hunting

[2Blade]

Last year I was shooting feathers in a light rain I got in 29yards of a doe I was told that wet feathers wouldn't fly then someone else told me they would fly because the guy shot 3-D with them and he got a good score. Long story shot I shot the doe high and back under her spine and she ran off when I was shooting for her lung area. I was disgusted for a perfect opportunity being destroyed because of wet feathers. How do you guys keep them dry?

 I seen Tred Barta put a small bag over is arrows but his arrow he was shooting was still exposed to rain. What can I do so this doesn't happen again? Theres nothing worse then wounding an animal and I dont want that to happen again. Tips?

[NoCams]

2Blade,
Go back to the drawing board with your bow tuning and make sure that your bareshafts are flying perfect, ( a tad weak actually ). Then when you add feathers to the shaft it will be spined perfect as the added weight of the feathers will stiffen the dynamic spine. Then who cares if it rains. I shot both mine and my son's in the pouring rain, even with broadheads and they stil fly good. We use sealskin rests and they were completely flattened from the rain too. If your setup is properly tuned rain is no big deal. 29yds would be a pretty long shot for me on a bluebird day,much less the rain too. Hope this helps.

nocams

[Jerry Jeffer]

I've shot deer in pouring rain. No problem with the arrow flight. I'm sure a dry feather would be best. I try to keep 'em dry ,but have sat all day with a soggy fletched arrow on my string, not worried about getting a shot. Perhaps some other thing happened to make your shot errant. (sp)?

[2Blade]

This shot wasn't with a stickbow it was with a compound and mechanical broadhead so they fly like field points would the high speed be why they flew like that?

[Sneakypete]

I use Fletch-Dry powder. Works great in snow and light rains but nothing keeps feathers dry in a downpour.  Or maybe it was jut an off shot -- they happen -- and nothing to do with we feathers. Hard to say. Shorten your shots to 20 yards and bes safe.

[stringplucker613]

I use a silicone "mold release" on mine and they stand tall in a downpour!!!  I have also heard about using black magic tire shine on em.....  just do it early enough so they can air out and the smell goes away.

[Molson]

Maybe the wet feathers had something to do with it and maybe they didn't.  Any number of things can happen on shots at that distance.

I don't weather proof my feathers anymore.  It has never bothered my shooting and it's pretty rare that you can't keep them dry enough to shoot. If you want to weather proof them, silicone boot spray works very well as does the waterproof powder.

[dposalski]

I just found an arrow that I left outside overnight.  The feathers were wet.  I shot it and it flew more true than my other arrows.  Maybe more weight at the rear of the arrow.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Originally posted by 2Blade:
This shot wasn't with a stickbow it was with a compound and mechanical broadhead so they fly like field points would the high speed be why they flew like that?

If you are shooting with a center shot compound bow....Why are you shooting with feathers? You can use a soft bohning flex-fletch, or Blazers, or a number of different vanes that will hold up to any weather conditions, and definatly fly truer than wet feathers.....

I can understand shooting feathers off the shelf of a trad bow....but if you are going to shoot wheelies.....whats the point?

[2Blade]

Ive always been a feathers guy I love seeing seeing blood soaked feathers. I took my bow home and shot it and it was shooting off I took my other half dozen that was dry and packed them in at 30 yards. Sorry I know this isnt a compound forum and im not trying to bring that but im not sure if wet feathers make a diffrence with wet feathers on stickbows and compounds.

So bottom line I should be ok with damp feathers off my recurve?

[curlis]

If your arrows are tuned wet feathers won't matter.

[nailbender]

Goose feathers stand up better to damp conditions than turkey feathers.

[2Blade]

Would it be worth it to soak  my feathers tomm and see how they fly?

[Roadkill]

we just shot a tournament in the wind and snow yesterday. The wet feathers were a problem to those who had not properly tuned.  If the arrow is tuned the only thing that seemed to matter for me is when a single feather was dry and the others were wet and laid down  the I got some erratic flight.  I shot a very long shot with slicked feathers and stil managed to get the arrow smoothly down range-notice I didn't say I hit the target!  It's me not the bow or arrow.

[FJTOYMAN]

If your arrows are tuned properly it should not matter if your feathers are wet or not. Especially with a mechanical broadhead. NoCams was right on with his tunning advise. My arrows fly great set up the same way.

If your still not confident with wet feathers shoot vanes off an elevated rest. I have my gamemaster set up with a flipper rest and blazer vanes on my arrows for those really wet Oregon days. If I waited for a dry day I might not ever get out.

[Orion]

Are you saying you are never off by a few inches at 30 yards, even when shooting at a live animal with your adrenalin pumping?  Even if you were on when the arrow left the bow, the animal could have moved slightly before the arrow got to her.  Upon hearing a threatening noise, such as a bow going off, their first movement is down to gather their legs under them to make a jump.  That would cause a high hit, even if your aim was perfect.  I wouldn't blame the feathers.  Shot selection and execution are much more likely causes.

[2Blade]

I was thinking of the flipper rest thing my Kempf is setup so I could shoot sights and a rest but no sighst for me. I went and shot today in wet snow and my feathers were soaked at 20 yards they kicked to the side coming off the bow but straighten up and hit close to where I wanted some were in there. I shot much better today then I have in awhile.

When I had the deer in front of me I seen everying she didnt jump til the arrow hit her I was off by a foot atleast. I dont know I know when I got home I shot the wet feathers and they were off and my dry ones were on.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Strip some of those soggy feathers off competely and shoot some bare shafts....this may tell the story....if you are a consistant enough shot to group at 3-4 inches at 20 yards...you can succefully bare shaft tune your arrows and/or bow..... this one foot high shot doesn't ring consistant with a fletching issue....

my .02 cents....

[MikeS]

I have posted this before but I'll do it again for those who haven't seen it.  If you want to keep your feathers in good shape, even in a downpour!, you need to buy some SCENTSIBLE FEATHER DRY!!  For anyone who thinks I have something to do with the marketing of this product I can assure you, I don't!  I just know that it works and works unbeliveably well!  The first time I saw it work last year was at a shoot in Vermont.  My buddy had coated his feather with it.  Everyone else in our group had their feathers covered with bagst to keep the rain off.  It rained all the while we shot!  The guy with the FEATHER DRY didn't even attempt to keep his feathers dry.  He simply popped them in his quiver and went shooting.  He shot for 2 days in rain and his feathers never matted down!  I bought some and used them for almost an entire season last fall before my feathers finally started to deform a little.  It REALLY WOKS.  Give your feathers two applications, letting it dry in between applications and you won't have to worry about them becoming matted.  You can even soak them in a pail of water.  It is absolutely great stuff.  The address is:
TOMPAK
P.O. Box 1784
Johnson City, TN
37605
1-888-237-1568
It cost about $8-$10 a bottle but a bottle does a lot of feathers.  Like I said, I have nothing to do with this company, but you really owe it to yourself to try it.
Mike

[MikeS]

Guess I should have checked my spelling before posting!