Fletching arrows with turkey feathers?

[the Ward]

Has anyone fletched arrows using turkey feathers?Thought it would be neat to do it but not sure how to go about it.I wouldn't use them for turkey hunting(probably would be dangerous!)but would be used for 3d and stuff.I shoot a takedown recurve and think the feathers should work ok.Thanks for any tips or advice!.....ward

[fallhnt]

You need a feather cutter for the rt. or left side. Whatever side you like your feathers twisting. Check on-line stores that carry traditional equip.

[the Ward]

Thanks for the info! I will check that out!....ward

[the Ward]

Found the cutters at 3rivers archery.Pretty cool site,all traditional stuff,even had videos showing how their products work.Now i just got to figure out what style of vanes i'm going to use,they have alot of different styles to choose from.Guess i will call them when im ready to order and see what they suggest.Thanks for pointing me in the right direction!....ward

[old3toe]

  I have stripped them by hand before and cut them with quality scissors and fletched them with an old cheap wal mart fletching jig. They don't look as good as the perfect store bought ones but they flew very nice and lasted quite a while. They may be stronger and more durable if you cut them and grind them with a grinder/shaper of some kind though.I was going for a more primitive indian look so i wasn't worried about them being perfect. Although they looked very nice.

[the Ward]

Thanks for the info!Haven't gotten around to doing it yet.Got caught up in some gun project stuff.I broke the original "capture" rest that came on the bow (martin) so I made an adapter and put a flipper on.The bow was shooting excellent before this happened,now with the new rest it's all over and inconsistent.Did some research and I think the spine is off on the arrows I was using,and I think the old rest compensated for it somewhat because it was more flexible.I need to get off my duff and get going on this.Had a ball shooting with it,i had forgotten how fun it was to shoot just a stick and string!Thanks again, and when I make some progress I will post an update.     ward