Are Canadian Goose feathers good for fletching?

[mcginnis6010]

I havent made my own arrows and i wanted to give it a go and i have a wide variety of woods to choose from (hickory, oak, black walnut, silver maple, ERC) but the real question is can i use canadian goose feathers for fletching? I just found a huge wing feather from one today and i know where to find alot more just laying around. Any and all advice is more than welcome on this subject or about what wood is best to use from the list i have provided since thats pretty much all i have around me.

[Bevan R.]

Short answer, YES!! Most people perfer turkey, but goose is just dandy.

[Scowler]

Yes.  Canadian goose feathers make great fletchings.  I use both primary and secondaries (not together on the same shaft of course).  Before cutting into fletchings I put them in a large ziplock bag with a few mothballs and stick them in the freezer for about a week.  Then I put them out in the sun for a few days.  All this is an attempt to kill any parasites that might be on the feathers.  So far it seems to have worked.

[mcginnis6010]

thats good news to my ears now i just gotta go out and get started on my stockpile of feathers. im sure that the wife is just gonna looove that . lol

[Ifrit617]

absolutely... They are much more waterproof than turkey feathers so make good all weather arrows...


Jon

[JW_Halverson]

Some folks believe goose feathers don't last as long as turkey.  I couldn't say myself, because none of my arrows live long enough to wear out the fletching!

[Stefan]

Yes they are good, I know from experience. If you look closely at the feather you will see a so called grease line. Don't make the fletchings much higher than this grease line, this keeps them from wearing fast.