Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Arrows => Topic started by: 21st century archer on October 05, 2014, 12:46:08 am
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(http://i1378.photobucket.com/albums/ah96/asdasd123456789/appendixa-33_zps238b62fc.jpg)
Has anyone used this style of fletch before? Not an eastern woodland 2 fletch but a 2 fletch using 2 split feathers. Can the feathers be laid out straight or do they have to have some degree of twist to fly correctly?
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I have only made one this way. Put fletchings on straight and it flew just fine. Hit my target where I was aiming. Hope this helps you out.
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Like these....
(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y199/PatBNC/primitive%20archer/Hillcanearrows09002.jpg) (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/PatBNC/media/primitive%20archer/Hillcanearrows09002.jpg.html)
Most are 2 fletch. One or 2 are 3 fletch.
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What a great view you got there Pat.
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Thanks Aaron. Surrounded by woods and no other houses visible...and we've been here 24 years. ;D
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I have gone to 2-fletch for all my target arrows. I put a little helical spin on the feathers to help make up for not having the 3rd feather. If you do go to 2-fletch, you will probably want to use a slightly bigger feather than a standard die cut. You need some square inches of feather to get the arrow to rotate quickly. I adhere the feathers with 2-sided fletching tape and then wrap them at the front and back.
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The feathers on these arrows were attached the same way, Buck67, and I use a feather burner so I can adjust the fletch height as needed. I prefer taller fletching on most of my arrows anyway.
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I have been pleasantly surprised at how well the 2-fletch arrows work. At first it was a "make a few just see how bad they were" kind of thing. Then I noticed how much easier it was not having to mess about with making sure that the cock feather was right side up. Then I noticed that the 2-fletch were just as accurate as the 3-fletch. Many of the arrows shown in Jim Hamm's Encyclopedia of Native American Bow, Arrows and Quivers are 2-fletch. That says that people that depended on the arrow for food and defense felt the same way.
There are a lot of good reasons to use 2-fletch.
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The last year or so I've been experimenting with some of the fletching styles in Jim Hamm's book, including a straight 2 fletch. Sometimes they are dead on accurate, then out of the blue, way off target. And also a little disturbing is the lack of rotation--kind of like trying to hit a knuckleball. I'm sure both problems can be alleviated by adding just a little helical spin.
The ease and speed in making 2 fletch is nice though.