Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Arrows => Topic started by: JW_Halverson on March 27, 2020, 11:04:59 am
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I always freeze turkey wings/feathers for a few weeks before storing them in buckets in the garage. In the winter, temps often go well below freezing for subsequent re-freezings.
It's not enough.
I was getting out feathers for a trade and bugs had gotten to them. I've gone through all my buckets and I estimate over 400 turkey primaries, 600 secondaries and tails, another 150 Canada goose, and some exotics are all pretty much ruined.
Even so much as a single mothball in each bucket would have been enough, but no....I wouldn't put myself out because I dislike the smell of mothballs.
I am just sickened with myself for such an absolute lack of mature adult planning on my part. Please learn from my mistake, friends. Please learn from my very costly, very stupid, very easily avoided mistake.
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Real bummer! I don't like the mothballs, but borax seems to do the job on the creepy crawly critters, I hope! I put about a cup or so into a plastic bag with the wings and shook it gently before freezing. Too many things going on right now to process those, but I do have some out ready to work. You want left wing?, Turkey?
Hawkdancer
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Sorry to hear that, John. Sometimes these teaching moments hurt. At least it's almost turkey season again.
Hope all is well with you otherwise. Haven't seen you around much lately.
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Good reminder. I think I'll refresh my mothballs. I don't mind the smell much, reminds me of my aunt ;D
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Got a bunch down here in Hot Town, John, if you need some. Way more than I'll ever use. Welcome to some. Smell like mothballs though.
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Ditto, I have goose feather running out of my ears. be glad to toss some in a flat rate box and send them your way. Our limit is 30 per day per person here in Montana. I have a guide friend that essentially fills up lawn and leaf bags with wings for me every season.
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It's ok, really. I am happily recovering from the foolish attraction of making arrows. I only had 'em as trade goods, really. I have no intention of making arrows ever again. It's better for my sike-o-logicull well-being.
What little there is left.
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Well, remember - I've always been crazy, but it's kept me from going insane! Waylon must have been a bow maker! (lol). If you do need feathers, let me know and if ye olde turkey hunt recurs, Hopefully, I can make it, if the tide turns my way! Btw, we scored 3 birds last season! :G :G :G! (lol) (lol) (lol)! Those are some of the feathers I have! >:D
Hawkdancer
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I gave up on mothballs years ago, I hate the smell as well, an arrow that seems to have lost the smell on the fletching will start stinking again if you are out on a humid day.
I changed to borax years ago.
I have so many ground wild turkey feathers that I quit keeping what wings people give me now and give them to a friend.
I did send them to Custom Feathers to be ground on the halves, he trades primaries for fans ad secondaries as well. The lady he sends them to to be ground has RA and has been unable to grind feathers as the condition of her hands worsens. He wanted the secondaries cut off still attached to the skin flap, boraxed and dried with the quills intact.
I have an ice chest I put my clipped off primaries in, I cut them of the wing with a bandsaw. Once in the ice chest I give them a good sprinkle of borax, I shake the ice chest every now and then to redistribute the borax, no bugs.
I put my ground primaries in a huge ziploc bag, throw in about 1/4 cup of borax and give the bag a good shake, no bugs, ever.
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Bummer, John. I need to throw a little bit of borax in my feather/leather bags, now that spring is here and the critters are moving again. Thanks for the reminder.
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Makes me feel a little better about the loss of 4 pheasant wings, thought I'd leave them to dry-out, wish I'd plucked them, something took them. Whatever it was has moved on but the wings are gone. Got enough loose feathers for my needs, just really, really, annoying. Can you use table salt on loose feathers instead of borax?
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Dang that sucks. I thought I was upset when my plastic grocery bag full of goose feathers I harvested got ruined in a flooded basement.
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I keep mine in a large waterproof box. I hand mix permethrin and spray them down before closing the lid. No bug problem after doing that. I also spray my turkey mount every year so it doesn't look like those ragged ones at Bass Pro.
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Got a bunch down here in Hot Town, John, if you need some. Way more than I'll ever use. Welcome to some. Smell like mothballs though.
hahahahaha! Generous man!
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Got a bunch down here in Hot Town, John, if you need some. Way more than I'll ever use. Welcome to some. Smell like mothballs though.
hahahahaha! Generous man!
Yeah, he kinda is.
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Thanks for the warning JW. I recently acquired 60 primary peacock feathers. Having read your post, I ordered some mothballs straight away.
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I love Peacock fletching. Such a great colour.
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And they make good durable fletchings. They were the favourite for top-quality arrows in medieval England. Peacock feathers would have been more easily obtainable then. Nowadays peafowl are only kept for show, but in they used to rear them for meat until turkeys arrived in England in the 16th century. Even in Victorian times peacock was preferred over turkey for the best arrows.
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They have a nice color, too.
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Glad I read this, I have a bunch of split Canada goose primaries and whole Black swan primaries in the garage. I better do something to stop the bugs!
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Raid don't work to well, mothballs have a bad smell, so go with borax, it's cheap, and in most grocery markets, and smells sort of nice!
Hawkdancer
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I freeze for a week, take them out of the freezer for a few days to thaw and then re freeze. I do this a couple of times. This seems to take care of the mites. Thawing them out between freezing seems to let any mite eggs hatch and then freezing takes care of them. Not a big deal to do it this way.