Duck feathers for fletching?

[richpierce]

I had the good fortune to be successful duck hunting and kept the 1st 3 or 4 primary wing feathers from our ducks.  The ducks were medium sized (spoonbills) and a bit larger (widgeon).  I am not sure the feathers are stiff enough- anybody have experience using duck feathers for fletching?

[Hillbilly]

They should work. Duck feathers work great for Eastern Woodlands-style two-feather fletching, but I've used mallard primaries for "normal" fletching, and they work fine-just not quite as durable as turkey or goose..

[Coo-wah-chobee]

 ..........................Like Hillbilly said.....bob

[adb]

Hi,
I've used all sorts of feathers for fletching... duck, goose (my favorite), pheasant, grouse, owl (road kill), and turkey, of course. They have all worked fine. With the smaller birds, you only get a few primaries big enough to use. Sometimes they're a bit light, and don't last, but they sure look nice. Actually, the pheasant looked the best, because they're naturally barred grey & white.

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[billy]

duck feathers should work just fine. 

[Brokestick]

I would avoid the Owl feathers in the future.  Game wardens don't care how you got them.  See the other feathers thread on this board for the discussion on buzzard feathers.

[adb]

Owl feathers are fine, as long as you contact the local game warden and they verify that it is, in fact, a road kill. Then, they issue you a permit of possession. I live in Canada. Might be different in the US, however. Raptors are strictly protected here, and the authorities do not have any sense of humor with illegally obtained birds of prey. If you abide by the rules, it's OK here.
In my opinion, the pheasant primaries are the best... easy to obtain, nice colors, and fairly durable.

[DanaM]

Owls are federally protected, they are off limits in the US

[Hillbilly]

Plus they are really soft, not the best fletching material anyway.

[Brokestick]

Probably make awsome flu-flus though.