Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting Hen Feather Wear

From my Bob Lee recurve and shooting off the shelf, I've been shooting 34" Gateway shield cut feathers and even some parabolics I had. The 4" shield and parabolics are both 15.5 mm tall according to Gateway. With cock freather out, that bottom feather is getting worn out pretty quick. All frazzled looking. Phylis Diller looking worn out.

So I looked at the Trueflight feathers web-site. Trueflight feathers are only 14 mm tall. So, I'm thinking I might try the "shorter" feathers and see if the wear out rate is a tad less. Concern though, is that with a shorter feather I'll also have less stabilizing effect.

I using a Bitz with helical clamp, so their spinning pretty good., so maybe the shorter feathers will stabilize just fine.

I'm an engineer and tend to overthink things. Like alot. Analyze it to death. It's my nature. Drives my wife crazy.

Arrow is too stiff.

Learn to bare shaft tune.

Pretty normal can try rotating nock. Can also play with brace height. I've had best luck with trueflight feathers but have always burned to shape.

I thought the same. Paper tuning at 6-feet if anytihing shows the shaft to be a tad weak with both fletched (2+ inch nock left tear) and bare shaft (2 1/2" nock left tear). So that is confusing. All tears horizontal, so at least the nock is good.

Heck, even shooting bare shaft at 15-yard shows it weak. In slo-mo it's fishtailing like crazy.

Too late to add shaft lenght, so I may add 25 grains to the point and see how it changes.

Same response I got for the bowyer at Bob Lee. "Normal". Unless the arrow bends completely around the riser it's going to touch somewhere. Seems like if it's "weak enough" it would miss the riser but then it'd be kicking out pretty good.

I don't know (obviously). It confusing.

Are you fletching right helical? I get more fletching wear on that feather with right helical than left. Anymore, when fletching 3 fletch, I use left helical for that reason.

Yep, right helical.

Changed out the 100 gr point for a 125 gr. Actually flies better, at least so it seems to me. Up around 19 FOC. I'll shoot new feathers for the next several days and see if the wear slows down some.

Thanks for the advice.

What is your shelf/sideplate cushion material? I use Velcro.

Did you leave a gap at the junction for quill clearance?

Using this method my cock feather is not at 90 degrees, but slightly downward (making my top hen more 12 oclock).


Shooting off the shelf w a reg 90 degree cock feather you will be hard on the lower hen.

BTW, a 2" tear is too much IMHO.
Should be half an inch or less.

There some tuning to be done (bow, arrow, shooter).

If it is weak adding more point weight will make it weaker.
If your bow is set up for centershot, bring the sideplate out a little. Should be out slightly anyway (arrow when looking straight down string).

Easton tuning guide and the Blackwidow tuning video are golden.

Shelf is leather. Side plate is a "hair" type with sticky on one side. The bow is cut past center but I couldn't say how much. Having read the Easton Tuning Guide, I checked to see if the arrow is lined up a tad left of the string as described. Pretty darn close to what they call for.

I thought about rotating the nock. Good suggestion if I cannot solve the hen feather wear any other way.

The arrows seem to be too weak, although when fletched with helicals fly pretty good. Add 25 gr to the tip seemed to fly better still even though it certainy made the arrow setup weaker. I do like the higher FOC.

I'll redo the paper tuning when I get the chance. It's Monday again. Work calls.

Stop shooting at paper!!!

Weigh your current arrow.
Remove fletching from one arrow and then wrap electrical tape around the shaft in the area of the fletching to match the weight of the fletched arrow. Failure to add weight of fletching in effects causes the arrow to behave as if the point weight is heavier by the weight of the fletching.
Make sure that you have solid form! Results need to be consistent and form issues will mask tuning problems
Shoot at 15 yards, then 20, then 25 yards and observe the flight of the arrow.
Get back to me with your results and I will help you correct it.

Interesting. I kind of wondered about fletching weight effect on bare shafts. Got a busy day, but I'll get around to the tape trial.

I always create a "feather path" or slight gap where the strike plate and shelf rest meet. I've always used rug rest on the shelf and a piece of slick leather for the strike plate. Bear Archery sells a little 2 piece stick on kit that has both substances. I have 3 fletched wood arrows that have been shot literally hundreds of times with no discernable wear to the hen feathers.

How wide is that feather gap?

Paper and bare shaft should show the same thing.
Either works.

But if your release isn't repeatable, or your arrow is crashing the bow............neither matters.

I just measured the gap on my Palmer take down recurve. The gap is about 1/8", maybe a little less.

What is "crashing" the bow?

I can feel when I do a poor release. A decent "pluck" of the string really shows up on a paper tune!