I recently fletched up some arrows that came from turkey wings I had cut. They are much noisier as they move towards the target. More of a buzzing sound. Have you had that same experience. Maybe I need to change my offset more or something.
Man I'm glad someone else just said that because I was thinking the same thing. I thought it was all in my head but maybe it's in yours too. I was wondering if it is because I chopped them myself.
I think you're correct medic. I have noticed it also when someone else was shooting hand chopped feathers. I don't think it's specifically the turkey feathers but the way they are chopped. I have also noticed that my chopper's parabolic shape is taller than the store bought feathers, something I might modify in the future. Height of the feather may have an affect on noise also. My feeling is that if they buzz a little bit - it still is one of the last sounds that animal will hear before it dies.
They are a bit noiser because of the stiffness. For me the other characteristics out weigh that issue. I have yet to have a deer react as a consequence however that also is a function of the distance we're shooting at. My Northern Mist is whisper quiet so the fletching noise would be more noticable when shooting at targets but I never notice it when I've let loose at a deer.
Started shooting more natural turkey feathers as of late. Some banana and some shield. Turkey bananas are quieter than commerical IMHO. I have not noticed any difference with the shields.
I find them objectionably loud. Last summer I bought up a ton of turkey feathers with the intention of switching to them. Haven't touched them after that first half dozen arrows and how loud they were.
They are a little stiffer and have more natural oils.
My solution is to go to a 5 inch or even 4 1/2 inch feathers.
They are more stable and this cuts down the noise some.
The shape of feathers certainly can effect noise. Having a more rounded back end will help.
Don't think choppers vs pre made is that big a difference.
After arrows fletched with the real thing are shot in for a while they get quieter.
We must all hear differently. I've been shooting wild turkey feathers that I grind and burn myself for about 30 years. Also shoot commercial feathers on my target arrows. I cannot detect a difference is noise. If they're cut/burned the same, they're equally quiet. Some shapes are quieter than others. Of course, higher cuts are generally noisier than lower. An uneven cut or chop also contributes to more noise. Feathers that aren't chopped to exactly the same size/height will make more noise. More helical is noisier than a straight fletch. In short, the shape and quality of the cut, and how its put on the arrow, has more effect on noise than the type of feather.
My experience is that they're pretty dang'd quiet, but Magnus cuts them either in low pro banana or 5" Swift cut for me and those are both inherently quiet cuts, as are parabolics. I really like the fact that they seem to outlast commercial feathers by a long shot.
I can tell you, don't mix them, I had to add a feather to one arrow, and all I had was a few from wild turkey wings. I installed it on the arrow and it buzzed when shot, I might be doing something wrong, but it's the only one that makes noise.
X2 what Orion said! Many factors for consideration; break it down and evaluate objectively i.e. unbiased.
Do controlled experiments and compare fletching apples to apples.
Kris
The first cane arrows I made were very noisy when fletched with turkey feathers. I cut them down so that the height was very low. They were still stable but much quieter.
Biathioman, You can just send me all that ton of noisy feathers. Sound like music to me!
JAG/Johnny
How about the difference between Turkey Primary and Turkey Secondary wing feathers? The Secondaries, being less stiff may be a little a little quieter, and as G Fred said in Traditional Archery this month, less helical is quieter to him.
Me, I'm just starting to experiment with grinding and burning Natural Turkey, so I haven't found any answers yet, other than I really like working with them.
QuoteOriginally posted by njloco:
I can tell you, don't mix them, I had to add a feather to one arrow, and all I had was a few from wild turkey wings. I installed it on the arrow and it buzzed when shot, I might be doing something wrong, but it's the only one that makes noise.
This is what really drew my attention to the noise. I mixed two of Magnus natural Shield cuts with a commercial cut yellow for better visibility. I instantly notice this buzz.
My guess is they're slightly different sizes. I bet the yellow is a bit smaller, not quite as high,,maybe not the exact same angle on the back end. That creates unusual/turbulent air flow over the feathers, intensifying the noise. Go with all three of one or the other and the problem will be gone.
I use 5 inch shielded natural wild turkey feathers, helical fletched, from Magnus, but they are as quiet as can be.
I notice more noise on a quill that is squared off, raised up and not as aerodynamic. Took a while to figure out why this one arrow was louder. After trimming font of quill to to a low profile and aerodynamic shape, the noise vanished.
I've asked about this here more than once, but this is the first thread I've seen where quite a few agree they are noisier. Definitely so for me.
The enjoyment of using real feathers from my kills is nice, and I usually don't worry about the noise, but do wish it was not there.
I suppose a lot depends on the particular cut, but I've not found natural turkey feathers to be louder than dyed domestic. They are a little stiffer so I suppose it's possible and I just never noticed.
For me they are all a little on the loud side when new but shooting them a few times quiets them down. After a while either is basically silent in flight until they get really ratty. The thing is the domestic get ratty and worn a significantly faster than the natural. Plus, the natural are more moisture resistant.
QuoteOriginally posted by Green:
My experience is that they're pretty dang'd quiet, but Magnus cuts them either in low pro banana or 5" Swift cut for me and those are both inherently quiet cuts, as are parabolics. I really like the fact that they seem to outlast commercial feathers by a long shot.
This is my experiance.
I buy full length from Matt and chop them to 4" shield. I will use 2 wild turkey feathers and a solid truflight to fletch my shafts. No problems here. :dunno:
Benjy