# Why do arrows have feathers?



## Nekekal (Dec 25, 2012)

Seriously. I have been reading about arrow/bow tuning for a while now, and may be developing a recognizable group so that I can try it, and it seems that bare shaft arrows and fletched arrows are supposed to impact together. Jinkster has posted a lot of pictures of the two types together, so it must be possible. It seems that he always shoots them both the same.

I understand the spin thing, althought it doesn't seem to make much difference up close. And feathers obviously slow the arrow down, but are they really necessary, and if so, does size and shape matter?

Thanks in advance.


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## edgerat (Dec 14, 2011)

Technically, if everything goes right as the arrow leaves the bow, you don't need fletching/feathers. Feathers/fletching stabilizes the arrow and steers the rear of the arrow to follow the point of the arrow, on those less than perfect shots.


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## jakeemt (Oct 25, 2012)

Go to a large safe location and shoot a bare shaft with a broadhead on it and you will see why.


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## Nekekal (Dec 25, 2012)

jakeemt said:


> Go to a large safe location and shoot a bare shaft with a broadhead on it and you will see why.


Ahhh, so it makes a difference with broadheads, that actually makes some sense to me. I don't own any broadheads and have never seen one in flight, but I can see how that shape could require some tail drag.

Thank you. What does happen?


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## CFGuy (Sep 14, 2012)

Nekekal: Aside from broadheads, most of us aren't good enough to get a perfectly consistent release every time. Feathers work to more quickly stabilize the arrow from a poor release, as I understand it. I wonder what shooting a bareshaft at 40m would be like?


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## edgerat (Dec 14, 2011)

Nekekal said:


> Ahhh, so it makes a difference with broadheads, that actually makes some sense to me. I don't own any broadheads and have never seen one in flight, but I can see how that shape could require some tail drag.
> 
> Thank you. What does happen?


Basically the reverse affect of shooting a field point on a fletched arrow. The broadhead tries to steer the arrow, only from the front and that doesnot end well  If you have a good clean release and your bow is tuned properly, you can shoot out as far as you want with a bare shaft. Some of the Olympic shooters test arrows by shooting bare shafts as far out as 70-90m.


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## jakeemt (Oct 25, 2012)

Remember that shooting a bow first was a means of procuring food then later as a means of killing other people. The target game was only a way to hone those skills until quite recently when it became a pursuit in it's own right.


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## Hank D Thoreau (Dec 9, 2008)

Take a look at this explanation of why rockets have fins. Looking at rockets helps us ignore our preconceived notions about arrows.

http://www.nakka-rocketry.net/fins.html


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## Xero (Apr 20, 2013)

Why do arrows have feathers? 

So they don't get ostracized when they soar with eagles . . . 

(That's stupid!) *LMAO*


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## Varmintwade (Jun 17, 2012)

Feathers on an arrow serve the same purpose as a tail does on an airplane. Feathers dont steer the arrow to anywhere. They do the opposite. They keep it going in the direction it first started to go


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## Greysides (Jun 10, 2009)

Bareshafts are very susceptible to all sorts of inputs that you wouldn't notice on a fletched arrow.


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## Viper1 (Aug 21, 2003)

N - 

Since you're not into hunting, we can forget about the issue with broad heads. 

With field or bullet points and any positive FOC, you don't need feathers or any type of fletching for that matter. providing:
1. You bow is perfectly tuned and 
2. you can execute every shot with consistent form. 

The fletch correct errors with 1 and 2. (1 is actually is a little more complicated, so just take it as a simplified statement for now.) 

Seriously, my more advanced shooters are required to shoot several matches with only bare shafts. 
No fletch, no correction. ANY mistake, regardless how small will show up down range. 
With an advanced shooter, that exactly what you want - during practice. 

OK, the issue with broad heads:
Fletch does most of it's work by increasing air resistance at the tail end of the arrow, in simple terms, making the tail want to go slower than the front. Since that can't happen, it keep the tail behind the front. 
Adding wings to the front of an arrow (broad head) and nothing to the back may make the arrow do the opposite of what it supposed to. (Also a little more complicated, that that...) 
The ballistic spin also helps, but is more important in projectile (aka bullet) ballistics than with spear ballistics. 
Arrows are / behave more like spears than bullets.

Hey, you asked.

Viper1 out.


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## CFGuy (Sep 14, 2012)

Arrows being more like spear in that it has FOC mass and not likely to tumble the same way a bullet would, being relatively consistent in mass and surface area related to volume?


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## Viper1 (Aug 21, 2003)

CF -

Yup, part of it, IIRC there's more math involved. (The Mrs. was the math major, I just get by.)
The ballistic spine is the major component with bullet projectiles (given most bullet's CG), but with spears the air resistance and FOC are the major players. 

Viper1 out.


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## CFGuy (Sep 14, 2012)

Ah gotcha. Would you say a rocket is somewhat in the middle of the two? And where does ballistic coefficient come into play, or is this getting too specific/off topic?


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## Viper1 (Aug 21, 2003)

GF -

Might be getting a little off topic. 

But yeah, I find it fascinating too. 

Any high speed finned projectile such military missiles for example, do have a similar function, but the fins or parts of them, are variable (moveable) and actually do steer the weapon to it's target, based on instructions from it's guidance system. That's why some missiles have larger fins near their mid sections and are still quite effective. 

The BC of a bullet has more to do with trajectory and wind bucking ability (ability to overcome air resistance) than pure guidance, if I remember my rifle work at all. 
I guess in specific a way, that's similar to why we use feathers. 

Damn, the op is gonna be sorry he opened this bag of worms...


Vipe1 out.


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## Nekekal (Dec 25, 2012)

On the contrary, it has been an interesting discussion. And it seems like the answer is that on a short spear, aka an arrow, thrown reasonable distances, the feathers/fletchings are not really necessary. They are there to help cover up faults caused by the throwing mechanism. I.e. archer and bow. 

This makes historical sense. When scavenging around in a forest for arrows, and bow material, the possibility of tuning was probably pretty low, and the users may not have been very good, so fletchings may have made a lot of scense. I know I need all the help that I can get.

Thanks to all contributors.


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## BowmanJay (Jan 1, 2007)

Because we suck as archers! The perfect arrow would have all its weight in the point alone, much like a bullet. But since we need the shaft we also need feathers to correct our mistakes. If we were pefect and our equipment tuned perfectly, you could shoot bare shafts all day long....


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## Bowmania (Jan 3, 2003)

So we can see how close a bare shaft impact near it.

Bowmania


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## GEREP (May 6, 2003)

Feathers stabilize by creating a small amount of drag, they don't steer. Nothing magical about feathers (unless of course you think feathers are magical...lol) anything that will create the small amount of drag will work.

A tampon, a mushroom, or a ball of cotton will do the same thing.

The trick is getting it them pass over the shelf or rest without contact. That's where the "collapsible" nature of the feather comes in.

Not only that, it's tough to look like a manly hunter when you have a tampon on your arrow. (they do make great hanging scent wicks though)

:wink:

KPC


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## dragonheart II (Aug 20, 2010)

We are human and imperfect.


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