Dear JWR:
The writer about traditional projectile weapons seems to have missed the most used feather for fletching arrows. The best ever used that I am aware of is the turkey feather.
They are known to stop 12Ga. birdshot pretty successfully. That is why turkey loads are more powerful, and contain larger shot sizes. Lesser pellets flatten out and fall off the bird.
Good fletching. The American Indians then used a fiber (perhaps of hemp?) to wind them to the shaft of the arrow, after splitting and shaping, of course. Not sure if there was any other kind of adhesive used at that point…wouldn’t be surprised. The American Indians (at least in my area) used fairly low-power bows. They used shafts of reeds for arrows, and this was made up for by using obsidian or flint arrowheads. We still can’t make a blade sharper than a properly knapped piece of flint. Another skill to learn!
Thanks for keeping all this going! – Sid C.