First time fletching feathers

[Pac8541]

I'm diving into my first couple dozen arrows fletched with feathers and although shooting them side by side will tell the story, I want to avoid uselessly spending time and money from the beginning.

Running a VPA 175 or RMS Cutthroat sized fixed blade broadhead, do you guys find significant flight differences in 3" vs. 4" feathers? Parabolic vs. shield cut? My total weight will be around 540gr with a large amount of FOC, in the 18-20% range. I understand that it takes slightly less square footage in the fletching to stabilize this kind of arrow but how much is the question. Or, does it really matter? Perhaps I'm splitting hairs in discussing an inch difference and fractions of surface area between the 2 shapes but these are the questions that come to mind. Thanks.

 

[Jarrod Renaud]

I havn't found any difference between running three 3" or 4". I've only tried those with shield cut with a slight helical.

But I actually end up running four 2" Rayzrs, they're much quieter than 3" or 4" and seems like theres less drag.

I also shoot a Cutthroat broadhead.

 

[Pac8541]

Haven't really considered 4-fletch. So 4, 2" feathers are quieter and faster than "standard?" I may have to try that.....

 

[Jarrod Renaud]

Haven't really considered 4-fletch. So 4, 2" feathers are quieter and faster than "standard?" I may have to try that.....

I'd give it a go if I were you, order up a 12 pack of them and see how they work for you. I just use a JoJan right helical and use as much offset as fits on my arrow, which isnt much because of the VAP microdiameter.

Biggest thing is to make sure your shooting a tuned arrow if it flys straight without feathers then it'll fly straight with feathers AND it wont make the feathers work hard to stabilize.

 

[LostArra]

Jarrod: have you tried using a 3 fletch rather than 4 with the 2" rayzrs?

I agree with your statement regarding bare shafts so it seems 3 might work fine too.

I like small fletching for shooting but I also like bigger fletching for seeing the arrow at the point of impact.

 

[Jarrod Renaud]

Jarrod: have you tried using a 3 fletch rather than 4 with the 2" rayzrs?

I agree with your statement regarding bare shafts so it seems 3 might work fine too.

I like small fletching for shooting but I also like bigger fletching for seeing the arrow at the point of impact.

yeah I have, they fly great with field points but with the single bevel Cutthroats it gets whacky and starts planing a bit. Four fletch and they fly like a dart. Right wing, right bevel.

 

[Pac8541]

I'd give it a go if I were you, order up a 12 pack of them and see how they work for you. I just use a JoJan right helical and use as much offset as fits on my arrow, which isnt much because of the VAP microdiameter.

Biggest thing is to make sure your shooting a tuned arrow if it flys straight without feathers then it'll fly straight with feathers AND it wont make the feathers work hard to stabilize.

Have some on the way from Ozark as of this morning. Thanks for the input!

 

[Jarrod Renaud]

Have some on the way from Ozark as of this morning. Thanks for the input!

awesome! let me know how it goes. I just ordered another pack of 50 from Lancaster today haha

 

[elkstabber]

I've been shooting and hunting with a recurve for 15 years so I'm not the most experienced guy around. But, typically the discussion for fletching on hunting arrows is whether to go for (3) 5" fletches or (4) 4" fletches.

Personally, I prefer (4) 4" fletches because I can nock an arrow quickly without looking at the arrow nor having to feel around much. This is most useful when you either 1) run into an animal unexpectedly that you want to shoot or, 2) have an opportunity at a second shot.

Either way, 2" and 3" fletches are usually used by target archers not bowhunters. The difference is that bowhunters (of course with tuned equipment) are shooting in less controllable conditions such as: stiff muscles, awkward position, cold fingers, wet fletching, and everything else that happens while hunting.

Having greater FOC will slightly reduce the need for more fletching but I wouldn't count on it. I will always err on the side of too much fletching because it stabilizes the arrow quicker and allows for the most consistent arrow flight when shooting animals.

 

[elkstabber]

Back to your original question Pac8541. For the feather shape it is personal preference. Some think the shield cut is more traditional looking. Most shooters will agree that parabolic feathers are quieter in flight. There is no difference in how the shape stabilizes the arrow.

 

[Pac8541]

Elkstabber, great info. Thank you very much. The statement about not having to be concerned about how an arrow is nocked is something I never thought of. Its easy to see how that would be an advantage.

I'm fletching these arrows for a compound. I hope that doesn't cause total silence in this forum. But, my interest in trad archery has been increasing steadily for years and I'll be stringing one up in the next couple months. Until then, consider this a baby step. I'm healing up from a shoulder replacement at the moment so we'll see what results I get outta that. Really appreciate the input though because the trad bug has bitten me pretty hard. It looks like fun and I dig the simplicity of it all.

 

[elkstabber]

Pac8541 since you're shooting a compound your thought process makes more sense now. Your broadhead/arrow setup is fairly heavy so I assumed you were shooting a traditional bow. Plus you were driving in our lane

Traditional shooters need more fletching because our finger releases aren't as clean as mechanical releases and because the arrow contacts the rest for much longer.

By the way, if you're fletching a bunch of feathers the fastest way to glue feathers on is to use the fletching tape from Bohning first. After taping it then you can glue the ends of the feathers and the sides if you want. Here is a link: http://www.bohning.com/feather-fletching-tape/

Good luck healing from the surgery.

 

[Pac8541]

Elkstabber: thanks man and yeah, I'm swerving all over the road and I appreciate your tolerance, lol! I've got a number of samples coming from Ozark Feathers to give a try, both 3" and 4". My plan was to build 2 arrows with each, and in both parabolic and shield, to shoot side by side with the broadhead I intend to use and see how they fly. I figured I could get enough out of that to narrow it down then tune to that choice. I also have a few each of some Trueflight feathers laying around and I'll try a four fletch with those. It should be very educational and a lot of fun. I'll try that fletching tape also. I like the fact that its easier to remove than glue also. Great info, thank you.

 

[elkstabber]

Pac8541 I can't speak about compounds but for traditional bows the fletching isn't much of a consideration. In fact, it's about the least important part of the arrow as far as tuning goes. More important is spine, length, point weight, and nock fit in about that order.

But if you're experimenting that much with different feathers you could also just order full length uncut feathers like these http://www.lancasterarchery.com/gateway-8-12-full-length-feathers.html. This way you can just cut them with any decent pair of scissors and make them however you want them. You can cut them in parabolic, shield, banana, or whatever you feel like. They don't need to be cut perfectly. Have fun with them.

 

[LostArra]

Just to expand on elkstabber's good info

I only buy uncut or 5" feathers then cut my own with SHARP scissors.

Place a piece of painters/masking tape on the feather to keep it from separating when you cut. It's not absolutely necessary but cutting a curve or radius in a bare feather can take a little scissor practice. A razor blade cuts quills a little better than scissors.

Make templates of the shapes you want on a piece of cardboard. Then hold against the taped feather and cut or mark the outline of the template on the tape. The template just helps with repeatability in your cuts.

It's like most things in DIY archery gear, you can put as much and or as little fussing into it as you want and it usually still works.

 

[bhylton]

^ thats what i do.. kinda. i start with 1 arrow fletched with 5in feathers then start cutting them down into smaller and smaller delta shaped feathers until they wont stabilize anymore. then i usually add 1/2 to 3/4in to the last length i tried and fletch up the rest with that size.

that way i know the minimum size that will work and i have some extra to help with poor release or adverse conditions.

but with a compound, if 2in blazers work i dont know why a 2in feathers would not work?? have fun and good luck!

 

[Pac8541]

Waiting on the tape before i give it a shot.

 

[Pac8541]

3", 4-fletch. Gonna give this a try.

 

[Jarrod Renaud]

3", 4-fletch. Gonna give this a try.

that should do it