Fletching help!!

[Qsmith3741]

Hello all, obviously I'm new here and really enjoy it.
I just purchased a dozen victory vaps.
I wanted to do a helical fletching on them but don't have the tools to do them, so like a great American I asked my local archery shop but they're adamant that I should just stick with 3 straight instead of 4 helical or even 3 helical for that matter. The reason for this is that I apparently won't have enough " shaft size" for this particular vane setup. Is this true and should I just stick with the 3 straight? Or should I purchase the materials and attempt to fletch them myself?

 

[wildwilderness]

The shop soundS lazy! Buy a bitz and never go back! I really like 4 fletch helical. Plenty of room on a VAP. Fly great out to yds

 

[CApighunter]

Sounds like something my shop would say haha, they look at you sideways if you come in with anything besides 3 fletch blazers. I run a 4 fletch with a heavy offset on 4mm FMJs without issue, you’ll be just fine.

 

[4rcgoat]

Buy the tools you need and do it yourself, easy to do and very rewarding, let your imagination run wild.

 

[Whitetaildown215]

I agree, but the tools yourself. I normally run 4 max stealths on my VAP

 

[C.payne]

Sounds like you were in the shop I was the other week. They were starring at my Day Six with AAE Hybrid 26’s like they were from another planet!
If you can afford to get set up yourself just do it! You won’t regret it.

 

[Billy Goat]

To counter what everyone is saying, I don't run 4 fletch, if I need more drag I use larger vanes. I also will run straight offset a lot. The taller vanes, more surface area, and more helix add up to more arrow noise. I want as little of that as possible. Don't get me wrong, I do use a helix a lot, but not always.

Purpose of vanes is to create drag on the back of an arrow. I want to do that as efficiently as possible. For me that's fewer vanes, and cheap ones.

Some vanes with wide bases on skinny shafts just aren't worth the headache in my opinion. Then again I got away from skinny arrows as well.

 

[1KNIGHT]

I run 4 Fusion X-11 SL on my VAP TKO’s and they work great. If you don’t need to run the 4 fletch, Arizona Archery easy fletch in a helical is a great low priced fletching jig that does a great job and is easy to use.

 

[Beendare]

You need a new shop.

An arrow with a broadhead absolutely needs to rotate on its axis for best arrow flight.

BHs can plane or steer without that arrow rotation.

Fwiw, I’ve tested helical against offset and literally couldn’t tell the difference at 50 yards.

 

[Qsmith3741]

So, once this shop basically told me no. I called around to some shops in the area earlier, that I had no idea where even around. ALL 3 said they would do it. Going to drop arrows off to the closer one once they come in, I'll post pics once they're done. But for future help, I'm going to purchase my own jig off of the web and practice. Thank you all.

 

[MHB]

I ran a 3 degree helical 3 fletch on my Victoy VAP TKOs no issue. Just take the time and make sure everything is lined up before gluing. I haven't paid or asked a shop to fletch arrows in years. A fletching gig was the first piece of home equipment I bought for the home shop an have never regretted it. It has allowed me to get my fletching dialed or different arrow setups It also allows me to fix my pwn arrows if a vane come off or gets shot by another arrow.

I would recommend getting a bitzen berger, well worth the money in the long run. As I mentioned I am always trying different offsets, trying to find what works best for a specific arrow and broadhead combo. At the moment I am shooting 2.5 degree right helical on a 29 inch RIP TKO 300 with a 125 Solid Iron will. Grouping with my field points out to 60. It starts dropping a little low after that but is in line left to right.

 

[406unltd]

That’s a flat out lie. I’ve run 4 fletch on skinnies for a long while now.

 

[Fisherhahn]

Just started fletching my own and love my 4 fletch set up. I second the Arizona EZ fletch. Makes 3 fletch a breeze and you can do 4 fletch with it also, it just takes longer as you have to do one vane at a time. Also like my Bohning pro fletch.

 

[Gerard Marcaurele]

I used a bitzenburger for a long time to do 4 fletch on a few different size arrows with no issue.

if you’re wanting top of the line, I’d say the Last Chance Vane Master pro is the nicest jig out there.