fletching choices...

[mauser06]

so, i finally got around to buying a QAD HD drop away....

now, im thinking....should i stay with 2" blazers or should i goto a 3 or 4 or 5 inch vane on a good right helical?? i aint worried about wieght...i liked my 4" feathers(except how un-durable they were) on a hard right helical, but they hit the prongs of the prong rest i have now...

i noticed that they worked alot more than the blazers...i could watch the arrows spin...dont notice it much with blazers on a right offset or helical...

will i see better accuracy/easier broadhead tuning/better broadhead flight if i switch to a 3 or 4 or 5" vane on a right helical???

if so....what vanes are the GOOD ones?? what size is good??

just thinking about it since i need my arrows refletched ASAP....

[stalkingbear]

Try the nap quikspin vanes if you want really good stabilization with vanes. I still use 5" feathers with full helical twist with my qad dropaway rest and they go exactly where I want em to if I do my part-VERY forgiving. There's no such thing as too much accuracy or too much stabilization.

[SwampCollie]

I shot feathers for years. Right up through last year even. Bounced around with this and that like most folks do. However, feathers are pretty down right expensive, and as you pointed out Mauser... they ain't built to pass on to the next generation.

I've been shooting Blazers since the late winter... and I really like 'em. I shoot a QAD LD myself. I fletch mine at a right helical. I get a pile of stabilization. I can throw my arrows like a football and by the time I can see them in front of my face... they are already spinning nicely.

Arthur actually educated me on helical a bit... you can infact have too much helical on an arrow. It will act (if I recall) to serve almost as a parachute effect on your arrow. He could explain it better than myself. But needless to say... you don't need but so much anyway.

[mauser06]

thanx guys....not sure what i wanna do..them quickspins do look interesting...forgot about them...

i didnt have BAD results with blazers...but i surely think my 4" right helical feathers spun them more...(i didnt know how to shoot as well as i do know so i cant speak for accuracy...)

i love the forgiveness of feathers, but im a hunter....i hunt ALOT and im rough on gear. feathers didnt make it through target shooting let alone in and out of the quiver, up and down the stand, in and out of the case and truck etc etc, brush hitting them...i know they still fly pretty well beat up, but its a mental thing...they look all beat up and i have a mindset that "they cant fly right" if my blazers have a bend or wrinkle it drives me nuts so bad i quit using that arrow till i get around to refletching it....just a mindset that bent vanes/ruffled feathers cant fly straight...though i know they usually do...


i dont know what i'll do...i know my arrows need redone as soon as i get home...

i was just thinking a longer vane on a helical will do more...


SC, i understand the parachute thing...its kinda friction and drag...it will slow your arrow quicker and that sorta thing...i know and understand that...even a slight helical will have more drag than straight fletched arrows....but, what you gain is more important than loosing speed IMO...im first and formost a hunter...i need my gear to do its job and my arrows to go where i sent them...

[SwampCollie]

ORIGINAL: mauser06

SC, i understand the parachute thing...its kinda friction and drag...it will slow your arrow quicker and that sorta thing...i know and understand that...even a slight helical will have more drag than straight fletched arrows....but, what you gain is more important than loosing speed IMO...im first and formost a hunter...i need my gear to do its job and my arrows to go where i sent them...

I used to think the exact same thing.... that the more helical you have the more better off you'll be...... And I could care less about speed myself as I like you are a hunter first last and always.

What I am talking about is performance here.... not speed. Sure, hard helical vanes/feathers will stabilize even a huge two blade head, but when you put so much helical on a fletching that they may almost overlap each other when looking down the arrow from front to back.... its overkill... and your downrange performance can suffer... meaning that energy that was being used to go forward is now being used to spin excessively. Think about how that spinning, and what is effectively the sideways momentum your arrow is holding will be affected when your broad head hits a deer...? Is it going to keep spinning that much or is all the spinning suddenly going to stop and just be wasted by pushing the side of your broadhead againest the deer on a non-cutting surface?

With feathers, and overkill on helical, it will make them much noisier in flight as well. While I'm no speed freak, I'm not going to give a bunch of it away if I don't have to. I want to give some of it away, because I think you can in fact have an arrow that is too fast in a hunting situation (especially with a fixed head)... so in turn I shoot a 450gr arrow at right around 280fps... and thats from a 63# draw.

Additionally, sometimes using that much helical can hide issues that may arise with bow performance such as a weak spine or fletching contact. It doesn't take much helical at all to get an arrow to stabilize any broadhead, assuming that your spine is right and your bow is tuned properly. I guess what I'm saying here is don't let helical become a bandaide for anything.

[mauser06]

loud and clear SC....i understand that...

wasnt looking to have super hard helicals on anything...

(thats another gripe with feathers was noise...)

i will be well tuned...got a new rest to throw on and setup and then retune it all...arrows are right...maybe ever so slightly stiff...

still dont know what im going to refletch with lol.....if it aint broke dont try fixin it...right?? lol

[Centaur 1]

I use the 3.125" quickspins withmy QAD HD. Look for an Ebay store called Bullseye Feathers, he's got the best prices on quickspins.

[SwampCollie]

ORIGINAL: mauser06

still dont know what im going to refletch with lol.....if it aint broke dont try fixin it...right?? lol

You are talking with a master of fixing working equipment right here brother! I usually find time to fix it right when its just starting to work perfectly too!