4 inch or 5 inch fletching

Deputy · 07-25-2003, 07:13 AM

Well either feathers or vanes, on carbons which ones!

my set ups are as follows
alpine stealth force 31.5 65 pounds, 30 inch carbon express cx 300, muzzy 100 3blade 80% let off.

hoyt ultra tech 65 pounds same as above except 75%

both have drop away rest using release etc...... i can shoot decent at 40 yds but noit as good as my 30 yds etc.... any ideas current is a straight feather fletch 4 inch

BobCo19-65 · 07-25-2003, 07:26 AM

I am more partial to the 5" feathers, mainly cause I like more surface area on the fletch if I am using a fixed blade as yourself.

But if you plan to only shoot to 30-40 yards or so, I don' t think it will matter too much. Past that is where the difference will be more noticable.

I would suggest getting some sort of helical or offset either way though.

BuckAlley · 07-25-2003, 07:53 AM

I use 4" vanes on my carbons. You might want to check your Forward of Center (FOC) of your arrows with both to see which is better. Try this website for info on that. www.bowjackson.com

Rack-attack · 07-25-2003, 07:57 AM

I would stay with the feathers and get some offset to them.

ijimmy · 07-25-2003, 08:54 AM

With your arrow length I would go with 4-4" feathers on an 2 degree offset spaced 75-105 or , 3-5" feathers on a 2 degree offset . It will make a big diferance at 40 yards with fixed blades .

Trushot_archer · 07-25-2003, 09:33 AM

Hey Deputy, nice to see ya here.

Carbons through your rig with the Muzzys shouldn' t require a 5" . 4" should be plenty to stabilize it and anything bigger just slows ya down. I would try a little offset or a slight helical though, you use the drop aways, so it' s not a hassle either way. Good luck.

Arthur P · 07-27-2003, 06:46 AM

Using the weight calculator at Jackson' s to figure different arrangements for your CX 300' s:

4" feathers would give an arrow weight of 366 grains and 12.3% FOC. 5" feathers give 369 grains and 11.9%. 4" vanes run out at 384 grains and 9.8%.

Just based on my personal prejudice as a long time plastic vane hater, I' d recommend 4" feathers with a healthy helical. Especially since you' re shooting a dropaway rest. IF they don' t stabilize the arrow good enough for you, and I' m almost certain they would, you could always go to 5" .

I definitely would NOT go to 5" vanes on a carbon unless you bump up at least to 125 grains on tip weight to keep some kind of decent FOC. Besides, they don' t give a broadhead arrow any better stabilization than a 4" feather does, IMO.

Roseaukaine · 07-27-2003, 10:07 AM

I agree with Arthur P!

TFOX · 07-29-2003, 10:16 PM

I also agree with Arthur.

You may actually have more problems with 5" vanes or feathers than you realize.With an arrow that light,you really don' t want anymore drag than absolutely necessary to stabilize a broadhead.

A light,fast arrow doesn' t like to be slowed down too fast or it will become unstable in flight and cause groups to open up.Now under normal hunting distances,this may not be a factor but if you are shooting 40-50 yards,you will most likely see a difference.

The opposite is true for heavy,slower arrows.They need the fletching to stabilize them much more than the light arrows.

4" are imo the best all around size for hunting.