4-3" rh vs. 3-5" rh for fingers

[sho-me_bhntr]

currently, i shoot 3-5" rh feather fletched arrow through a wb with fingers. as it is today, with a nocked arrow on my string, with my bow at rest, the front of the 5" feathers stick through the wb. i was thinking about going with a 4-3" rh feather fletched arrow to aleviate this problem. does anyone have experience with this switch? will i have comparable stability with the 4-3" rh feather config vs. my current 3-5" rh feather config steering a fixed blade broadhead? will i lose any speed when going to the 3" feathers? one more question, since the 3" feather is shorter than the 5" will the 3" feather spin slower?

[Arthur P]

Try using 4" 3-fletch with feathers instead. You'll wind up with practically the same fletching surface area as you'd get with 4 3" feathers and save some money in the process. Of course, the upside of using 4-fletch is not having to be careful about which way you nock them, and some folks feel that's enough benefit to offset the extra cost in time, feathers and money.

If you NEED the fletching area provided by 3 5" feathers to get your broadheads to fly straight, you'd be better off to go to 4" 4-fletch instead. Rather than giving up surface area, you'd actually be gaining some for even better control.

Speed? At the bow, you won't see any difference. Downrange though... The more surface area, the greater the drag, so you will see some changes in sight settings, but probably not until you're shooting beyond 40 yards. A light arrow will lose a greater percentage of it's downrange speed to drag than a heavier one will. Of course, if you wind up with a 4" 3-fletch or 3" 4-fletch instead of a 5" 3-fletch, you'll get somewhat faster arrow speeds downrange, but never trade off control and accuracy for speed. If your arrows fly great with less fletching though... and you're positive they'll do the same in actual hunting conditions... Go for it!

I'm afraid I can't answer your questions about rate of spin. It stands to reason that a 3" feather fletch will spin slower than a 5", assuming identical offset/helical settings, due to less surface area, but that's just 'thinking out loud' instead of knowing it for a fact.

[sho-me_bhntr]

yeah, i'll try 3-4" rh feathers first as an experiment. i guess if i'm shooting a perfectly tuned bow with a perfect release, arrow flight should be just as good as with 3-5" rh feathers. i guess i'll see how perfect my tune and release are. when i went to a finger release and feathers, i started with my arrows fletched 3-5" rh. Since i've had such great success with this config, i haven't tried any other fletching set-up. i was trying to think of a comparable set-up (in terms of arrow flight and stability) using shorter feathers. it does make sense that if i HAVE to use a four feather set-up that i might as well forego the 3" feather for a 4" feather. (thanks for that advice.)

I'm afraid I can't answer your questions about rate of spin. It stands to reason that a 3" feather fletch will spin slower than a 5", assuming identical offset/helical settings, due to less surface area, but that's just 'thinking out loud' instead of knowing it for a fact.

yeah, that's kind of what i was thinking also...

again, thanks for the help!

oh, one last thing...

never trade off control and accuracy for speed

i wouldn't dream of it.

[Sniper151]

I'm surprised you can tune your bow with a wb shooting fingers. Unlike shooting a mechanical release that has little to no side to side movement the release for a fingers shooter kicks the arrow off to the one side or the other on release. I'll guarentee your shooting mechanicals because there is no way you can set up a bow for optimum performance shooting a wb with a fixed broadhead.[:-]

[sho-me_bhntr]

ORIGINAL: Sniper151

there is no way you can set up a bow for optimum performance shooting a wb with a fixed broadhead.[:-]

i'm not sure what you are calling "optimum," but my broadheads group with my field points out to 35 yds. being a bowhunter, those results are all i care about. besides, i know many others who are shooting fixed bladed broadheads through the wb with fingers and getting great flight also...

[Orions_Bow]

I would use either 4 - 3" or 4 - 4" fletch to help keep my surface area up for broadheads. 4 fletch is really cool looking & shoots great.

[5 shot]

I shot 4 3" feathers right helical this year with great results. Of course I shoot with a release. If I were shooting fingers I may go with 4 4" feathers. It will add a bit more control vs 3 5" and should also solve your problem. 4 3" feathers would probably work but have the surface area that the other configurations do.

[sho-me_bhntr]

thanks for all the replies. i'll probably fletch up a few with 3-4" feathers and see how they perform. if i'm not satisfied with the results, i'll then fletch them up 4-4" feathers. thanks again!

[Sniper151]

He is shooting fingers. When shooting fingers, as stated in my first post, the arrow whips when released from the tab or glove. The WB will not allow the arrow to correct before passing through the WB. You will NOT have a clean release off the string. And you will not be able to tune the arrow to shoot a fixed broadhead.

ORIGINAL: sho-me_bhntr

i'm not sure what you are calling "optimum," but my broadheads group with my field points out to 35 yds. being a bowhunter, those results are all i care about. besides, i know many others who are shooting fixed bladed broadheads through the wb with fingers and getting great flight also...