Trex

My nephew, new to bowhunting, was told by the archery pro at a well-known major outdoor/hunting retailer that his straight fletched arrows would not fly properly with fixed blade broadheads. He was sold a helical fletching job on six arrows and a fall-away arrow rest "as the new fletching will cause the arrows to spin and hit the prongs on his current arrow rest."
Any thoughts on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Matt/TN

helical is a great way to fletch arrows, also a fall away is the most accurate kind of rest but helical and a prong rest wouldnt be a good idea, because there needs to be no fletching contact with prong rests.The statement that straight flecthed arrows will not fly good with fixed blade broadheads isnt true in the least bit because that is what i use and it shoots fine.If he goes helical a fall away would be a smart decision

trytan74

You can tune a arrow with a right twist fletch to a 2 prong arrow rest I did it for yrs so he didn't have to upgrade his rest. Not sure about straight fletch and Fixed broadheads since I haven't had to shot that combo in a very long time. A normal twist fletched arrow will on avg only make 2 full twist before 20yrsor at least thats what they say I never owned a camera that I could prove that with.

Trytan

Mike Hill

I have always used straight fletching and a 2 prong rest with fixed blade broadheads for 10 years now and my broadheads hit where my field points hit. As always you just need to tune your equipment. I think they ripped him off.

wayomic

As an experiment I powdered my 2 prong rest with carpenters line chalk and shot some Blazers and standard vanes both set with a helical thru it.
Once I had the rest and the knocksset up rightthere was no contact of the vane and the rest. I would say that the arrow does not have enough time in that short distance (6"-8" ?) to start to spin yet to worry about contact if properly tuned.

Trembow

I would certainly hold the motives behind the archery pro's advice to your nephew in question, it wasn't "bad" advice.

Helical fletch was considered necessary for shooting broadheads for years, especially with the older style cut on contact style heads like the Magnus blades. And although you can helical fletchings so they won't contact a prong rest, it can be problematic.

He wasn't steered WRONG, but it wasn't absolutely necessary either.

mobow

He was MOSTLY accurate. Helical will most likely hit the prongs on that style rest, but straight fletch arrows usually work quite well w/ broadheads. Sometimes not, but most times it does.

Greg / MO

I agree with the general theme these guys are creating here: As far as ABSOLUTES go, he was wrong, because I shot Muzzy's last year with straight feathers (fletched slightly offset) and they grouped wonderfully. But GENERALLY SPEAKING, he wasn't too far off base. Chances are, he was just making his potential workload (with tuning his bow)easier rather than trying to upsell your nephew.

VA HEAD HUNTER

i have kiiled deer in the past with the most out of tuned bows and craziest setups imaginable before i really got into the technical side and started listening to all the pros and i see alot of it as personal preference more then anything.

Paul L Mohr

It was not ripping him off, but it's not all totally true either. Is what he was trying to do is give your nephew the most forgiving set up he can have. Can you shoot fixed blades with straight vanes? Sure, but it is way more critical of tuning on both the bow and the arrows part. You better have really straight arrows, spined well and squared off inserts. Not to mention a well tuned bow for nocking point and center shot. I like a slight offset myself. Also good form doesn't hurt.

Drop aways are not the most accurate rests either per say. They do minimize fletching contact though. Providing they are set up properly. I have seen many drop a ways that have fletching contact. Off set or helical vanes are hard to get good clearance on a prong rest though, especially with skinny carbon arrows. So a drop a way or whisker biscuit type rest would work well for this.

The reasons many used a hard helical in the past was because broad heads were larger and harder to get to fly well. You also used larger aluminums in most cases so getting the fletchings thru a prong was not quite as hard. This is nearly impossible with some skinny arrows and a 4 or 5 inch fletch with any kind of helical. To be honest though a prong rest with the correct spring tension, or a blade rest is pretty forgiving of vane contact. However if you have a lot of spring tension it can be a nightmare to tune.

Feathers would also be a good choice. They impart some spin on the arrow even when fletched straight. And they are forgiving of rest contact.

I may have suggested something simular for a beginner archer. I probably would have suggested an offset instead of a helical with a more normal rest but either will work. I don't think what your nephew was told is out of line to what you would hear at most pro shops now. Other than the statement you cannot shoot fixed blades with a straight fletching. That is false. They could have worded it better.

I myself use offset feathers and aluminum arrows. I have used about every rest on the market and right now have a Bodoodle and am pretty happy with it. I do have some fletching contact though, but I am not concerned because it is very minor and I have feathers.

The best I have used for fixed blades is Nitro Stinger tapered arrows, 4 inch feathers and a muzzy drop a way. This combo would shoot any fixed blade great at any distance.

Paul