i tried a 4 fletched arrow with 4 " feathers and could not tell a differance in stability. do any of you use a 4 fletched with a 5" feather.
b-dog
i do some times they are good the stability is quick. i like the 5" better than the 4" :thumbsup:
I shoot 4-4" Banana cut feathers on all my arrows, but have played with 5". you might want to stay with the 4" if you are going to be shooting any distance. the 5" has more drag and will tend to slow your arrow more at longer ranges. on the up isde your short range stability will be amazing!
I have shot both 4x4" and 4x5" feathers. I like flight of both set-ups. I'm now playing with 4x5" shields. I like the way they fly. I shoot a Zewicky delta and like the extra stabilty I get.
I've used 4-5" fletch for over 20yrs now. I do believe it "stabilizes" an arrow quicker out of the bow (recovers from "archers paradox" in a shorter distance ). It will also tame some of the larger broadheads. I have no scientific proof of this, just an opinion based on my experiances.
I tried 4 X 4" bananas (60x120) just last week. They seem to stabilize just as well as my 3 x 5.5". I can get 2 4" feathers cut from a single full length feather and it doesn't matter how the arrow is nocked.
I've shot 4-5" fletch for years...30ish. Lots of pluses. Great stability says it all.
Recently cut back to 4 3/4" feathers and like it pretty well. :thumbsup:
Like Charlie, I have shot 4X5" for probably 30 some years, its on most of my arrows. I read a thorough test done by an engineer with a bow shooting machine YEARS ago. He found that more feathers are actually FASTER than smaller feathers out to past 40 yards or so, then the extra drag slows them down, but since they already were ahead the smaller feathered arrows didn't catch up until past 50 yards! Good enough for me.
When I started building my own arrows, I decided to use 4-fletch, just to see what they would do. Just because I like how they look, I'm going to stay with 4-fletch for a long time -- the fact that my arrows recover a bit faster with 4-fletch has very little to do with it.
I have always used at least 5" fletchings, by the way. Again, not just because of how they fly.
The key for me is nock placement. I can nock an arrow without looking, no need to look down for a cock feather. And they do recover a little quicker
While the 4" wasn't more stable than the 5", they certainly weren't any less stable even with broadheads. I know my 4x4" low profile nanners drag a lot less than my 4x5" shield cut did...you can tell a noticable point of impact difference at 30 and out (doesn't mean anything really for huntin unless you are capable/choose long shots...but I definately noticed a trajectory difference). I think the 5" are a lot louder too. And with my 4"chopper, I get 2 cuts per full length feather.
Charlie turned me on to 4 fletch and there's no looking back for me...
IMHO....I used 4X4" parabolics on the only wood set of broad heads I have made. The shafts were parallel taper Sitka. I made 6 of those. The remaining 6 I turned into bunny blunts. I used 3X5" P&Y's on the blunts.
I agree with JC on the noise. 4X4" parabolics are much quieter than the 3X5" P&Y.
I switched from 3X5" to 4X4" and have seen no change in stability or slowing down of the arrown. (No greater drop at 20Yds.) The 4X4"=16" of feather, where the 3X5"=15" of feather. I can also get 2 4"fletchings out of one full length arrow, whereas, many feathers only produce 1 5". I just make sure that my feathers are cut "high". i.e. 4" long by 3/4" high or more. Don't know for sure if this really helps, but the shafts that are spined perfectly seem to stabalize very quickly.
Do you guys prefer 90 degree or some other configuration on 4 fletch?
I only use the 75-105 config.
I use 4 X 4" too on my GT's. I would like to get some 4" banana's but don't have a chopper and can't get them locally. Is there someplace to order them? 3R's dosn't list them.
Terry, you may want to check with Herb @ herbsarchery...he's a sponsor here that does custom cut fletching.
I shoot 4-5" feathers. I like`em cause I can nock up quick with my eyes on my critter and not my arrow and it helps make up for my often sloppy release with big broadheads on the arrow.I try to shoot stuff at fifteen yards are less so i don`t care about "drag".RC
I like the 90° for my four fletch. I don't think they fly any better than any other combo - just like the way they look. RC was right about not having to look down to be sure you have the cock-feather sticking out.
75-105
gives my good clearence by the shelf and riser
Ya Gotta Love This Site!! I was Given a BroadHead by a Very Generous Member, that I intend, Note:Intend :notworthy: :notworthy: :archer:
Rick Said: "I read a thorough test done by an engineer with a bow shooting machine YEARS ago. He found that more feathers are actually FASTER than smaller feathers out to past 40 yards or so, then the extra drag slows them down, but since they already were ahead the smaller feathered arrows didn't catch up until past 50 yards!"
Yep, the more "stable" arrow will hold it's velocity better. I never cared for 4 fletch, anything beyond "enough" is unnecessary over kill. There is another way to increase that stability....Move that FOC forward. 4" fletch on a 20% FOC will be more stable then 5" at 15%, without the resulting losses down range and riser/fletch interference.....O.L.
OL, I would assume that is considering all other aspects being equal....like feather shape. No reason why 4 fletch would be unnecessary over kill unless you were using too much feather: decreasing overall feather surface area of each to compensate for addition of the 4th feather.
I SHOT MY BH'S YESTERDAY FOR THE FIRST TIME. I HAVE SOME MAGNUS 125'S WITH BLEEDERS. ONLY SHOT A COUPLE OF TIMES BUT AT 20 YARDS IT SEEMS TO DIVE DOWN AND TO THE RIGHT. IF I TRIED 4-5" FEATHERS WOULD IT HELP TAME THAT OR IS THERE ANOTHER WAY. I SHOT COMPOUNDS FOR YEARS WITH BASICLY THE SAME SET UP THE HOLE TIME SO I NEVER HAD TO TINKER WITH THEM MUCH SO I REALY DON'T KNOW HOW.
B-DOG
JC, Yep, the further aft the surface area is placed does the same thing as increasing FOC so the average surface area on 4-4" would most likely be close to the same surface area but further aft, that's a good thing.
B-DOG, You need to do some tuning. Bigger feathers will make them appear to fly better but the root cause is still there. Bigger feathers to correct tuning problems is putting lip stick on a pig. The "test" is step back and shoot a mixture of field tips and wide matched weight broadheads. They should group together from any distance you can shoot a decent group. The "diving down and right" could be from your arrow nocks being too tight on the string, nock set too high, or nock set too low and the tail of the arrow is hitting the shelf/window. Could be a combination of all of them. Correct the diving down first then correct the left/right with point weight.....O.L.
I like bigger or 4 feathers for the wet days...soggy BIG feathers fly better than soggy little feathers.
QuoteOriginally posted by TSHOOTER:
Do you guys prefer 90 degree or some other configuration on 4 fletch?
75X105... Gets the shaft closer to the bow, if that makes any sense to anyone. Plus, they look better, to me.
By the way, my first set of woods -- made someone else, I didn't know how to build 'em at the time -- had "P&Y" style fletches. To reduce/eliminate the "buzz", I trimmed of the back end of the fletches and made them sort of "square". Seems it's the "tail" that makes that noise when it vibrates ("flaps" around) in flight.
So all you four fletchers.... I have some arrows that are full length maple 620 grains w\\o points... Planning on 160 - 190 grain points ... what size and shape fletch? Shield? Bananna? I have a feather burner so I can do whatever I want....
Just for fun I fletched up a couple of 4 fletch 90 degree 5" Shields to see the difference. I'm sold!
Guys, this may be a dumb question, but what does a 90 degree fletch look like compared to a 75 x 105 degree. My fletching jig does not have any markings to tell me what I have. Is the 90s just straight back? And the 75x105 have a helical twist? Thanks Gilbert
90* refers to the spacing of the fletching on the shaft not the amount of helical. With 90* the four fletches are evenly spaced apart on the shaft, and with 75x105 have two feathers placed at 75* apart then a gap of 105* then two more feathers at 75*.
Amicus, its two different things, generally its the feather clamp that determines whether it is helical or not and a setting on the nock holder for, 120-3 fletch, 90-4 or 105/75-4 fletch. My first fletching jig only had the 120-3 setting, so about 40 years ago I experimented with four fletch by fletching the two hens feathers and then flipping the arrow over and doing two more, so I actually ended up with a 120/60-four fletch! One thing I prefer about the 105/15 to the 90 degree, is fitting them into an arrow box or bow quiver, I find that it is easier to get them to fit without the fletching hitting each other.
I like the 4 fletch 5 inch. Even if the bow is tuned correctly, the arrows seem to recover faster after a bad release. Ha!
Mike
I fletch a cock feather + a hen feather, flip the arrow 180 in the nock receiver and repeat.
I learned how here:
http://www.arrowsbykelly.com/Other_Tips.html