Hey Guys,
I've been shooting 4" shield cut feathers with a helical on my shafts this summer.  My broadheads fly nice at 25yds (thats as far as i can shoot accurately)  and I step back to 35- 40 yds just so I can watch them fly, they look good.  Being new to this I was curious what you guys think, is this a mistake should I fletch with 5" for the season. My set up if it helps, is a 519 grain arrow with a 150 grain head out of a 54# bow.  Thanks Joe    

hey joe, i have been shooting five inch since march then i switched to 4 " and i know i picked up some speed because i was getting about an inch and a half more penetration into my target vs the 5 inch. And if the 4" are flying good for you yhrn i see no reason to change. just my two cents....curtis

Same here.  I've been shooting 5" for years and I've switched to 4".  Wet your feathers down on one of your broadhead tipped arrows and see how it flies.  Sounds like you have everything well tuned and should be good to go.

Arrow flight & penetration are what matter. 5" fletching may look a little cooler, but I'd stick with the 4"...

Try shooting in various awkward positions, and if they still fly great then your set. imo

I as well have been messing with 4" feathers this last year with good results . I have been using the 4" Raptor cut ( big surprise right?)and found I get just as good with the taller shorter as I do with the lower longer.
This also makes it easier to get two feathers out of a full length.
Try it , you might find it works for you .

Ideally you want as little fletch as need for good flight. If 4" feathers work well for you then thats what you should shoot. I have always used 5 1/2" shields(or my own cut) straight fletch with a slight offset. For me they work best with self bows and thats what I shoot mostly. Pat

Good stuff guys, glad to see the trad police didn't jump all over you!    Keep in mind we want a stable/forgiving arrow. The farther forward your FOC is, the less feather you need for the same stability. In effect it's like adding bigger feathers without the clearance and drag problems. Juli is shooting some now that are 27% FOC and I'd bet 3" feathers would work just fine......O.L.

I have been shooting 4" shield feathers for about 7 years now. I have never had any problems with them. I have shot and shoot in every position from laying down to standing with my feet one way and shooting stright behind me. I shoot a 485 gr. total weight arrow out of my Morrison and a 535 gr. total weight arrow out  of it with my heavyer limbs. Bothe situps work very good for me, and I get great arrow flight. It was a big change for me when I switched because I used 5.5 feathers at the time. If they work for ya don't change.

I shoot 5 1/2" and have been wondering about going to a 4.  Bonner and I recently did some "unscienfific" research where we stood close to the target (safety behind a wall) while the other guy shot the target.  We were listening for arrow noise during flight.  You could definitely hear the 5 1/2 inchers more than the 4's.  I'm concerned about animals jumping string more with the louder hiss of the bigger feather.  We shoot about the same setup (570 grains with 56#) with a "healthy" FOC. I would assume that the 4's would have less drag as well as the arrow goes down range.

OL a better analogy would be " tie a string on a rock , throw the rock , whats the string do?
I quit being concerned about the Trad police a long time ago, now I do what I know is right and what works for me. You hit it right on the head , increase the FOC and you will need less drag on the back

Thanks Guys,
I'll stick with what I've got, seems like it works for you folks.  Eagle I like that thought of wetting the feathers to see what happens. Interesting also about the noise issue I didn't know 4 to 5 would be that big of a difference.  All good things to consider!!  Thanks again gang  Joe    

Yep.  Most "trad" guys are over-fletched and over-helicaled  :p      ...Van

I have been shooting 4 4" fletch for at least 15 years now on wood and carbon shafts. Never have any problems. I just figured 4x4=16 and 3x5=15. The main reason was economic though. You can always get 2 good fletch out of one good feather.

4X4" here too, seem to fly best for me. as well

Something I've noticed too is the heavier an arrow is, the more fletching you need, putting FOC aside. In part because the drag on the back gives us the stability, the slower the arrow flys the less drag there is. It goes up or down by the square of the velocity so a 10% change in FPS makes a 40% change in the drag used for stability. Not even looking at the extra momentum that has to be overcome.....O.L.

I guess I'm over fletched along with the 4x4's 5.5" I like the way they shoot. I like the way they look.