Is there any difference in the way shield or parabolic  cut feathers fly. Is one quieter than the other ? Or are they the same and just a personal preference to what shape you like. If you have experience with both please share it. Thanks !

Parabolics are supposed to be both quieter and slightly faster, but at our close-in distances, this probably doesn't make that much difference.  I shoot 4" shields on mine, out of a Toelke Whip that's almost silent on release, and I don't hear any sound after release until it smacks the bag. Shields claim to be a little more stable, but I don't notice any difference whatsoever.  I kinda think it comes down to a properly tuned arrow.  If you're spun up you shouldn't  notice any difference, so it's down to personal preference-in my experience anyway!

parabolics are quieter. just have someone stand off to the side when you shot,to see the difference any advantage you can get will help.cold mean the difference between a good shot and a bad shot.

Also, from my experience, parabolics are quieter. However, I like the traditional look of shields.

In my experience Parabolics are definitely quieter. The only Shields I ever shot that were consistently quiet were some low profiles that Rod Kelley (Mountaintop Traditional Arrows, Kalispell, MT.) burned on some shafts for me.

I think parabolics tend to be more quiet, but I have encountered some arrows with parabolics that were noisy. I have found arrow flight about equal, but I simply prefer the look of shields. That is the primary reason I favor them.

I think parabolics may well be a tad faster, and they may be more quiet. I shoot shields and have not gotten complaints.  

For me parabolics are quiteter.My 4-4" parabolic are quieter then my 4-4" shield and they seem to slow down alittle quicker.But also the 4" shield are slightly taller in profile then my parabolics  which I feel makes the most difference.

I shoot 5" shields, haven't compared the two.

I've shot shield for a few years because they look cool but this year switched to parabolic just for a change and I think they look great too. Parabolic feathers are quieter and afford you a few more fps but the deer don't really care one way or another    :D

I shoot the shield cut. Really prefer them better. But parabolic isn't bad either. God bless.

It looks like this is pretty much in the eye of the beholder here; I cut down some 5" shields on the arrows I made for my horse bow.  They still stabilize as well but seem faster, so that's one possibility, cut them down a little.

i think parabolic are quieter.  speedwise i can not tell any difference. shield looks better to me.  just my opinion

I have searched this extensively myself. Most would say the parabolics are the way to go. But the high backs are not as the 5inch standard profile.

I like shield because I shoot cock feather in and use the top hen feather to touch the tip of my nose.  Then I know I am at proper anchor.   Parabolic feathers tapper off to fast to touch my nose at my full draw anchor point.

Downtime.. interesting technique.. gonna try it.

QuoteOriginally posted by Downtime:
I like shield because I shoot cock feather in and use the top hen feather to touch the tip of my nose.  Then I know I am at proper anchor.   Parabolic feathers tapper off to fast to touch my nose at my full draw anchor point.

I too use the tip of the shield cut fletch to help my anchor.
I wonder if you moved the parabolic fletching back as far as possible if you would be able to use it in the way that you can with the shield cut.
Would be interested in knowing if anyone has any experience with this

Going with parabolic lately.  Quiet and good enough for Howard Hill and John Schulz.

I think it probably doesn't matter that much.

FWIW vanes are alot more quiet than any shape of feather. So if you shoot an elevAted rest ... you can just shoot those .... or really even if you shoot off the shelf ... people don;t like to hear it but a well tuned arrow and a clean release can shoot vanes all day without contact.

QuoteOriginally posted by Wolfshead:
 

QuoteOriginally posted by Downtime:
I like shield because I shoot cock feather in and use the top hen feather to touch the tip of my nose.  Then I know I am at proper anchor.   Parabolic feathers tapper off to fast to touch my nose at my full draw anchor point.

I too use the tip of the shield cut fletch to help my anchor.
I wonder if you moved the parabolic fletching back as far as possible if you would be able to use it in the way that you can with the shield cut.

I to Would be interested in knowing if anyone has any experience with this [/b]

It works for me. I made several changes - one to left hand and the other to 3 under. I started using the top hen feather (actually, I rotated the nock so the cock feather was at 1:00 position) to touch the tip of my nose. I had both parabolic and shield cut and both worked. Rather than move the shield feathers farther forward to where they needed to be, I just cut the rear of the feather to achieve the proper distance from the nock. I'm sure I could use either shield or parabolic as a nose touch signal if it is positioned properly.

Meantime, I've gone back to split-finger draw and no longer use the feather as a signal.