G'day folks,

Can anyone tell me if there is a difference in overall performance between shield cut and parabolic fletching?  I currently use parabolic, but I have been toying with the idea of switching to shield cut; simply because I like the look of them -- they look "traditional" -- but if it means sacrificing performance, then I won't even bother.

Thanks.

Robert

In my opinion,High back shield cut seem to stabilize the arrow faster.I use 5 1/2" LW HBSC with as much helical as possible.........might slow the arrow a little more,but they fly straight and true,and stabilize very quickly.

I don't think that there is a difference in performance between the two, although I believe the parabolics are a bit quieters. I don't think the parabolics are the prettiest shape between the two though. But personally, I use the parabolics for hunting.

I don't think there is much difference if any! I use 5.5" High Back Shield Cut. They work great and are the best looking feathers imo....

Nigel

Shield cuts are slower and make more noise...but not by much.  

Use what you like the looks of....  

I'll use either, but I usually buy the parabolic just because I like the look of them. The only time I've ever seen a diffrence in performance was on a guy who was shooting a compound off the shelf. Parabolics flew better than sheild cuts in his situation.

In my experience, if you have a feather where the trailing end is as tall as or taller than any other point along the feather....you get noise.

P&Y cuts make tons of noise.  I have used both lil' chopper and vario-chopper versions...noisy

Sheild cut...next noisiest.

Parabolic 5" noiser than 4" parabolic.

I just got my Orca blade from Herb.  I will let y'all know how that goes.

Shields are a little noisier, but as far as I can tell, they've never spooked an animal I've shot at before the arrow got there.  Feather height, length and amount of helical has more to do with stabilizing and slowing the arrow than its shape.  If there's a measurable difference in speed between the two, it's so small few would be able to detect it.

are sheilds more forgiving?

If the shafts are properly tuned, the difference in how quickly one feather shape stabilizes an arrow in flight, versus the other should be negligible. Use what you like, test both decide for yourself.

Thanks for the information lads.

Second question:

I currently shoot 5" parabolic. Still thinking of the barred shield cut. I'll admit here: this is an aesthetic thing. I really like the look of the shield cut. Do I go with the 5" shield cut or the 5 and one half inch?  Does it make any difference?

I also want to take this opportunity, as 2007 starts to close out, to thank the creators and maintainers of this wonderful website. If it were a how-to book, it would be a million pages long. The discussion is civil, the people are incredible patient and helpful and I enjoy the company of like-minded people (and I am not just taking about traditional archery).

cheers,

Robert

If you're comfortable with your setup with 5" parabolics and want to go to shields, there is really no reason to go to 5.5" feathers.  They stabilize the arrow faster, but cause more drag and make more noise.

Me, I'm going from 5" shields down to 4"  

Im with Robert the only reason I shoot shield is they look pope and young, theve always flown good for me though and so have the parobalics when I shoot someone elses arrows so I dont know.