anyone use straight fletched arrows?

rich e · September 28, 2010, 12:35:00 PM

Hi, Does anyone here use straight fletched arrows? The reason I ask is I have an old Bitzenberg jig, but it has a straight clamp.
thanks for your time, rich

bornagainbowhunter · September 28, 2010, 12:43:00 PM

I like a helical much better, but if straight is what you have you can still use it and just offset the top and bottom of the feathers. you can still get left or right spin on your arrows with an offset fletch.

ron w · September 28, 2010, 01:23:00 PM

I have done straight many times, just off-set like was said above to the left or right depending on what wing your use'n. Works fine.......

Doc Nock · September 28, 2010, 01:25:00 PM

Been shooting straight clamp w/ left wing feathers... like BAB says, offset slightly and you still get spin.

I fuss with bare shafting till they fly true and don't rely on helical fletch to stabilize...and slow the arrow.

Shooting a bit less weight as I age, I don't like giving up anything so the straight-offset suits me.

chopx2 · September 28, 2010, 01:32:00 PM

QuoteOriginally posted by Doc Nock:
Been shooting straight clamp w/ left wing feathers... like BAB says, offset slightly and you still get spin.

I fuss with bare shafting till they fly true and don't rely on helical fletch to stabilize...and slow the arrow.

Shooting a bit less weight as I age, I don't like giving up anything so the straight-offset suits me.

Me too!

Especially if you use a lot of up front weight and single bevel BHs as they induce rotation as well.

Shooty1 · September 28, 2010, 01:40:00 PM

Just a little offset.

Tree Rat · September 28, 2010, 01:51:00 PM

Perfectly straight feathers will give rotation. Look at a feather there is a rough side and smooth side. That is enough to cause a pressure differential and rotation.

That said, I still use an offset when I use straight clamps.

Austin · September 28, 2010, 01:55:00 PM

Straight clamp is fine, I like the look of helical fletch but it really slows down the arrows. Just offset your straight clamp a bit and you'll have plenty of spin.

JamesV · September 28, 2010, 09:22:00 PM

I tried straight fletch with no offset one time. My arrows planed so bad with a B/head I couldn't hit anything. A little offset cured the problem, still can't hit anything but the arrows fly great LOL

Jim now in Kentucky · September 28, 2010, 11:17:00 PM

I have always place my feathers as close to straight as I can. If my broadheads are mounted straight, the arrows go straight. Field points go straight all the time.

I could tell you the physics of the value of rotation for stabilizing projectiles (varies with the aspect ratio of the projectile--greater the length compared to diameter the faster the required spin, so an arrow might have to spin four revolutions for every inch of travel to be gyroscopically stabilized."

Spiral fletching prevents an arrow from going off course all in one direction. It keeps changing the direction of error.

Archers nearly always used straight fletching until the last 100 years or so.

But who listens to me??

Brian Krebs · September 29, 2010, 12:59:00 AM

I am listening Jim- but straight fletch does not work for me like helical.

Where does the other side of the parentheses go ?

How do you mount your broadheads 'straight'?

Does this work with just one setup or various ones?

What is your set up?

Leon.R · September 29, 2010, 05:13:00 AM

JamesV ... made my day , I second that. :D

Jon Stewart · September 29, 2010, 07:49:00 AM

That is all I have used for the past 40 years.

Eugene Slagle · September 29, 2010, 07:54:00 AM

I have both 2 Straight & 1 RW helical Bitz clamps & I like the straight set as off set as I can get better than the helical.

Jim now in Kentucky · September 29, 2010, 09:36:00 AM

Brian, the ) goes where the " is. Sorry.

I mount my broadheads with hot glue and spin on the point to check straightness. If not straight, heat and straighten, sometimes several times. Then test shoot at box of sawdust. If head planes, adjust, or in impossible cases, relegate shaft to field point practice work.

Jim

rich e · September 29, 2010, 12:00:00 PM

Thanks a bunch guys, I guess I'll get me some 5" feathers and give that jig a try, I've got lots of old aluminum shafts that the plastic vanes have deteriated so and crumbled off the shafts. rich

JPE · September 29, 2010, 05:38:00 PM

I have started useing tapered shafts and a straight 4 fletch. Works fine for what i do. Jim

September 29, 2010, 06:23:00 PM

I used a Jo-Jan straight for years and put as much angle on the feather as I could and still get the bone down flat. My goal was to get the shaft flying as straight behind the point as possible in a cross wind, I found that with a nearly straight feather angle and my wood shafts I saw wind drift and a bit of side stepping with wider broadheads. It went away with arrows that had more spin.

Brian Krebs · September 29, 2010, 11:21:00 PM

Jim- gotcha thanks.

I still don't get it. I remember when I really was getting serious about bowhunting for deer- got my arrows shooting quarter sized groups at 30 yards; and my buddy and I decided to try some broadheads and make sure we were ready.
Well we bought some razorback 5's and neither of us could even hit the backstop of the target; and yet; put on a field point and we could drive nails in.
So- in a move of great desperation ( OK- PANIC); I called Fred Bear. He might have recognized me in person; but not my name and voice over the phone; but he talked to me for about an hour.
He would say 'check this' and I would say 'hold on a minute' and check it; and then he would say 'check that' and I would say 'hold on a minute'; and this went on to where he told me to check if the arrows had straight fletch or helical.
I had no idea what he was talking about- but he explained it to me; and I went the next day to the non-bow guy in the only sporting goods store and got some helical fletched arrows.
They shot those broadheads perfectly.
So - since then I have always used helical.
Now you guys are kinda saying the need for helical fletch is a myth....
I don't get it.
OK - it might take 4 spins in so much time; but doesn't arrow speed have an effect- are you saying that helical fletch does nothing for arrow flight?

:confused:

Shinken · September 30, 2010, 12:48:00 AM

Straight fletch for target points (*unless* you have a rock-solid release every shot and then you could go with well-tuned shafts and broadheads).

Helical for broadheads, but it can be as mild or as much as you want - bottom-line the fletch needs to stabilize the arrow in the event of a sloppy release....

Shoot straight, Shinken