Large feather speed loss

[snowplow]

Reading all this U_EFOC stuff has small feathers on my brain.

Has anyone ever done any comparison on what the feather drag actually translates to in real life?

Say (3) 5.5" shields vs (3) 3" parabolics. How much lower does the large feathers impact at 40 yards or some such comparison.

FPS doesn't really say much to me (maybe it should) but I just wonder if there is an actual practical benefit at all? If there is only a 2" drop at 40 yards for instance, I dont see that I care at all.

Just wondering...

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I think you are going to get a wide range of answers on this question. But i for one like a decent sized fletch with some helical on my arrows.

I'm a middle of the road guy and use a 4" LP fletching mostly. but i don't think you are going to see a significant difference in arrow drop until you get well past 40 yards. Even then it's not huge.

Using small fletching requires a very fine tuned arrows and a good solid release every time. The arrows with larger fletching are going to be more forgiving to a less than perfect release & stabilize that arrow flight much quicker.

[monkeyball]

I am running 4-3" Para's right now. Beaman 500's with about 200 gr. broadhead/adap. They fly as nice as any larger fletch I have ever used.

                                  Good Hunting,
                                                    Craig

[snowplow]

Key Kirk, is LP low profile? If so, what would that be?

[ChuckC]

I am thinking that I would shorten that distance a fair amount Kirk.  Absolutely no scientific basis, but I shoot both 5.5" high back shields and also 4" shields as well as cut 4" LP banana's.

I have often said, you can shoot almost any arrow if it has 5.5" feathers.  Man do they catch the wind.  But if there is a breeze, they catch that too.  And they are noisier, both in the air as well as in the quiver. (that said, they must not be TOO noisy, lots of critters were killed by arrows bearing those style feathers)

For squirrel rounds, I often place 4- 5.5" feathers on the shaft, which I think slows it more, but not like a full fly flu.  Remember, you tend to measure FPS at or near the bow, and that won't show you much since they don't slow the arrow down till after the arrow is on its way.

I think the real answer, for your gear and style, is to make one of each and shoot them side by side. Although TradGang gives us immediate feedback on a lot of topics, nothing beats having done it yourself for your own experience.  

I am thinking that at 40 yards, you will see a fair difference. At 15 - 20, maybe not so much.
CHuckC

[McDave]

For my normal arrows, I use 3 - 4" shield cut feathers. For my judos and blunts when roving, I use 6 - 5" shield cut feathers.  I use the same shafts on my regular and roving arrows, and the judos and blunts weigh the same as my field points.  My normal point on is 50 yards. To hit at 50 yards with my roving arrows, I have to hold about 3' high.  I'm sure there's some difference in POI at 20-30 yards, but not enough that I consciously adjust for it when shooting at pine cones, etc., and I hit my fair share of pine cones.  My subjective experience is that they shoot within a few inches of the same out to about 25-30 yards, and then the roving arrows start to drop off.  That's why I fletch them that way: so they won't go so far in the field when I miss a high shot.  Plus, with all the colorful feathers, they're easier to find.

One of my friends prefers to use flu-flu's in trad tournaments when shooting at close (15 yards and in) distances, because he feels he is more accurate with them, maybe because they recover faster from paradox.  I don't know of anyone else who does that, but they seem to work fine for him.

[joe skipp]

I shoot 5" Parabolic, full helical on all my hunting arrows with 2 blade broadheads. When I'm spring bear hunting, close range shots and I'm using a 160 gr Snuffer...my arrows have 5.5" HB Shields in full helical. Want that stability that larger feathers offer for the close shots.

[Cavscout9753]

You don't hear much about it, but if you get Saxton Pope's book "Hunting With The Bow And Arrow" it's a really interesting read. He and other's at the university conducted a number of tests on a variety of bows, arrow combinations, styles, etc. Some of it is obviously dated with the advent of modern materials, but it's a great book none the less.

[LBR]

I haven't tested speed loss with large vs. small.  No doubt the extra resistance costs some degree of performance, but there will be tons of variables to consider to get specific and accurate numbers.

However, I don't like the noise of larger feathers, or softer feathers, so I don't use them.

[Flying Dutchman]

I use 4 and 5 inch feathers, both shielded, both slightly helical. I don't notice any difference in speed when shooting till 60 yards.

[Diamond Paul]

I have switched to 4" over 5"; could probably use 3", to be honest.  I think it's mostly personal preference, as the drag isn't a big factor at hunting ranges.  The big feather will help if you make a less than perfect release, though.  For 3D or any games where shooting gets longer, I'm going to use 3" from now on.

[b.glass]

Dr. Ashby did some testing a few years ago with small fletching. There was a thread about it here on Tradgang. It was more to do with achieving decreased noise as I recall but I'm sure there was talk of arrow speed.

[RC]

I shoot3- 5.5 feathers always.Always great arrow flight with my poor release. I`ve killed a couple with`m.RC

[**DONOTDELETE**]

there is no doubt about the difference between a 5.5" helical fletching slowing the arrow speed down more than a 2.5" straight fletch....but at hunting distance i don't see it making a huge difference except noise.

That's why i go middle of the road with either 4- 3" fletch  or 3-4". it's a perfect compromise of getting good flight stability on arrow flight with minimal noise and speed loss or drag.... btq,,,the 3 - 4" seem quieter than the 4- 3" for some reason.

[bigbadjon]

I think the general consensus is going to be that too much feather is better than too little. I have been shooting 4 3" parabolics extensively. The main performance issue is with  height, your fletch must be taller than the width of your broadhead. I made mine just wider than a Silverflame as shorter (in height) fletches are stiffer, quieter, and I believe group better.

[Bjorn]

I use 3, 5" low profile feathers for everything. Shield cut-they are just a little noisier perhaps and that's why the lower profile. If you glue a bamboo skewer in your chopper they come out looking good.    

[Diamond Paul]

I noticed on Jimmy Blackmon's latest vid that he was using 5" shield cuts on aluminum arrows.  Seems like all his vids having to do with hunting have 5" shield cuts in them.  He obviously can shoot far, but doesn't seem to worry about feather drag.  I think he said his bow shot about 167fps, too.  I think sometimes we overthink this stuff.  Paul.

[JamesKerr]

Originally posted by Diamond Paul:
  I think sometimes we overthink this stuff.  Paul.

X2

[Roadkill]

If properly tuned, one can get away with smaller fletching.  Some of the people I have seen need that big fletch.  Flu flu fletching can hide a variety of poor factors from release to spine.  Yep noisy,

[Terry Lightle]

When I have been sitting for hours in cold weather I want all the help I can get with my getting off the string with cold fingers,so I shoot 3- 5.5 high profile shields.Louder and slower?yes,but at huntin distance makes me no difference.