Arrow Fletching

Now that bow season is far behind us it is time for me to regroup for the off season.  For me that usually means re-fletching my arrows and making sure my archery equipment is still in good condition so I can start practicing again.  If you are careful when shooting at targets and varmints, arrows can last many years with a little maintenance.  When I target shoot I generally only shoot at one target per arrow to avoid damaging arrows.  When I shoot at squirrels and such I try to make sure I’m not shooting into rocks or anything not arrow friendly.  I have arrows that are several years old and once or twice a year I make them look new again by giving them new fletching and replacing nocks as needed. 

I enjoy putting together my own arrows because I can make them look the way I want and I can try out different things.  I’ve tried helical verses straight, feathers verses vanes, different lengths of feathers/vanes, and different arrangements (such as staggered fletching).  At the end of the day I come back to the current common standard of three 2” straight vanes.  However, some of the other combinations work well and sometimes better depending on the set up or application.  Here is a short overview.  First off your arrow’s spine and overall weight needs to be correct based on your draw length and pull weight.  Secondly your bow needs to be properly tuned.  This is a subject for another day, today we are talking about fletching combinations.

Helical verses straight-

Helical is where the fletching wraps around the arrow to give it a lot of spin.  I found that feathers usually work better with this application.  This type of fletching provides the best stability for an arrow especially when used with longer 4 or 5 inch fletching.  However, this set up doesn’t seem to work well with a fast shooting bow and can have rest clearance issues

Straight is where the fletching is straight but usually slightly angled to provide some spin.  This works well with both feathers and vanes.  It doesn’t provide as much spin, but it is not needed as much for modern, fast, straight (tuned) shooting bows. 

Feather verses vanes-

Feathers are lighter and more resistant to deflection and warping, but they wear out quicker and can hold water if in the rain.  Vanes are weather resistant and durable unless they pass through a target one time and then they are warped.

Different lengths of feathers/vanes-

Like most variables on a bow this is a tradeoff.  The longer the feather/vane the more guidance or stable the arrow, but the longer vanes make the arrow heavier and slower.  So you are trading speed for stability.

Different arrangements-

The only different arrangement I’ve tried so far is staggered fletching.  This is where the back of one feather is at the standard location, the back of the second feather is moved up about ½-1 inch, and the third feather is moved up the same distance from the second.  What this gives you is the stability of a longer fletching by using a shorter fletching.  I’ve tried this and it seems to work.  I didn’t notice much difference but they performed just as good as standard fletching. This style does not work well with a whisker-biscuit type rest.  

At the end of the day it is what you prefer and or what works best for your set up.  I use 2 inch straight vanes for my hunting set up.  For the 3-D range I like to use 3 inch straight feathers and sometimes staggered just to be different.  For my recurve I use 5 inch helical feathers.

If you want to get into fletching your own arrows, it is easy to do and really only requires a jig.  I would recommend a Jo-Jan arrow fletching jig.  You can do six arrows at a time and you can get straight or helical clamps.  If you look behind the counter at your local archery shop it is probably what they are using.  I’ve had mine for years and it works great.