Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting What fetching do you use ?

Plastic or feathers ?
Little 2 inch or longer ?
Straight or helical ?

I went with 2.75" Tac Driver fletching with a 2 degree offset. You may want to check out the arrow builder on Black Ovis. I had great luck with them.

Feathers 90% of the time.
Either 3” or 4” feathers.
I always fletch helical.
Been making my own arrows since the early 80s.

Since these vane types are new to me, can these stabilize a full size broadhead, or really only good for expandable?

Do you lose much velocity with these longer ones, but gain stability with either type broadhead, but better for a non expanding broadhead ?

What are you shooting them from? That matters greatly.

And this is why i ask questions !
A Diamind Infinite.
28" draw and right now set at 55 pounds.
Drop down rest.

Are the shrink type any good??

I’ve never tried the shrink on type. If they’re straight fletch as opposed to being offset or helical, they’ll not be very good at stabilizing a broadhead.

I've been Fletching my own arrows for 4 decades.

Literally any fletch works.
The short Blazer type vanes and the clones are excellent. Use a 1.5-3 deg offset or helical jig. That AZ mini is bulletproof but the clamp style works good too.

Large fletch kills your down range speed- no need. The key is to tune your arrow to your bow by shooting BH's and FP's for groups. When they hit the same at longer 40,50y distances- you are tuned. Then you don't need much fletch.

Using more fletch to correct your arrows is like putting bigger tires on your truck to solve alignment.

I shoot 3 blazers with big fixed BHS- works great. If I was starting over, I would go to 4 fletch- only due to loading an arrow while hunting without having to look for the cock feather.

I fletched a few arrows, really found no joy in doing it. So now I use big targets and shoot 1 arrow at each aiming point. I shot all summer and never jacked up one fletch so was quite happy with that. Just food for thought once you figure out what fletching etc you want.

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Ok !
So the little roundy looking ones is what I'll get.
Have 3 like that already, and they fly great with fp's, just didn't know if I needed bigger vanes for broadheads.
I used feathers back in the day.
Internal diameter is 6.2, so I know what lighted knocks to get.

Perhaps More important than fletching is The arrow tune & tune to your bow. Suspect I am getting ahead of your learning curve though this is important. Spine alignment & proper point weight for the spine of your arrow is vital. Preferably a heavier point weight as long as your arrow is of proper spine for the point weight (high FOC - High front of center).

With a properly spine arrow for a high FOC point & spine indexed you may be amazed at achievable arrow flight with bare shaft. (no fletching) Achieve this then I prefer small vanes for hunting.

Speed is of less concern to me these days. If RF don't turn you off too much he offers some good advice. While I like nearly all his advice. Grizzly stick happens to be my preferred Arrow & BH vendor.

I've got some Grizzly Stik arrows and heavy broadheads sitting in the basement. I'll have to try those soon. And I'd like to learn more on bow tuning so thanks for the video too.

4" parabolic feathers.
Helical w offset.
I never have broadhead issues.
Bows are bare shaft tuned as well.


Wheels or trad, same fletching.
Maybe overkill. Works.

Run a black hen low, white cockfeather and a red barred hen top. Black carbon shaft w white nock.

Been my color combo for years.

Bare shaft flies great. The ol lady thought i needed fletch and was watching me test in back yard. Stunned i was hitting the bull at 20 yards w bare shaft.

My paper tune obviously done way close ( 6ft - had moved frame off to side to shoot at D ).

Explained how they were going in straight and that bare shaft is done only with field points.

Week later she watched me stick broadheads in center of my block target, fletched arrows of course.

Checked the 3 rivers dynamic spine calculator and was like 4# off. When i adjusted the shaft length to half inch less ( because longer insert..reducing amount of shaft that can flex ), the calculator showed like .5# diff.

I built a heavier spine arrow w reg insert plus 50gr behind, and running a 175 gr tip.....got same diff.

While both arrows are built to proper spec, the 400s are more forgiving than the 340s.

My 400s w 125 hr heads and 100 gr inserts weigh 500gr.
The 340s w 175 gr head and reg insert plus 50gr behind are 535.

Both work fine but the 400s dont stray as much when i get a less than perfect release

On my Mathews Switchback XT I tried the Blazer vanes.
They shot my G5 strikers w my field points.
For wheels and release and not wanting to worry about wet fletch, Id run em again.

My buds shoot em w fixed blade heads from compounds and have no problems.

They are kinda tall and can have pretty tight cable clearance on some bows.

Folks might do well to check the THP videos on how arrows fly. RFs laugh is horrible, and his delivery is a bit annoying.....the science guy is worth listening to.


Dude i know won the IBO triple crown in Hunter class using the then new NAP quickspins. At ATA we saw how they spun on their display way more than others.

Too much of a good thng. They did cut down speed and past 35 yards it hurt on traj. Note: Hunter class is 35 yards max. LOL.....MBR is 45 yards and those fletches would kill your scores.

NAP came out w a lesser spin version not long after.

Hunting, for.most 35 yards is a rip in the woods. So the reg quickspins proly worked fine.

I shoot old Bear recurves...

5" shields with helical on 2016 or 2018 aluminum shafts. I use fletch tape and a Bitz.