Question for Arrow Builders...Fletch Location

[Drew]

So I never really paid much attention to the location (from nock end of shaft) of the fletching on my arrows. I've been fletching up arrows using the Arizona Bolt and noticed that the fletching is 3/8" further back than on my pre-fletched ZS's. And as I'm building up my hunting arrows for this yr I'm playing with the idea of inserting a lumenok into the arrow prior to fletching. This should move the fletching another 3/16" rearward, putting them 7/8" from end of shaft.
My thinking is the further back, the longer the lever arm and the more steerage they apply to the arrow. As long as they don't interfere with the claws all should be well.


Thoughts?? Am I missing something obvious?

[xcaliber]

Sounds like you know what to check for Drew. Just do two, and shoot them, you'll know right off if it makes a huge difference. i think not much though.

[amythntr]

.... For what it's worth I had to refletch a couple of Big John's arras...they came with lumenoks... When the shaft is loaded into the AEZF and fletched.... My fletching distance from the shaft end aligned perfectly with the remaining BJ arras!

Anthony

[CrazyAce]

I have some exicutioners that I ordered from borkholderarchery.com and the fletching was further back than the EZ fletch placed them. I noticed no difference in the flight out to 50 yards (that is to say accuracy did not suffer, but the helical that the EZ put on it made it a more stable looking and flatter flight). So I understand that if you're doing some long distance shooting it may make a difference but for hunting I doubt it will change much if any. Just my observations...

CrazyAce

[nchunterkw]

Drew,
You are exactly right in your thinking. Further back = better steerage. But I tend to agree with others in that it won't make that much difference, but any difference should result in better flight. I am also of the opinion that you also gain steerage by using shorter fletchings (like a 2" Blazer versus a 5" vane). Fletchings steer by drag, so with a shorter fletch, the drag starts further back the arrow so again a longer lever arm.

Keith

[newbie]

FWIW I made up a nock just for fletching in the EZ to place fletching closer to the nock. I did this for one reason only, they look better farther back in my eyes.
Does it make a difference? I have no idea I've never used the EZ without it.

[amythntr]

....very interest post gentlemen....always learning aboard the Excalibur Express....

Anthony

[Drew]

Good info guys, thanks! I didn't think the difference would be great but if you have read my post titled "Project Flying Hatchet" you know that I am working with some really big 2 blade broad-heads and want max steerage control. So far only one head is giving me fits and I'm hoping between this fletch shift rearward and a higher FOC it will bring it back in control. We shall see.

And I agree, they just look better further back. My original ZS's came from a seller on Ebay and the fletch is far forward. They shoot fine, just look odd.

[bob1961]

I had an archery shop do some blazers on 6 arrows, stuck them too far back and the vane was contacting something and pushing the rear of the arrow up....now that I fletch my own now I put them 1" from the end of the arrow without any contact....

[paulaboutform]

I think the key is to place your fletching as close to the nock without causing any interference....kind of like a rocket ship or torpedo. I think this allows the best stabilizing. As far as vanes go I don't believe 2" are more stable than longer vanes. The blazers work so well because they're a high profile vane and the more offset and especially helical you add, the faster stabilization you get. If you were to take an equally high 4" vane and fletch it with the equivalent of the Bolt I think it'd be even more accurate, albeit slower because of the increased drag of the longer vanes. Also, try shooting a low profile vane with a fixed broadhead and you'll be sorely disappointed. When your broadhead width is greater than your fletching width the broadhead tends to steer the arrow. Anyway, I've found about 1" off the nock to work great. Good luck playing.

Paul

[nchunterkw]

Paul,
It's all about the drag. High profile has more drag than low profile. But the lever arm is determined by the distance from the center of the arrow to the fletching. So it stands to reason that the lever arm will be shorter with a 4" vane than a 2" vane. But the increased drag of the 4" over the 2" makes it a moot point. But IMO that longer distance is what allows a 2" vane to work in the first place. The longer distance requires less drag for adequate stabilization so a 2" fletch works great - when fletched with helical as we have seen. So it seems we are kind of right on the edge of adequate because typically straight fletched 2" vanes don't seem to provide enough stabilization for fixed blade heads while the helical does fine. Helical = more drag than straight.

[Drew]

A couple more reasons why Blazers work so well is 1) they are stiff. Much stiffer than say the old 4-5" vanes back in the 80's and 90's that cam on Easton XX75's. 2) for such a small vane they actually have some decent surface area. They are tall for their length.
Same reason why feathers provide more drag than vanes, much more surface area and "surface texture". They really grab some air. Makes me curious about the Razer feathers.

[nchunterkw]

Drew all I use is feathers. Started with the Rayzrs and they work great. Then I found Trueflight 2" and they work great too. The Trueflights seem to be made with much better consistency too. They are all ground to the same thickness. Can't say that about the Rayzrs. If you look them up and call them they will send you some samples to try for free. The ones I got looked like barred ones that had the colors messed up on them