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30  AFRICA’S BOWHUNTER MARCH 2008

 By John Dudley

I start out each year pondering the same thoughts

as everyone else: “Which new model of bow should

I choose? Should I go with the short or the long one?

 Which arrows should I shoot? I wonder if that new sight is

as good as everyone says it is? Which broadhead is my 

best option this year?

For most of us these decisions are made at the archery shop

and we allow them to put our equipment together before we

head out into the field. But I think if we truly want to shoot,

group and kill to the best of our ability then the thinking needs

to go a little further. After selecting a bow, arrow and broadhead

you need to next put some time and effort into choosing your 

arrow fletching.

Up until about seven years ago I only shot mechanical broad-

heads. I was hunting mainly medium to small game animals and

the mechanical heads worked extremely well for me. Virtuallyany bow and arrow combination shot mechanicals every bit as

good as field points. Once I moved into hunting larger and more

dangerous animals I went back to shooting a conventional fixed-

 blade broadhead. I felt that this was a wiser choice after factor-

ing in kinetic energy and shot angles. When I went back to fixed-

 blade heads I suddenly realised how spoiled I had been with the

mechanicals. They always seemed to group really well without

any effort.

With the conventional heads I

had to go back to an old method of 

group shooting to determine what

I would need to get them to fly aswell as the mechanical. The method

is nothing secretive or new; it’s just

all about trying different fletching

types to find out what is needed to

make the broadhead fly true.

Several months ago I wrote

about walk-back tuning with

 broadheads. That technique is still

important because it assures that the bow and arrow rest is tuned

to the arrow. This process of trial and error with fletching is to

determine that the arrow-fletch combination is matched with the

 broadhead. With the combination of my two methods you can

have a set-up that is highly tuned and deadly accurate.

I can save you a lot of time by telling you that there are four 

fletching type options. These are the most popular choices and the

most accurate in my personal tests. They are a four-inch feather,

four-inch vane, two-inch blazer or the quick spin ST vanes. In

recent years the two-inch blazer vane and two-inch quick spin

ST vanes have made a huge jump in the market and when com-

 bined with certain arrows and broadheads compare equally with

the long vane or feather.

I understand that there are many other vane and feather 

length options, but after countless numbers of groupings I have

found those listed above are the ones to home in on.

I will be up front and honest – a four-inch feather is always

reliable to get great results when group testing broadheads. It

usually solves any problems you are having with broadheadflight in relation to proper fletch. I still try to avoid them, how-

ever, because I know there are several down sides to feathers.

They are more delicate to travel with and are not good in the

rain. Feathers are notably nosier than a vane and slower at longer 

distances. They take much longer to fletch than vanes because

for this to be done properly they need to be made with slow-cure

glues.

Although feathers give good results, I do my test with the

other vanes first to see if I can achieve the results I desire. I have

had great luck with a vane combination 95 per cent of the time

and have enjoyed them because of they are easier to install, bet-

ter for travel, quieter, and have less down-range drag.Once you have selected your arrow from your local dealer I

recommend getting a few of them fletched with these different

vanes. This will allow you to test which fletching will be best for 

you. I recommend paying a little extra and have your shop build

you a few with these different vanes so that you know you are

getting the best results out of your gear. This may also be a good

time to help motivate you to learn to fletch your own arrows. The

fletching tools are not that expensive and there is a special satis-

faction to be gained from fletching your own arrows.

In my next article I will explain how to properly fletch and

crest an arrow. For now, get your local dealer to make you a few

arrows with these different vanes.

The fletching test is really simple. You will need two arrowswith the same fletching. Start by shooting one arrow tipped with

a field point, then shoot the other tipped with your broadhead of 

choice. Make sure that both shots are good. To save on arrows

and fletching I always shoot at two separate spots.

The arrows should be shot at a distance at which you are

comfortably accurate. The further away you are, the greater dif-

ference you will see in how the fletching steers the arrow. Extend

yourself as far as you feel comfortable.

I do this test at 50 metres and shoot a one-inch dot painted in

the middle of a six-inch circle. My sight pin at 50 meters is the

Four-inch vanes fletched

helically is my vane of

choice.

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31MARCH 2008 AFRICA’S BOWHUNTER

same size as the six-inch circle,

so I can easily see that I am cen-

treed in the target when I shoot.

After shooting both arrows go

down to the target to assess the

results.

Take a look at Photo A and

notice that the arrow on the left

(125-grain G5 Striker) is only about one inch lower than the field

 point arrow on the right spot. When shooting broadheads it com-

mon for it to impact slightly lower at longer distances, owing to

the added drag. The fact that it is slightly lower at this distance

is not an issue.

What you need to pay the most attention to is the left to right

difference between the broadhead and field point. The results in

this photo are perfect. If the broadhead had impacted outside thecircle, but the field point hit centre then I would know to try a

different combination. These results are ideal because they tell

me I can shoot a field point, G5 or even a mechanical within the

same two-inch radius at 50 meters.

Look at Photo B. I shot both a four-inch vane and the two-

inch quick spin ST vane. The arrows with blue nocks have field

 points and those with white nocks have broadheads. Notice that

the four-inch vanes (green circle) had a variance in vital impact

of only two inches at 50 metres. The quick spin ST vanes had a

variance of five inches at the same distance.

Some of you may say that a margin of about five inches is

still more than adequate for a hunting bow. I disagree, becausethese results are from good shots. The margin of error is greatly

magnified if I make a questionable shot, which happens to most

of us in the field. A lousy shot usually results in an impact twice

as bad as the good result.

In this test I shot a four-inch Easton Diamond vane with as

much helical as my jig would allow. Time and again I have had

great luck with a four-inch vane “wrapped” or fletched with a

strong helical. The helical or offset to the vane is what dictates

the arrow’s rotation. The faster rotation typically stabilises the

arrow at a faster pace than a straight fletch. Obviously, longer 

vanes will allow more helical and more surface area. With the

short vanes they rely on either the “rutter”, which the quick spin

has, or a high profile like the blazer to create the required surfacearea or rotation.

I want to make it clear that I do not intend to be negative

about the short vane types, including the quick spins or blazers. I

have shot both of them in the past, depending on my bow-arrow

combination, and had better results. Shorter vanes have definite

 benefits because they are faster at longer ranges and in most

cases have less drift in cross winds.

What matters to me is what groups best. If I decide on a

mechanical blade broadhead then I tend to prefer the shorter 

vane options because I can get equal groupings. But other things

affect a vane’s performance besides whether the broadhead is

fixed or mechanical.

The combinations I have discussed are only a few of the

options available today. Those who use fall-away rest sometimes

elect to shoot four of the short vanes to get the grouping results

they demand. The bottom line is that most shooters and hunters

are capable of shooting much better than they are used to. The

key is to take extra steps and try the little things that can make

 big differences.Hunting season is only a small percentage of the year.

Shooting can be done all year long. The archery shops don’t

close because the hunting season is over. They are open all year 

round, waiting for you to come in. Experiments like these can

often become a lot of fun if you get a group of guys together in

the off-season. They often attract the attention of shop owners

and who knows, maybe they will even jump in and shoot with

you. Good luck with it all.

For more info: www.dudleyarchery.info / www.ddbowhun-

ting.com

You can always count

on feathers EXCEPT in

rain, wind and snow.

KIll radius..

There are countless options

(right) in arrow fletching but I

have narrowed it down to only

four of them.

T

A.

B.