3 vs. 4 Fletch Arrows?

[WapitiTalk1]

What do you prefer and why?

[Swede]

I used to prefer 3 vanes when I was shooting a TM Hunter rest. I have stayed with that, but I don't know that it makes a difference. My arrows are about 420 grains. Three 5 inch vanes work well, but 5 inch vanes are a hold over too. They have worked for many years, so why change?

[jmez]

I use three and have for years. Way back when I used to use four but at some point that switched and I really have no good explanation as to why????

I've never had any flight issues that I thought I needed 4 vanes to correct. Darin Cooper, former design engineer for Hoyt, wrote a good article in the last Elk Hunter Magazine about vanes. He was testing three different sized vanes with a 3 fletch configuration. In the lead in he stated that all vanes do is provide drag on the rear of an arrow. Too much drag is as detrimental to flight as not enough drag. In his opinion 4 fletching in most all cases will provide too much drag.

[Brendan]

This is one of those scenarios where it depends on the rest of your setup, how high profile your vanes are, 2" or 3", straight v. offset v. helical fletching, etc. I heard a really good discussion on this by John Dudley (Professional Archer, Nock On TV) where he basically says that there is no one answer, and you need to test for your specific setup to see what works best.

Here's an example - I used a 4-fletch, straight 1 degree offset, low profile vane setup on one arrow setup last year, and was actually not getting enough drag / steerage so went back to 3 x 3" helical for last season which has worked great for me (Flex fletch SK300). Hoping to do a little more testing this year.

Basically - you want just enough drag to stabilize your arrow in hunting situations. Any extra drag will cause increased drop as ranges go up, and will cause more wind drift. None of these are much of an issue though at shorter ranges, so if all your shots are closer - use whatever works and don't worry about it.

[WapitiTalk1]

Good discussion, thank you gentlemen. I've used four fletch arrows for many, many years. Once upon a time, not too terribly long ago, I shot fingers with my bows and felt that a four fletch configuration added arrow flight stability/perhaps increased accuracy somewhat with a small release mistake when shooting with a glove/fingers. Around 6-7 years ago, I finally switched to a release and continued to use four fletch. I fletch my arrows with the 2" blazers, slight helical, and feel (just my opinion) that my arrows fly really well, particularly at longer target distances (40+ yards). This said, I have friends I shoot with that have excellent arrow flight at longer distances shooting standard three fletch so I guess I just continue to shoot four fletch cuz it's what I've done for years. I wonder how much momentum is lost by the additional drag of the four fletch arrows....something to think about for sure. Again, thanks for the discussion.

[jmez]

Brendan, you should try to get ahold of the article in Elk Hunter it was interesting. The test he did was with a hooter shooter, 3 different profile vanes and three different profile broadheads from small to large. It was interesting.

[Rangerz]

If you have access to a chrono, you could always set up a side by side comparison 3 vs 4 fletch.

[Brendan]

Brendan, you should try to get ahold of the article in Elk Hunter it was interesting. The test he did was with a hooter shooter, 3 different profile vanes and three different profile broadheads from small to large. It was interesting.

I have that article - very interesting stuff.

One of my reasons for trying the lower profile 4 fletch (combined with micro-diameter shafts) was to try and reduce wind drift - which was something brought up in that article... I was shooting mechanicals, so thought the lower profile vanes would work, but my consistency wasn't there with broadheads so went back to the tried and true as the season approached and my consistency improved. Who knows, maybe it wasn't the vanes, but I was running out of time so made the switch.

I'm going to do some similar testing this year. In fact, keep reminding myself to get downstairs and fletch some different combinations....