How many shoot 4 fletch Blazers?
Contributors to this thread:Equipment
From: Boris
04-Dec-18
I have been playing with my fletching. Tried the 3 fletch Blazers with broadheads. Tried 3 blade and 4 blade broadheads. Neither flew great. Took the bow to the Pro show, told them what was happening. They looked at the bow and said that it is tuned right. I shot the bow with broadheads right there. They could not believe it was shooting poor. Arrows are matched an weigh in at 450 gr. I am shooting 65lbs. out of my bow. So, I tried the 75-105 four fletch with Blazers. The arrows shot very true. No wiggle, nothing. Then I tried the 90-180. The arrows fly great with or without broadheads. Went back to the archery shop. Told them what I had done. Shot the bow with broadheads. They were impressed. Shot it with field points, same hole. I would like to know if any of you out there had the same problem. Oh, I even shot the broadheads out to 40 yards at a 3 inch dot. I hit it every time. thanks for your time.
From: COHOYTHUNTER
04-Dec-18
I switch to four fletch last year. It was a good decision. But I use AAE 2.3 plastifletch max for reasons of less weight on back end and better clearance
From: mountainman
04-Dec-18
I have shot 4 fletch, 3 in fusions for about the last 5 or 6 years. Works for me and I don't plan on changing.
From: Ambush
04-Dec-18
Four fletch, but not Blazers. The height gives me clearance issues.
From: GLP
04-Dec-18
I shoot 4 fletch blazers 90 degree on a victory 350 arrow. Yes they shoot great . But 3 fletch did well also. I like the extra visibility and not worrying about knocking the arrow. Greg
From: Ermine
04-Dec-18
4 fletch AAE pro max But no on blazers. Blazers are big enough no need for 4 of them
From: ground hunter
04-Dec-18
I shoot 4 fletch fusions,,, on fmj's.....
From: smarba
04-Dec-18
3 Blazer provide plenty stable flight for me, but sounds like going to 4 made a huge difference for you. Sounds like you should stick with 4.
I played with 4 of various other fletching but couldn't see any improvement so decided that for me there was no reason to change from 3 Blazers.
From: McCree
04-Dec-18
I shoot 3 blazers but stagger them up the shaft. I think I stagger them with .5" between them but I'd have to verify. By doing this you can take 2" Blazers and achieve the stability of a 3" vane.
From: Matt
04-Dec-18
If more drag is helping with accuracy, there is probably a tuning or perhaps a form issue.
From: McCree
04-Dec-18
This picture shows what I'm talking about...
From: Ambush
04-Dec-18
McCree, the further your fletch gets from the nock the less control it has. Not sure how staggering them down the shaft could improve control. I know it was popular a number of years ago ‘cause it looked cool.
From: smarba
04-Dec-18
Agree with Ambush, I put mine close to the nock. Never heard of staggering them.
From: tobinsghost
04-Dec-18
I've shot 4 before and saw no differences. I shoot 3 now.
From: Dooner
04-Dec-18
I shoot four 3"Fusions. The main thing I like about 4 is that the arrow is always on the string correctly, without looking at it. I also have better clearance from the cables. If you loose a fletch, a three fletched arrow flies well, while an arrow with two remaining doesn't.
From: cath8r
04-Dec-18
I do with pretty aggressive helical. It really stabilizes the broadheads I'll tell ya.
From: Buffalo1
04-Dec-18
I shot 4-fletch right helical blazers for years. A couple months ago I was experimenting with 4-fletch Flex Fletch 360’s. I liked the was the arrow performed and made the switch. Well satisfied and currently no plans to convert back to blazers.
From: huntinelk
04-Dec-18
Works well for my set up.
From: Bowmania
04-Dec-18
A bow will shoot a BARE shaft straight. If you need to put 4 vanes on your shaft, it's not tuned.
Bowmania
From: Bowmania
04-Dec-18
A bow will shoot a BARE shaft straight. If you need to put 4 vanes on your shaft, it's not tuned.
Bowmania
From: Ermine
04-Dec-18
Yes but you can have a bow tuned perfect and if it doesn’t have enough fletching to control the broadhead you will have issues. I shoot bareshafts out to 60 yards. I’ve shot a bareshaft with my fletched at 90 yards. But I generally use small low profile vanes fletched in a 4 fletch
From: joehunter8301
04-Dec-18
I know a few guys who do. Works great for them :-)
From: Dale06
04-Dec-18
I shot four fletch 4” feathers for years. Then I went to three 4” feathers. Can’t say as I saw a difference in flight in them.
From: EIStone
04-Dec-18
I always shot 4'' 4 fletch vanes then went to 4 fletch 90 degree with a left helical blazer vanes and now have shot them for years, they fly great and are very accurate.
From: Joe Holden
04-Dec-18
i shoot 4 fletch Pro max for my small fixed and expandables and also 4 fletch 3" vanetecs for big fixed blades.
From: Twinetickler
04-Dec-18
I shoot 4 2" Blazers with 100 grain Ramcat....fly like darts!
From: ACB
04-Dec-18
I shoot 4 fletch but not blazers . They are to loud in flight .
From: ChrisH.
05-Dec-18
I noticed the same thing others have mentioned that the blazers were a bit loud. I went to the flex fletch ffp 200 in a 4 fletch and I love them. They are quiet, durable, and consistently accurate. Vanetechs are nice too, they just weren’t as durable as the flexfletch.
From: Franklin
05-Dec-18
I agree with those that say there is some other issue going on with your set up. A 4 fletch solving your problem is just a band aid for what`s really the problem. Like Bowmania said.....the object is to get your arrow to fly with NO fletching.
From: ChrisH.
05-Dec-18
From: cath8r
05-Dec-18
The saying your bow has tuning issues if you need 4 vanes is false. A well tuned bow with arrows shooting 4 fletch perform better than 3 fletch. They drift less in the wind, I feel, as they correct sooner once they leave the bow. John Dudley (nock on) has switched to 4 fletch and he doesn't change anything without extensive experimentation and proving it's not an improvement.
From: GotBowAz
05-Dec-18
Something still doesn't sound right. He should be able to bare shaft tune. He sounds maybe a tad under spined or with the 3 fletches he is making contact with the rest or riser. 4 fletches are clocked different which may aide in removing contact with the rest and they add more drag to the rear of the arrow correcting flight path. I shoot 3 vanes with very little helicoil. My Slick Tricks and Mechanicals hit the same POI as my field tips and if I had to had a forth fletch to fix the flight I know something just isnt right.
From: Ambush
05-Dec-18
According to a few I’m an absolute tuning moron. I shoot four fletch behind a mechanical!!
The fact that my four low profile have the same total surface area as three Blazers seems to be lost in the accusation. And I have the rest/cable clearance I needed. And many people are using an extreme helical, way more than I put on my four vanes. If you’re using any of the fletchers like the Az or Bohning, you have a lot more helical than me.
If four is a bandaid for tuning, then so is three, or any helical. I’ll ask a couple of guys here; why are you using any fletch at all? Seems like an unnecessary waste of money, time and bow energy.
Rotating an arrow takes a combination of surface area and helical or offset. Less surface area requires more helical and vice versa. But to rotate an arrow a certain number of times in a given distance requires the same amount of energy regardless of your fletching arrangement. But like a prop on a boat, a certain pitch/ blade number combo could be more efficient. In the end, with arrows, you only want as much spin as is necessary to stabilize your arrow. Any thing more is losing down range energy
From: Too Many Bows Bob
05-Dec-18
I love 4 fletch with Blazers! It makes the arrow easier to see in flight and gives me great dynamics while it is flying. Sure it costs a bit more to fletch them that way, but well worth the cost and effort.
TMBB
From: joehunter8301
05-Dec-18
From: joehunter8301
05-Dec-18
They work jus fine
From: joehunter8301
05-Dec-18
From: wifishkiller
05-Dec-18
My four fletched blazers sounded like a helicopter in flight. Switched to 4 fletch 3 inch super spines and it’s been deadly.
From: Matt
05-Dec-18
"The saying your bow has tuning issues if you need 4 vanes is false. A well tuned bow with arrows shooting 4 fletch perform better than 3 fletch."
Those comments are not equivalent and the point stands that a bow that requires the extra drag of a 4th vane for proper arrow flight likely has a tuning issue.
That isn't to say there aren't benefits to the additional drag a 4th vane provides for set-up's that shoot 3 fletch just fine.
From: Brotsky
05-Dec-18
Hijacking in progress.....What jig are you guys using to four fletch? I have an AZ mini I use at home for our 3 fletch, anyway I can use that to drop on a 4th to see if I like it?
From: joehunter8301
05-Dec-18
Justin I’m using my bitzenburger for my fletching. Adjust the Allen setting and walla. Works great
From: Ambush
05-Dec-18
Brotsky, I use an old Bitz. I tried a few shafts using an AZ Mini but the helical was too much, at least overkill. And I didn’t like the configuration on the Axis shaft. But easy enough to try.
From: Brotsky
05-Dec-18
Thanks Joe and Rod. I think I'll monkey with my AZ mini just to test it and if it out performs my current 3 fletch I'll pick up a Bitz over the winter. I've seen the helical Joe's putting on them Rod and I think the mini is close to what he's got going on. He seems to hit what he's aiming at as well but I have a feeling that's the indian and not the arrow :-)
From: Rickm
05-Dec-18
Switched to 4 helical a couple years ago but not Blazers. It helps but sounds like the OP has a tuning or form issue as well.
From: ground hunter
05-Dec-18
also they look cool......................
From: Ambush
05-Dec-18
Justin, I had no problems with three Blazers flying well, I had a vane to cable clearance issue with them and only on my main hunting bow. If I torqued a bit I got contact and flyer arrows. Since it did happen at the range on occasion, I was concerned it would happen more often under hunting conditions. The vanes I use now are 2.1" long and .410" high and a bit "softer". I also use the old 105-75 degree spacing, That gave me the cable clearance I needed and as a bonus more rest clearance so timing wasn't as critical. I adjusted the amount of helical to get good flight without going overboard as that just robs velocity. I found fetching with the AZ Mini definitely slowed my arrow down. Very accurate, but the speed penalty wasn't worth whatever marginal gain there may have been. I can't shoot six inch groups at eighty yards anyway. I also didn't care for the 60-120 degree arrangement on the shaft that the AZ Mini gives. Too crowded and less cable clearance.
It would be great if someone with a chrony would measure arrow speed at the bow and twenty yard intervals for different fletchings and helicals. Right now I go by the difference in vertical drop at longer ranges. There is likely a "most efficient" combination of surface area/stiffness/ helical for the same accuracy. And by efficiency, I mean downrange velocity or not shedding energy that is not needed for accuracy. Overkill is not a good thing either.
From: Boris
07-Dec-18
Hi guys. I would like to thank you for the information and comments. Even though I knew that some would have negative comments or try to make me look stupid. Your loss. But that is OK. I know were I am in the archery world. One thing that was said about the Blazers. I have not heard any noise from them. For many years I shot feathers. Never had an animal duck an arrow. So, thanks again.
From: Russell
07-Dec-18
Currently transitioning from three Blazers to four SK-300's and SK-200's (depending on hunting conditions/wind).
From: Ironbow
07-Dec-18
I have shot 4 Blazers, but prefer the Flex Fletch SK-300. I used to shoot 4, 5" feathers. Talk about a lot of control!
From: trkyslr
08-Dec-18
Here’s a group (2 fp and 1 fixed bh, the bh is left arrow) I shot yesterday from 52 yards. :-)
From: joehunter8301
08-Dec-18
Hope nothing ducks those arrows trkyslr. Bet they are loud as hell. Beautiful fletch job as well. Really nice lookin helical.
