Are these arrows worth getting reflectched?

[pergradus]

Hi, I am new to traditional archery... and archery at all for that matter! I recently bought a  50# PSE recurve bow and I think I can see many years ahead of me in this hobby.

I don't think the guy who sold it to me knew a lot about trad because when I asked him what arrows would go well with the bow he sold me some with plastic vanes. I like the feeling of shooting off the shelf, but the bottom vane hits the shelf and kicks the end of the arrow up. In fact if i shoot from too close, the arrows will hit the target and their ends will be sticking up in the air instead of being nice and flat. if i shoot from father away they will straighten themselves out, but I think it is going to be hard to shoot straight with this happening.

So I want to get them refletched with feathers, but before I waste anymore money I figured I'd ask here if they are even a good match for my bow. These are the arrows he sold me:

  http://www.carbonexpressarrows.com/cms/content/predator-II  

(the 4560s)

Again, my bow is 50# @ 28, and I have about a 29" draw length from what I can tell. Also, before any other mistakes are made, if I do get them refletched, what kind of feathers should I insist he uses and is there anything else I should be aware of?

Thanks in advance.

[Pepper]

If they are new, and they are spined for your bow, it doesn't cost a tremendous amount to get them re-fletched.
Any pro shop should be able to do it, and if you are serious about getting into traditional archery, it may be advisable to purchase your own equipment at some point.
There is a great satisfaction shooting arrows that you have built yourslef.
Look around here on some of the "how to" posts, and you can find a wealth of information.
You will probably get more advice on here than you can process in a short time.
We are always willing to help when and if we can.
Good luck, and welcome to the fold.

[Jack Guard]

Do it yourself.......

Invest in a Bitzenberger Fletching Jig, buy it used off of the classifieds.

Buy some precut feathers and some fletch tape.

As mentioned.... do a search on the "how to" posts and all together you will save money and will learn the art of fletching.  

You dont have to fletch all of your arrows at once.  Do one and shoot it till you get it tuned properly.  

Good Luck.  Don't hesitate to PM me if you have any issues.

[pergradus]

thanks for the advice. Those fletching jigs are a lot less expensive than I thought they would be.

I'm a college student and money is tight, so right now I'm trying to just get set up for as cheap as possible, at least for the next few months. My birthday is coming up so I'll see what I can manage.

[durp]

u might check with a local traditional archery club...someone will take u under their wing and get u started right...there's a lot of help here but one on one would do u well...and save u a few buck ($) in the process.

[CoilSpring]

PM sent Jared...let me know.

[ripforce56]

I use a grayling jig and bought 2 clamps, Right and left wing! It may not be a Bitz, which I hope to own one day but it does a decent job, these are very economical! I agree find someone in your area that is into Trad archery! I have a neighbor that is in his 70s still shoots and is a wealth of information to me! FYI Fetching arrows is very addictive!

[lpcjon2]

Other big hunting stores *abelas and B-pro sell those shafts without fletching so you can put what you want on them.

[Ralphie]

When I was starting in September, the same thing happened to me. Dick's sold me carbons which were too heavy for my 45# bow, and they had plastic vanes.
Impossible to trad shoot with!
I explained, to a manager at Dicks', that their archery department did not know trad equipment, and should not have sold me the arrows. Dick's refunded in full for the dozen arrows and gave me a $50 gift certificate because they had inconvenienced me !
Good customer service !
moral of the story:
Order from a traditional archery supply, and start out fresh. I would recommend The Nocking Point, in Kansas or Raptor,in Oregon.
Try to accept the loss of money, time , and effort. When you get arrows that fly right, all will be great !

[Geo S]

It sounds like those arrows would be a good match for your bow and worth refletching.

[Stone Knife]

One of the first things i bought when i got into trad was a Bitzenburger jig, that has paid for itself many times over. You can buy everything you need from vendors that support this site.

[Stone Knife]

What part of NY are you from?

[RM81]

How long are the arrows from the insert to the groove in the nock?  To get an accurate measurement of your draw length, put a clothespin on one of your arrows and come to full draw.  Make sure you're not pointing at anything you wouldn't normally shoot.  The clothespin should stop on the arrow and you can measure from the back of the clothespin to the groove of the nock and that should give you an accurate measurement of your draw length.  You can try that a couple of time and take the average.  If you plan to hunt I would leave at least an inch or two of shaft past your draw length to compensate for broadheads.  Hopefully, you can find someone locally to cut (if needed) and refletch your shafts.  I would also agree with the others to get a fletching jig and try it yourself.  It's fun and you might feel better knowing you did it yourself.

Stu Millers Dynamic Spine calculator should give you a good starting point on matching an arrow to your bow.  Here's a link to download it:  http://www.heilakka.com/stumiller/

As for type of feather, I would say it depends on what you'll be doing with it.  If all you'll be doing is target shooting, I would go with 4" (style of cut is up to you).  If you're going to hunt with broadheads, maybe consider 5".  The larger the feather you use, the more stability it adds to your arrow, but it also decreases speed.

Other opinions may vary.  This one is mine.  Good luck and welcome to tradgang.

[RM81]

I'd also research bareshaft tuning (paper and grouping) to get the most accurate arrow.  Here are a couple of links that helped me:
Paper tuning:
 http://www.eastonarchery.com/pdf/tuning_guide.pdf
Bare shaft planing:
 http://bowmaker.net/tuning.htm

If you have any questions, the people here are really helpful.