2- Fletch Arrows

[Jim Neaves]

Don't know if shooting a 2-fletch arrow is a controversial act or not but I have been using them successfully for about 12 years now. I have a short 25" draw length and shoot between 52 and 54# and a "Big" 1 3/4" broadhead. Last night I shot a big mature doe at about 15 yards quartering away and after a clean pass through from the treestand the arrow exited the deer and took an upward path for another 20 yards and stuck in a ponderosa pine about 3 feet off the ground. I get awesome arrow flight and would'nt have it any other way. Anyone else with properly spined arrows ever try two-fletch?

[ROB TAYLOR]

Hey!  Congrats on the doe, Jim.  I have been shooting the two fletch ever since we spoke about it....works like a champ for me, too.  I like how they sit in the quiver as a side bonus with a two blade mounted up front.  I have never been one to feel the need to strap a parachute on the tail of my arrows....a decent tune doesn't need overkill style fletching.  I think I might see how it works with vanes on my ILF rigs....probably have to orient them just a bit different but I think it'll work.  Thanks for the great tip!
-Rob

[dixiearcher]

Could you post a pic of your two fletch arrows? Are the feathers directly across from each other or how do you have them set up?

[South MS Bowhunter]

Congrats Jim!  Tell us more about the setup, as in how to set up in the fletching jig, 4" or 5", etc.... also would love to see the results of  your broadhead on the doe.

[Steelhead]

What size fletch do you use Jim?

[Thebear_78]

I had a thread started about this earlier this week but for some reason it appears to be gone????   either way I tried it after seeing some stuff that you had said about two fletch.


It works,  I tested it against a few other arrows and found it had less wind drift than 3 or 4 and shot as well with a properly tuned arrow.     I tried 2 4" and 2 5" feathers, both worked pretty well.   I will probably to some 5" banana shaped feathers with it too.  

I wish I knew what happened to that other post,  it had a couple of pages worth of comments on it.

[stujay]

I'm having a hard time visualizing a two fletch setup, I too would be curious to see a picture of your setup

[Thebear_78]

As much helical as I can get on the bitz,  glue in a cock feather, then rotate 180 degrees and glue in another.     They spin well and fly as good as 3 fletch on a properly tuned arrow.

[Steelhead]

I am sure Jim will be back with the scoop.

I believe thier mounted at 5:00 and 11:00 O'clock.The bottom feather passes through a trough between the rest and sight window.The top feather will pass with no contact on the shelf.

[Friend]

Don't doubt that the use of 2-fletch may have its benefits.

The ideal rotational position is personally and unfortunatley unfavorable since I utilize a nose-touch soft anchor.

[Terry Green]

TTT

[Blackhawk]

I use some two-fletch (mounted at 11 and 5 o'clock), but shoot them only for roving. However, I just get better flight with 3 feathers.  

I'm frugal, but the cost of an extra feather is minimal if it helps my broadhead fly true.

[huntmaster80]

Different, but if if isnt broke, dont fix it.

[Friend]

Would have to believe a high range EFOC and especially an Ultra-EFOC arrow may make the 2-fletch an ideal candidate for trials.

[Killdeer]

What kind of bow did you use?    

Killdeer    

[Sixby]

Ha ha ha!!!!

[Traxx]

HMMM!
Who woulda thunk.LOL

[Billy]

I shoot 2 fletch. I like the way they look.
4's are cool and 5's are like water slides around the shaft.
Have never entered or won any shooting contests but; shoot fairly well. No need to line up the fletching...just nock and fire.

@50 pound longbows (4's) and recurves (5's).
145 to 200 grain Ace heads. Points, hex, and broad heads.

I'm as cheap as the next frugal arra builder but, capped,crested,and barred looks cool; to me...

[Jim Neaves]

Killy, I shoot odd ball bows I find at garage sales    

Hey everyone, I want to break it down very simply so there is no confusion. I use all modern style fletchings and shoot Easton Axis arrows so I do not want anyone getting confused with the original "Native American" style 2-fletch. I shoot right handed and right helical 5" low profile parabolic feathers. The reason for this is I like the way right wing feathers lay on the arrow shaft. The portion of the fletch that is closest to the broadhead starts out higher on the arrow and as the fletch gets taller, it is angling down towards the side of the arrow shaft for a less obstructed view down the arrow. For a left handed shooter, they would want to shoot left helical for the same optical appearance and least amount of interference to the shooters line of site.
For application of a properly made 2-fletch arrow, I personally use the Bitzenberger fletching jig. I'm sure others will due but this is what I use. Leave the nock index knob on the jig exactly where it is. You will not touch the knob at all during the fletching process. Push the arrow nock down over the nock indexer. Place the arrow into the jig and either use fletch tape or glue to attach the feather. If using fletch tape, when you remove the clamp from the feather, make sure that the feather does not curl at all. This can happen on any feather whether it is 2, 3, or 4 fletch so make sure that has not happened. When you are certain that the feather is on the shaft properly, I will use a quick drying glue with some accelerator on the front of the fletch, down the side and at the back to lock it in place. Now for the other feather. Take the whole arrow out of the jig, spin it 180 degrees and push it back down over the nock indexer. Repeat what you did with the first feather and you will have a perfectly fletched 2-fletched arrow. You "DO NOT" need anymore helical then what you normally use.

Benefits of this method are:

1. The 2-fletch drift less in a cross wind. A 3 or 4 fletch arrow always has 2 or more feathers fighting a cross wind therefore the tail of the arrow is always a bit off with the nock not being directly behind the point 100% of the time. A 2-fletch arrow has the nock directly behind the point 50% of the time in a cross wind because as it spins, every half rotation the feathers are parrallel with the wind so the tail end of the arrow keeps pulling in behind the point.
2. Nocking the arrow on the string is identical either way you do it so no need to look for a cock feather or nock indexer for reference.
3. There is minimal contact with the shelf as one feather cuts through the area in the corner of the shelf and the other touches nothing as it clears about the shelf on the outside.
4. They stack in bow mounted quivers very nicely as there is no 3rd or 4th feather for the next arrow to scrape against eliminating any unecessary fletching to fletching noise.
5. Quick and easy to fletch and are very silent during flight.

Please realize that bare shaft tuning is a HUGE part of good arrow flight no matter how many fletchings an individual chooses to use. With a properly spined and tuned arrow for a bow, I have found that the 2-fletch setup has several benefits as described above even when shooting large diameter broadheads. I wanted to let the trad community know about my experience with this as I have been shooting and hunting with 2-fletch for the better portion of my archery career and would be happy to help anyone with questions concerning this topic.

Thanks, Jim Neaves

[Jim Neaves]

If I were to send someone pictures, would you post them for me?