DISCLAIMER:
For starters, some of the information in this article might go against what your favorite YouTube star has to say about the topic. I Do Not Care. There is way too much information being shared around without the full detailed description leaving people lost and more confused than in the beginning.
Next, all of the information in this article is repeatable and provable, if you don't think it's true that is okay you're entitled to that thought process, this is America. However, this is not my opinion it's just the truth like it or not.
IF YOU DON'T LIKE READING THERE IS A VIDEO AT THE BOTTOM OF THE ARTICLE YOU CAN WATCH. HOWEVER THE ARTICLE IS FAR MORE INDEPTH.
LEFT VS RIGHT HELICAL:
There is a massive push in the industry right now to match the natural spin of the arrow out of the bow, so if a bare shaft comes out of the bow turning to the left you should fletch it with a left helical for more accuracy. This phenomenon is just flat-out incorrect, for the simple fact that there is no proof that the arrow is coming off naturally with FORCE, if the arrow was coming off with force in one direction you would see a drastic difference down range going the opposite direction of that force. But we don't see that in real-world testing. This would lead me to believe the arrow is not coming off the bow with force one way or another. Regardless if it makes you warm and fuzzy by all means match the natural rotation.
Direction of helical does not matter but simply having helical does matter out of a perfectly tuned bow, there is a fine line between too much and too little I will discuss that later. To better explain this let's break down how an arrow flies comparatively with a perfectly tuned bow and a bow that might be a little out of tune and how that can affect what results you see down range with your fletching.
What is the purpose of fletchings? fletching are on the rear of an arrow to stabilize and correct arrow flight in adverse conditions, THEY ARE NOT TO STEER. How does the purpose of a fletching change based on the tune of the bow? When shooting a perfectly tuned bow the arrow is coming out of the bow perfectly square. This means that the fletching helical direction (regardless if it is going with the natural rotation or against it) has already stabilized the arrow into a rotation, based on the helical direction by the time the arrow stops the bulk of its flexing right off the shelf of the bow. so since that arrow is coming off square and Para doxing the direction of the helical does not matter because now the sole purpose of that shaft fletching is to micro-correct flight characteristics that may arise. After all, there is perfect arrow flight. ARROW FLIGHT IS KING.
Continuing, to a bow that might slightly be out of tune. let's just say nock right ( point left) out of the bow for example sake. This situation is where you might see a percentage or two more accuracy out of your setup by matching the helical to the natural spin here's why. When the arrow leaves the shelf off of square ( nock right) that arrow is immediately naturally spinning to the left/or right and it is in paradox, as well as fighting with the fletching to correct, now your fletching's job is to steer to get that arrow corrected as soon as possible and go back to just correcting flight. However, if you fletch the opposite of the natural spin in a situation where your bow is not tuned properly it takes a few milliseconds longer for that arrow to stabilize, this can result in up to a half inch more accuracy with fixed blade broadheads at 80 yards, this often shows up as a parachuting effect in flight. but your goal should not be to band-aid fix the root of the problem with your fletching direction. ARROW FLIGHT IS KING without it you are losing potential energy, penetrating ability, flight performance, and the list goes on. TUNE YOUR BOW CORRECTLY. The fletching direction is not as important to your overall accuracy as much as a properly tuned bow is don't let YouTube convince you to band-aid fix your problem!
Overall, if you have a perfect flight the direction of your helical does not matter because the fletching job is to correct not steer at that point. The only time you might see a slight performance difference is if your bow is out of tune, and we are talking about a fraction of a percentage better performance if any.
3 FLETCH VS 4 FLETCH:
The age-old debate of 3 vs 4-fletch. 3-fletch in every testable situation out of a perfectly tuned bow is always more forgiving and accurate with broadhead flight than 4-fletch in my testing out to 100 yards.
4-fletch is a great way for custom arrow builders to hide flaws for their customers. 90% of archers only shoot 30-40 yards max on animals. 4 fletch will hide a lot of tuning or set up flaws out to those distances, giving "good enough to hunt" results, which isn't good enough. see my other articles for more examples as to why arrow flight is king.
The other major downfall of 4-fletch at longer distances is the parachuting effect that CAN occur, but it is NOT guaranteed to happen. This is due to the fletching trapping the air in between one another because the fletchings are closer to each other, vs the 3 fletch that air can escape and the arrow can correct quicker again this doesn't happen every time you 4 fletch but it is a problem usually out of improperly tuned bows that are not sending those arrows straight.
If you are struggling with arrow flight at a distance with a 4-fletch I highly recommend stripping your arrows, bare shaft tuning them at 15 yards to a perfect tear, and then 3-fletching them you will have far better results down range. Results can vary slightly based on vane profile.
FLETCHING DESIGN:
There are a ton of different fletching configurations on the market from a ton of manufacturers most of them are great for any hunting situation you will be in. this part of the fletching process is 100% personal preference, you may find one vane that just slightly performs better for you than another. I use AAE Max Stealth vanes, in a 3-fletch 2.5-degree right helical. this has just been a tried and true configuration for me to play around with different styles to see what you like best.
DEGREE OF HELICAL:
You can get away with any degree of helical from 1-5 degrees however in most testing with most vane configurations 2.5 degrees helical tends to outperform the other options, in a wide variety of situations and weather conditions. Max helical can be beneficial in a situation where your form breaks down slightly, but it is again a marginal gain and not something that will make or break your lethality, especially sub 40 yards. Also, if your bow is not properly tuned (I'm sure you getting the hint by now ARROW FLIGHT IS KING) the max helical CAN create the same parachuting effect that we talked about earlier with 4 fletch configuration.
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