Helical arrows

Maxhunter

Veteran member
Apr 10, 2011
1,432
1,082
Wyoming
The big arrow companies usually have offset helical or straight. You usually get the best helical buying a jig yourself or have your local pro-shop fletch them. I DIY on all my arrows. I get very good helical on my 5mm FMJs.
 

mallardsx2

Veteran member
Jul 8, 2015
3,923
3,242
I 100% stopped using helical vanes on my arrows 10 years ago. If you stand down range and listen to one fly by. You will understand why.
I could hear that arrow coming....

Dont get shot testing this out. But I promise you its worth testing first hand.
 

mallardsx2

Veteran member
Jul 8, 2015
3,923
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I agree to disagree but how on earth could I disagree with a guy who has the username CrimsonArrow lol
 

Slugz

Veteran member
Oct 12, 2014
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Casper, Wyoming
Ok so I see my test for when I get home.....will fletch two new ones with the helical I've been using for a while and one straight and listen to her.
 

Maxhunter

Veteran member
Apr 10, 2011
1,432
1,082
Wyoming
I 100% stopped using helical vanes on my arrows 10 years ago. If you stand down range and listen to one fly by. You will understand why.
I could hear that arrow coming....

Dont get shot testing this out. But I promise you its worth testing first hand.
I agree most arrows make some sound with fletching. But actually the sound of you bow reaches the animal before the fletching. Here's a good video example. My set-up with 4 to 5 percent helical has never had any animal jump the string. There are some newer fletching on the market that are quieter than others.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=L5LPmTqcr80
 

packer58

Very Active Member
Aug 24, 2011
916
0
Loma Rica, Ca.
Ok so I see my test for when I get home.....will fletch two new ones with the helical I've been using for a while and one straight and listen to her.
A while back i set up a video camera next to my target for the hell of it and with helical blazers you can definitely hear the arrow coming. The deer that i have taken with this same setup haven't noticed apparently. Personally i feel there are more important things to worry about when bow hunting than a little arrow flight noise.
 

Slugz

Veteran member
Oct 12, 2014
3,664
2,341
55
Casper, Wyoming
A while back i set up a video camera next to my target for the hell of it and with helical blazers you can definitely hear the arrow coming. The deer that i have taken with this same setup haven't noticed apparently. Personally i feel there are more important things to worry about when bow hunting than a little arrow flight noise.
I don't disagree......however we had a 195" plus mulely side step an arrow 2 years ago.....picked up the arrow mid flight ......shuffled his front quarters, both legs.........and watched the arrow go below his nose and in front of his chest.....If I didn't see it I wouldn't believe it.....he in my opinion has done it before. I'm always looking to quiet up as much as possible after that.

Bow was tuned, quiet as hell....later found my sons QAD rest was making a clicking noise.

My son did a 4 hour no boots stalk to get him broadside at 42 yards only to see that happen.....it was a crusher to say the least and will keep me up at night for a while:)

Always looking for another little edge.
 

packer58

Very Active Member
Aug 24, 2011
916
0
Loma Rica, Ca.
Damn, that would keep me up at night also. As rare as those opportunities are on magnum bucks that must have been a real heart breaker for sure.
 

JT1992

New Member
Feb 19, 2018
33
0
A while back i set up a video camera next to my target for the hell of it and with helical blazers you can definitely hear the arrow coming. The deer that i have taken with this same setup haven't noticed apparently. Personally i feel there are more important things to worry about when bow hunting than a little arrow flight noise.
Agree with everything. They are louder. But trust me, they hear a straight arrow just as much as a helical especially when you put a Broadhead on the end; fixed or mechanical they make noise.

Once you reach a certain yardage, if they’re calm, they don’t even pay it attention. I’ve found at 40 yards the deer almost wait there for it. But at 10-30 they’re moving before the fletching clears the rest.

Just my experience.
 

CrimsonArrow

Very Active Member
Feb 21, 2011
854
362
Minnesota
A while back i set up a video camera next to my target for the hell of it and with helical blazers you can definitely hear the arrow coming. The deer that i have taken with this same setup haven't noticed apparently. Personally i feel there are more important things to worry about when bow hunting than a little arrow flight noise.
I won't use blazers, they make more noise whether helical or offset
 

bowrunner

Active Member
Oct 13, 2015
299
9
Illinois
I have been using aae max stealth vanes on my 5mm Easton axis arrows. I think I am somewhere around 2-3 degrees on a helical clamp on my bitz. I think there is some noise still, but I get great arrow flight with a little bit of helical. I know a lot of people swear on a 1-2 degree offset on a straight clamp, but I have had good results out of my setup.

I really think the blazer vanes are loud no matter how you set them up. I also have had some clearance issues with my arrow rests using them, so I went to a slightly longer and thinner vane.

That's my $.02
 

DanPickar

Active Member
Mar 4, 2014
294
104
Wyoming
I just did some testing with blazers and flex fletch 200, fully helical and could not tell a difference in noise standing down range. They both hiss. Animals jump the string at the sound of the bow, not the flight of the arrow. However I do lose trajectory past 70 yds with full helical.
 

bowrunner

Active Member
Oct 13, 2015
299
9
Illinois
I just did some testing with blazers and flex fletch 200, fully helical and could not tell a difference in noise standing down range. They both hiss. Animals jump the string at the sound of the bow, not the flight of the arrow. However I do lose trajectory past 70 yds with full helical.
Are flex fletches supposed to be a quieter vane? Also, even with the loss of trajectory do you still use helicals?
 

DanPickar

Active Member
Mar 4, 2014
294
104
Wyoming
Are flex fletches supposed to be a quieter vane? Also, even with the loss of trajectory do you still use helicals?
Yes Flex fletch are half the thickness as blazers and an grain lighter. They are just as rigid too. Yes I still shoot helical, I get the best accuracy out to 100 with with a COC head (COC gravedigger), full helical. All the testing with offset vanes and COC heads I've done have resulted in groups opening up past 70. A possible fix to the is 4 offset vanes, but then you get drag because of the extra fletch and I don't like vanes touching my face at full draw with 4 fletch.
 
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