Hey everybody, I have been bowhunting about 4 years but have just recently branched out to shooting 3D and league archery too. I've always shot regular straight fletchings but here lately bought a jig and started fletching my own arrows with a 3 degree RH helical. At 20 yards they hit right on the money, move back to 30 yards and my helical arrows are a consistent 1/2" or so low and the further the distance the worse the drop. Is this to be expected with a helical setup? My setup is: 2013 Mathews Monster MR8 28" DL 60# limbs HHA optimizer lite ultra Mathews QAD hdx 6" beestinger
Helical puts more drag on the arrow but should keep it more steady. You probably just need to tune your bow accordingly. Are your arrows hitting flush?
Yes. The trade off for increased stabilization is loss of speed down range, hence the increased drop your seeing.
I've never had an issue. I'd assume something in your setup is causing an issue. As for what it is, someone more knowledgeable than I might be able to pin it down. Maybe try a new sight tape?
Full helical will definitely slow the arrow, down range. As someone already stated the helical creates more drag than a straight or off-set fletching, so you're trading speed for stability. Assuming your rest is tuned properly (which is a whole different ball of wax), then you should be able to simply adjust your pins to where you want them. 20 yards may not be far enough for the decrease in speed to be visible.
Physics at work my friends. Increased drag (think friction) will undoubtedly slow an arrow over distance. The upside is increased stabilization. I can shoot my fixed blades at very long distances practicing and get excellent flight.
