Building the wood arrow Pt. 9 "Shameless Fletching"

         Who hasn't looked at a photo of Howard Hill and thought it was so neat, and possibly inspiring as well, that a man successfully hunted big game animals with a longbow and feather-fletched arrows that rode in a backquiver for all to see. How many archers over the years saw those photos and wanted to be just like him?  Probably a whole bunch.  A component of those photos that got replayed in minds' eyes over and over was the image of heavily-feathered arrows, shamelessly displayed, doing their job and playing a big part in the success that Hill enjoyed.

        Back in Hill's day when there was a fairly large difference between the tackle used by target archers and hunting archers, the arrows used by either side had noticeably different sizes of fletching.  The target archers used lightweight bows and lightweight arrows fletched with small, rather cute fletching.  Their arrow tips were just a nub, a small point only meant to pierce a paper-adorned straw or excelsior backstop. There was not much surface to catch a crosswind, and the archer had all the time in the world to execute the shot.  Hours upon hours of finely honing the shooting form to make sure the release and follow-through was as perfect as possible to allow the arrow to fly as perfect an arc as was needed to shoot a high score.   Then Hill had to come and say to his students..."boys, make up your mind whether you want to hunt, or shoot targets, because the two just don't go together".

       Herein is another instance where the two disciplines used to be quite separate and through time, advanced equipment and modern teaching methods, the target-influenced shooting tackle has become imbedded in traditional longbow-shooting. Now it seems, that if someone isn't using extreme forward-weighted arrows with diminutive fletching, he's thought of as shooting sub-par equipment or is far behind the times.  

       We've been building a proper wood arrow in stages for many months and now it's time to get to the steering apparatus, the rudder of the ship as it were.  We've learned to sort through and pick the proper arrow wood, the proper spine and how to shoot the arrow in a fluid manner that allows the arrow and bow to work together in a way that exudes forgiveness.  The Hill style of longbows and shooting is purported to be forgiving, and it is...but it needs all the components working together and it needs proper fletching that forgives archer error.  Large feather fletching does just that.  

       Hill recognized that the arrow needed steering when his form and / or aim was off a bit.  Or maybe when his arrows weren't perfectly matched or his head weight varied.  For him, he was coming from a time when he shot target archery and used smaller fletch and made the full transition to exhibition shooting and hunting and recognized the need for a forgiving arrow.  Early photos of Hill show him with smaller fletch on his arrows.  But a short time later, and until the end of his days, his arrows wore rather large fletch. Why did he switch to the larger fletch if the smaller would do just as well?  He writes about heavy, large fletched arrows being more suited to steer broadheads which may plane off course.  I think he saw from a practical standpoint that the larger fletch straightened out his arrows faster, especially if the shooting form was off a bit.  He wanted that forgiveness if he was shooting at dangerous game, or in an exhibition where added stress and excitement could cause an errant shot.  He wanted an arrow as forgiving as possible with the tackle that was available.  He stayed with his longbow, because he said it worked the best for him for the shooting and hunting he did.  He also stayed with large fletch as is easily witnessed in his success photos.  If he was after perfectly shooting arrows, why didn't he use the technology of heavily front-weighting his arrows and using small fletch?  That technology was certainly available back then as we noticed it was researched and written about by Dr. Elmer. Why didn't Hill go that route?  I think the answer is twofold.  One: he understood that a larger rudder steered better in stormy seas, and it reasoned that larger fletch would steer better with less than perfect shooting form...and two: he was practical. Large fletch worked well and he was successful so why change something that didn't need changing. If it wasn't broke, why bother fixing it?  

        The perceived loss of arrow speed didn't seem to bother him.  He was shooting a "slow" longbow when he could've been using a "fast" recurve. No, I don't think arrow speed was a gamechanger.  I think forgiveness and accuracy were the key elements and for him, having a large fletch made those things happen.  

       Students of his also shot rather large fletching...in fact Bob Swinehart shot very large fletch with a high degree of success.  The Schulz boys and sons shot large fletch, and thousands of ardent followers of the Hill style of shooting a longbow have used large fletch with huge success in the game fields and at the range.  So why does there seem to be a shaming of those that use ample fletching by those that think they are better by using tiny and / or minimal fletch?  

         The fairly recent use of heavy front-weighted arrows with little 2" fletch has shown to be a very accurate combination.  When I see it in use, there is no argument to it's great arrow flight.  However, in watching archers shoot, that use this style of arrow, I see a common theme with their shooting form.  It's very target archery-esque.  The bow is held up and on target before the string is drawn, the bow is held on target for a time at full draw and the release hand flies back to touch the shoulder (or nearly to) upon release.  Oh yeah...and the target is almost always stationary and the shooting is done from a hidden position if it's at game.  Shooting this way needs time and calmness to execute properly.  As has been stated many times throughout these blog posts, hunting in the Hill style requires an approach that is good with stalking game and shooting it as it is encountered.  This usually requires rapid decision making and shot execution during a high level of excitement.  The animal could be moving, or flying, or the shot opportunity has to be taken without much preparation time.  Off the cuff as it were.  It's in these moments that we all need Ultra-forgiving arrows.

      I've watched archers shoot those really well-tuned small fletch arrows at stationary targets and they do very well.  Then those same archers, when forced to shoot from an awkward position, or to shoot quickly, don't execute their practiced form and the arrow doesn't fly quite so well and worse, penetration is severely affected.  That can be very unethical and from what I've read and heard from witnesses around the country, poor arrow flight is a huge contribution to wounded game.

      As we've discussed with the arrow spine being more forgiving of the shooting form if the form is fluid and the bow is allowed to move a bit in the hand. This forgiveness means if the arrow is short-drawn, or even over-drawn in the heat of the moment, the arrow spine will still shoot around the bow, and large feathers will help it stay on track.  If someone is shooting an arrow and fletch combination that only shoots well when the shooting form is perfectly executed, is that something upon which to rely when the adrenaline is pumping and the excitement level is ramped up?  I personally think not.   At those intense moments, I want an arrow that is as forgiving as can be.  It may not fly perfect either, but it will fly more perfectly than the other option.

       Another thing with large fletch...the arrow is easier to see in flight by the eye.  This helps when learning to shoot and learning the arrow's arc and also to see where an arrow lands in the target, whether a butt or a body.  The amount of spin the arrow does on the way to the target can be a factor in helping the eye track the arrow.  A small, straight or offset-fletched arrow spins a low degree, while a large helical fletch looks like a ball of color in flight.  The old time archers knew how many rotations their arrows made in so many feet and gauged how well their arrows would hold the line with a broadhead.  A "turn in 11" or a "turn in 12" was a statement of one full arrow rotation in 11 or 12 feet of distance.  How many archers today know their arrows that well?

        I know my arrows rotate one full turn in 10 1/2 feet with a broadhead.  I like helical fletch.  Those old timers used an offset fletch because it was easier with the pin fletching technique. An offset fletch doesn't spin as much.  I know, I've shot it as well.  I really like the large offset fletch style of Hill...I've used it too and it works very well.  However, my eye doesn't see the arrow as well in flight. I see a very helical fletch in flight better.  The loss of a foot or two of speed doesn't bother me.  

         So, what is a large fletch?  To me, it's a feather at least 5" long and at least 9/16" high or higher.  5 1/2" to 6" long by 5/8" or 11/16" is what Hill used on various arrows.  His 11/16" high fletch would fuzz out with use, creating a little higher finished fletch...and his straight cut exhibition arrow fletch was also higher.  The name of the game is forgiveness...not speed.

        There is no shame in using ample fletching.  I personally think archery in the hunting arena would be better off for it, for the reasons listed above.  Just like when archers would sidle up to Hill and talk about how simple his longbow was, and how pretty the recurves of the day were, or how antiquated his tackle was compared to theirs...and he would politely reply that he'd rather be sitting around his campfire eating steak than talking about how pretty his bow was.  That is the essence of the Hill style of shooting a longbow and using the Hill-inspired tackle.  It's about forgiveness in the field, it's about performing when shot scenarios are more difficult due to body position or timing, than on the practice or target grounds.  It's about being able to put that one arrow, right now, right here in the area you're looking and knowing that you can do it without thinking through all the steps of making a shot.  You can make the shot by conditioned instinct and your tackle won't let you down.

         Hill proved, with a long record, of how successful large-fletched arrows can be.  I and many thousands of other longbow archers over the years have corroborated that fact. We shamelessly keep using them to great success.  And what's neater than seeing a backquiver full of big feathered arrows perched triumpantly over the shoulder of a successful Hill-style archer? 

       Now go put some big ol' feathers on your arrows and...

       Shoot Straight.