Fletching choice?? and practice choice??

[Austrian Hunter]

Fletching choice
Hey Guys,
What do you prefer to hunt with, small and tall arrow fletching or long fletching?   What is your choice (brand) of arrows? Do you practice with the same arrow you hunt with?   Do you practice with field tips of broadheads?

Me:
I just shot the small fletching for the first time and love it, don’t know how they perform in the field and with a little wind.  
I shoot gold tip XT for the first time, I like the way they fly but I lost some grams in weight, I hope that will not affect penetration.  
I practice with the same broadheads I hunt with but I ruin arrows, fletching & broadheads every time I practice, that is getting expensive.  

[jackelope]

start shooting at spots on the target...a different arrow for each spot. if your target doesn't have spots, get some stickers or some spray paint and make your own. that will save greatly on arrow and component damage.
i shoot 4 blazer vanes on my arrows and the arrows you practice with should be the same you hunt with...they may not all fly the same. i have a dozen arrows that fly almost the same as my hunting arrows that i stump shoot and mess around with, also carry 1 of these with a judo point for grouse, but when it's time to practice and zero my pins, i only use my hunting arrows.
i am far from an expert...

[funkster]

I shoot the same arrows,vanes and broadhead as I hunt with. I usually practice with field tips and then switch to "broadheads only" a month before season to get everything dialed in. I currently shoot axis 340 with wraps and 4 blazer vanes per arrow with a slick trick 100 grain broadhead. I think I am going to switch to 300 FMJ with wraps and blazers with a 125 grain shuttle t!

[coachcw]

funkster got a good combo, I like the four fletch blazer two inch with the 100 grain shuttle -t-lock.watch out for judos in your quiver , I heard of a guy who pulled out the wrong arrow and stuck an elk with one.

[nwhunter]

So how do those blazers compare to standard fletches? I shoot 4 fletch 3" helical and they fly good but have heard good things about the blazers. I need some new arrows and have considered switching over but am kind of old school and also hate to have a mixed bag of arrows to deal with. nwhunter

[Todd_ID]

My  is that Blazers are a little better mousetrap than 4" vanes. 

Reasons:
Crosswind Drift: the cross-sectional area of Blazers is 1/2 what 4" vanes are; less surface area means less for the wind to push on, and yes, it does make a difference

Recovery: vanes are generally very flexible on the shot and contort all around for several feet of the shot before regaining their configuration and starting to steer the arrow.  Blazers are significantly more stiff, so they contort way less to begin steering the arrow sooner, and this is a big plus when you put wings (aka a broadhead) on the front of an arrow.

Profile: Blazers are taller than vanes, so they use less-disturbed air for their leverage.

This being said, I hunt with FOB's because they upstage Blazers in each category, and an arrow can be fixed in seconds in the field or at home.

[Austrian Hunter]

Thanks Guys!
This is my first year shooting the Shuttle T-Lock.  After I watched Titan kill his Elk on the DVD I said I need to get does, and I absolutely love shooting with them.. Question: does anyone ever used the replacement blades?  After practicing I was not successful trying to take the blade out. 

[halflife65]

A friend of mine used those Shuttle T-Locks for elk 2 years ago.  They flew really great but we didn't really think that they did very well on a quartering away shot.  Hit a rib and kind of went along the side of the elk.  Still got it, but it was kind of a weird deal.  We thought it might have been because of the shape of the blade.  Of course, it could have been just an unlucky hit on a rib (not that unlucky, he got the elk) - but it seems like 1/2 of bowhunting is confidence in your equipment and the guy switched up. 

I've been using the G5 Strikers and he uses the Montecs in 100 grains.  I use Easton Axis arrows with 100 grain Striker fletched with Blazer veins.  Seems to work...

I also carry an arrow with a Judo point.  I'm kind of paranoid about dragging the wrong arrow out when I'm trying to shoot a deer/elk, so I always put the arrow in the same spot in the quiver, turn it upside down (so the Judo point is facing up) and also use an old arrow with 4 inch fletching (like a year or two old).  The older arrow flies pretty true to my newer broadhead tipped arrows (out to about 40 yards and then starts to drop) so doesn't seem to make much of difference when I'm stump shooting.