John Vernetti III
Royal Gorge Archery & Range
Canon City, Colorado
We charge $2 per vane or $4-5 per arrow. About 2 months before bowhunting season opens, a lot of arrows are dropped off to be re-fletched. July and August are the big months. Keeping up with the demand is important, so during our busiest times, we’ll either hire someone to specifically fletch arrows, or have a high school intern help us out. When we’re not terribly busy, I do most of the re-fletching, but I get busy with helping customers and other things, so it really helps to have someone pumping out those re-fletch orders.
We have a really nice setup. On a big round table, we have 18 Bitzenburger jigs and then 12 other fletchers. It’s actually on a truck axle and rotates so that we can stay in one spot and spin it around as we fletch rather than walk around to each jig. It was homemade and was included with the shop when we bought it.
The time when customers bring in a full set of arrows is a good time to suggest some add-ons. When it makes sense, we suggest lighted nocks so that the customer can find his or her arrows after the shot. Arrow wraps are another one, especially for 3-D shooters, so that they can see their arrows in the targets easier.
About 90 percent of our customers shoot typical 2-inch Bohning Blazer vanes, but we’ll get customers looking for Bohning Air Vanes, Bohning Heat Vanes, Silent Knight Vanes or some of the other more specialized options out there. As for glue, my favorite is the Saunders NPV Arrow Mate Cement because it’s more elastic than most other fletching adhesives. Once glued, the vane has some give to it, making it less likely to peel off as the arrow passes through an animal or target.
John Fleury
Pelkey’s Archery
Saint Albans, Vermont
We’re at $4 per arrow for a vane re-fletch and $4.50 for feathers. The middle of July through October is by far our biggest time for re-fletching. Our youth program is very large, so we also do a fair amount of re-fletching from November through April. With the Total Archery Challenge being in the area now, we get quite a few re-fletch orders leading up to that event, which is usually Memorial Day weekend.
Three of us are full-time, and we also have two part-time employees. That allows us to have one guy who focuses on re-fletching. We have a fletching room adjacent to our showroom, and we get him in there once or twice a week. He can go in there and get as many done as he can without any distractions. Our turnaround time depends upon when the arrows are dropped off. It can be as fast as the next day, but it usually isn’t more than 3 or 4 days.
If the customer wants their arrows to match what they’re currently shooting, then that’s what we give them. But, if they want to change things up a bit, then we can discuss different fletchings or colors and also other accessories. We have our personal setups available so that we can demonstrate some different options pretty effectively.
Grady Schneider
Ross Outdoors
Phoenix, Arizona
For individual arrows, we charge $3.50. If a customer wants a more custom fletch, we generally do that by the dozen and it’s $65 per dozen. We have to play on the field we’re given. If someone brings in just one or two arrows that need a vane or two each, we’ll just replace those damaged or missing vanes. Regardless, it’s still $3.50 per arrow.
May through the beginning of August is a busy time for re-fletching, and then it picks up again in November when hunters are getting ready for the second over-the-counter season. As we speak (Author’s note: This input was gathered in June), I’m looking at a ton of arrows that are in to be re-fletched. Arizona archery seasons open in the middle of August, and with hunters around here ramping up their practice, they’re having arrows pass through targets and vanes peeling off, or they’re shooting groups and wrecking arrows and vanes that way.
Even when we get a lot of re-fletch orders, we try not to keep our employees after hours if we can help it. Luckily, we have a very good crew here, and most are willing to put in a little time before we open so that we can push the re-fletch orders to the finish line quickly. If we offer our guys a breakfast sandwich and a pot of coffee, they’ll come in an hour early and tackle re-fletch orders. We try to maintain a 24-hour turnaround time on custom-fletch arrows. We push very hard to set the standard here in Arizona.
We’re a pretty old-school shop in the way we interact with customers. We understand that every individual has different circumstances and different applications for their equipment. We help every customer individually and try to understand their individual needs. We’ll suggest upgrades if it makes sense or if the customer asks, but we certainly don’t push that stuff on everyone.
Photo by Dave Maas
