Custom arrow fletching & arrow building

What it is

Building arrows properly, from bare shafts, to match the bow you actually shoot. Shafts are cut to your length and squared on both ends, inserts are installed and given time to cure rather than being rushed out the door, and vanes are applied with the helical, offset and colour pattern you want.

We also strip and re-fletch. One bad shot into a rock or a riser does not have to cost you a whole dozen — in most cases the shaft is fine and only the vanes and perhaps the insert need replacing.

Who it’s for

Anyone shooting factory arrows that are not quite right. Off-the-shelf arrows come in fixed lengths and standard configurations. If your draw length falls between two of them, you are shooting a compromise — usually an arrow slightly too long, with slightly the wrong spine for the poundage you are pulling.

Anyone chasing consistency. Arrow-to-arrow variation is one of the quietest causes of unexplained fliers. Shafts that are not squared sit badly against the string and the rest; inserts glued at a slight angle send the point off axis. Neither is visible at arm's length, and both show up at 40 yards.

Hunters switching to broadheads. Fixed-blade broadheads are far less forgiving of a poorly built arrow than field points are. If broadheads and field points disagree, arrow build quality is one of the first things worth ruling out — alongside tuning.

3D and league shooters. Vane choice and helical are real variables in league scoring, and worth deliberately choosing rather than inheriting.

What to expect

Bring the bow, or at minimum know your draw length, your peak poundage and what point weight you intend to shoot. Those three numbers decide the spine, and guessing at them is how people end up with a dozen arrows that will never tune.

We stock shafts from Easton, Gold Tip, Black Eagle and Carbon Express, so in most cases we can build from what is on the shelf. Turnaround depends on glue cure time more than on labour — it is not usually a wait-while-you-shop job, but it is rarely a long one either.

Why Sportsman’s Refuge

Arrows are built here by the same people who tune the bows, which matters because the two are the same problem. An arrow is not correct in isolation; it is correct for a specific bow at a specific poundage and draw length. Building them under one roof means the spine choice is made by somebody who has seen your bow, and the finished arrows can be paper-tuned and shot on our range before you take them home.