4 Vane vs. 3 Vane

[Bump79]

I agree with the sight clearance point. That was a significant factor in me deciding to stay 4 fletch when I swapped to IW vanes. It is a substantial difference.

I'm curious why you shoot broadheads almost every day. I see no advantage past tuning and checking to see if tune is maintained. It's hell on targets.

It really is, I just do it for confidence & testing honestly. Most of the year it's just a cold shot or 2. June - Jan is more often. Heck my deer hunting season is Sept-Jan

 

[MallardSX2]

I’ll never switch back to a 3 fletch.


4 fletch right helical. My arrows fly like fricken sharks with fricken laser beams on their heads…..

 

[5MilesBack]

For me personally, with many different broadhead configurations, 294 fps and out past 50 yards - I just can't say that 4 fletch had a substantial improvement.

My 4 fletch 2.1" Q2i's have no improvement in accuracy or consistency over my 3 fletch with the 2" QS's......BH's or FP's. But......the 4 fletch with the 2.1" lower profile Q2i vanes has a substantial improvement over those same Q2i vanes in a 3-fletch with BH's. It all depends on what vanes you're trying and what you're comparing them to. And you hit on one of the best reasons for trying a 4-fletch......lower profile vanes for clearance.....whether from the bottom of your sight, cables, rest, or cable guard etc.

 

[Dos Perros]

@Bump79 nailed it with his mention of clearance.

The Bohning Blazer (a pretty ubiquitous vane) is 2" long x 0.53" tall. Many folks shoot this in a 3 fletch setup.

The Bohning Heat is 2.5" long and 0.41" tall. I shoot this in a 4 fletch for 2 reasons.

1) Clearance for the rest and sight (there was a time I was trouble shooting an arrow contacting the rest issue)

2) The 4th vane gives a 4th nock position option, so you're more likely to be successful nock tuning any one arrow.

 

[Bump79]

My 4 fletch 2.1" Q2i's have no improvement in accuracy or consistency over my 3 fletch with the 2" QS's......BH's or FP's. But......the 4 fletch with the 2.1" lower profile Q2i vanes has a substantial improvement over those same Q2i vanes in a 3-fletch with BH's. It all depends on what vanes you're trying and what you're comparing them to. And you hit on one of the best reasons for trying a 4-fletch......lower profile vanes for clearance.....whether from the bottom of your sight, cables, rest, or cable guard etc.

All good reasons! Again, I'm not anti 4 fletch. I just usually do 3 probably out of laziness. Another thing going for 3 fletch is that you're 33% less likely to damage a fletch when shooting

 

[TX_Diver]

All good reasons! Again, I'm not anti 4 fletch. I just usually do 3 probably out of laziness. Another thing going for 3 fletch is that you're 33% less likely to damage a fletch when shooting

My opinion but that is influenced more by the type of fletching than by numbers. I 3 fletched the IW hybrid vanes in spring and damaged way more of them in 4-5 months than I have 4 fletch max stealths over the last 2-3 years.

 

[wnelson14]

My opinion but that is influenced more by the type of fletching than by numbers. I 3 fletched the IW hybrid vanes in spring and damaged way more of them in 4-5 months than I have 4 fletch max stealths over the last 2-3 years.

this^^, the number of Blazers I have put holes in seemed like one every other practice session.

 

[WoodBow]

For those having issues with damage from arrows impacting arrows with the IWs, shoot further or at separate spots. I heard about people damaging vanes so i adopted this strategy as soon as i switched to them. I have probably shot 1000 shots with them at least by now and have not had a problem yet. Even at extended ranges, I still manage to have 2 arrows touching occasionally but have not damaged any vanes yet. I have been shooting a ton at max yardage for my setup, which is 106 yards. I have found it very sensitive to bow arm drop when shooting that far. If i don't stay in the shot, I will tend to miss low. I have slid a bunch of these vanes under the block target now and have had no issues besides some discoloration.

 

[fatlander]

I messed around with 4 fletch a lot and found the juice isn’t worth the squeeze. What I also found is that vane height is the biggest factor in steering broadheads. Not the amount of fletchings or surface area. 4 fletch takes 33% longer and costs 33% more. That’s the only difference I found.


If you shoot broadheads from a bow that’s not perfectly tuned with a 3 fletch helical blazer and a 4 fletch max stealth, the blazer is always going to fly better to further distances.

In 2021, I had a limb blow up on a bow while on a hunt. Had to hike out and buy a bow. The tech wasn’t really a tech at all, so I had to completely set my own bow up at the store. Got bareshafts really close with the rest, but I needed to flip spacers around and didn’t have the time nor aptitude for it at the time. I was running 4 fletch heat vanes on the exact same shaft as one of my hunting partners with 3 fletched blazers. As I was trying to dial my broadheads in, I tried his blazers over my 4 fletch heat. His blazers unquestionably steered my broadheads better from the bow that wasn’t perfectly tuned. The heats fell off past 30 yards while the blazers kept my broadheads with field points to 50. I took his back up arrows in the woods and killed a bull.


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[dtrkyman]

I have grouped arrows together with 5 or 6 different configurations uncluding zingers to 100 yards. At 100 if a 4 fletch has larger vanes they hit a little low when I do my part.

With a larger fixed head I would probably favor a 4 fletch, but I shoot mechanical heads these days so small 3 fletch is typically my choice, or zingers.

 

[wyodog]

I am currently building arrows long range 3D shoots. I bought AAE max 2.0 vanes for sight clearance. I am planning try both 3 and 4 fletch. I have always used 3 fletch but with the low profile I’m not sure if I have enough surface area. Has any of you shot these vanes?

 

[fulldraw71]

I have arrows fletched up with 3 q2i raptors for my Martin Onza and they fly fantastic! I bought a dozen shafts for my new Alpha X, which I’m told has fairly tight cable to fletching clearance with the cable guard, and I fletched them with 4 q2i fusion xll 2.1” vanes which are a lower profile. I’m planning on shooting fixed blades this fall for the first time and I’ve heard that 4 fletch offers better control even if they are lower profile. I’ve shot these arrows out of my Onza and they fly great. They fly just as good as my others. They impact a little lower but not bad. If you try 4 fletch pick a vane that has a lower profile than what your using for 3 fletch as the extra vane will have more drag.

 

[fulldraw71]

I am currently building arrows long range 3D shoots. I bought AAE max 2.0 vanes for sight clearance. I am planning try both 3 and 4 fletch. I have always used 3 fletch but with the low profile I’m not sure if I have enough surface area. Has any of you shot these vanes?

Your vanes appear to have a height of .38”. I fletched up four fletch using q2i fusion xll 2.1 vanes and they have a height of .43”. They fly great and I think with your lower height with the aae vanes I would do four.

 

[KBC]

@Bump79 nailed it with his mention of clearance.

The Bohning Blazer (a pretty ubiquitous vane) is 2" long x 0.53" tall. Many folks shoot this in a 3 fletch setup.

The Bohning Heat is 2.5" long and 0.41" tall. I shoot this in a 4 fletch for 2 reasons.

1) Clearance for the rest and sight (there was a time I was trouble shooting an arrow contacting the rest issue)

2) The 4th vane gives a 4th nock position option, so you're more likely to be successful nock tuning any one arrow.

I did the exact same thing. No issues with 3 blazers and although I nock tune before I fletch them, having one extra spot I can twist the nock to has helped with the odd arrow.

You gain a lot more clearance if you have a slider sight and shoot longer distances.

 

[MarkOrtiz]

I did the exact same thing. No issues with 3 blazers and although I nock tune before I fletch them, having one extra spot I can twist the nock to has helped with the odd arrow.

You gain a lot more clearance if you have a slider sight and shoot longer distances.

I have always shot 3 blazers, but I am very tempted to try 4 heat vanes for this reason. Great discussion in this thread though.

 

[fatlander]

I have always shot 3 blazers, but I am very tempted to try 4 heat vanes for this reason. Great discussion in this thread though.

I’d encourage anyone out there that’s hunting with fixed blade broadheads to take a bow that’s slightly out of tune (almost perfect tear, bare shaft is close at 10, etc) then shoot a fixed head with 3 blazers and 4 heat vanes.

The blazers are going to keep that broadhead with your fieldtips to further distances when compared to the heats. I tested this extensively at home after having to switch to my hunting partners arrows during a hunt when a bow blew up on me (read my above reply).

I get it, no one knowingly hunts with a bow that’s out of tune. But imparting different pressure on the wall, release and grip in stressful situations on uneven terrain does the same thing to your arrows as an out of tune bow.


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[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

In case no one has said it yet... 4 fletch just looks cooler!

 

[camelcluch]

I have bumped back and forth shooting different vanes in 3 and 4 fletch. Over a year I did not see any noticeable difference between the two besides a little more drop with the 4 fletch. Levi Morgan said he went to 4 because he saw a little difference. I’m not that good and not making my living on x count.

 

[fatlander]

I have bumped back and forth shooting different vanes in 3 and 4 fletch. Over a year I did not see any noticeable difference between the two besides a little more drop with the 4 fletch. Levi Morgan said he went to 4 because he saw a little difference. I’m not that good and not making my living on x count.

And you’re not making a living by selling 33% more vanes to unsuspecting dopes.


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[dkime]

No

Preach


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