Lets Talk Vanes....

[Jake Leibke]

With the other thread about what everyone is using...... How about why....??

Just wondering flight characteristics of different fletchings compared to each other.

Examples: shield cut vs standard

Short and tall (blazer style) vs long and short (flex fletch 360)

Does one style lend to less drag? Flatter trajectory?

 

[Lukem]

I like my Blazers because of the light weight, the higher profile gives enough drag to steer a broadhead and they're more durable than feathers.

 

[Stinky Coyote]

Max steerage, min weight, tough, low drag...6.8 gr each for flex fletch silent knight 300's....they look to be the ideal blend of the stuff I want out of vanes...they r very thin and smooth yet stiff/tough.....blazers r wet noodles by comparison and seem twice maybe three times as thick too for maybe 6.6 grains....now that I've switched from blazers to these...hard to go back.

 

[Ozz08]

I've shot blazers, 2" fusions, 3" fusions, and for the last year I've been shooting the flex fletch flash vanes and don't plan on changing in the near future. I have gotten the best broadhead accuracy results with my set up using the flash vanes. Everyone's bow, arrows, tune, even form is different so I can't say there is one vane that will work for everybody but these flash vanes work the best for me using MY bow shooting MY arrows. Plus, they are the toughest damn vanes I have seen! I've only lost vanes from slicing them with a broadhead. I have shot them through, pulled them through, and pushed them backwards through bails and block type/3d targets countless times and they look folded, creased, destroyed and by the time I'm back at the line to shoot again the vanes are back to perfect shooting condition. A lot of times the fletching is all that is sticking out of a target and I have no worries about just grabbing the fletched part of my arrows to pull them. They always bounce back perfect! I never got that kind of durability with blazers or fusions.

 

[Maxhunter]

AAE Max hunters. I put as much helical as my jig will allow.

 

[Jared Lampton]

Max steerage, min weight, tough, low drag...6.8 gr each for flex fletch silent knight 300's....they look to be the ideal blend of the stuff I want out of vanes...they r very thin and smooth yet stiff/tough.....blazers r wet noodles by comparison and seem twice maybe three times as thick too for maybe 6.6 grains....now that I've switched from blazers to these...hard to go back.

I've shot blazers, 2" fusions, 3" fusions, and for the last year I've been shooting the flex fletch flash vanes and don't plan on changing in the near future. I have gotten the best broadhead accuracy results with my set up using the flash vanes. Everyone's bow, arrows, tune, even form is different so I can't say there is one vane that will work for everybody but these flash vanes work the best for me using MY bow shooting MY arrows. Plus, they are the toughest damn vanes I have seen! I've only lost vanes from slicing them with a broadhead. I have shot them through, pulled them through, and pushed them backwards through bails and block type/3d targets countless times and they look folded, creased, destroyed and by the time I'm back at the line to shoot again the vanes are back to perfect shooting condition. A lot of times the fletching is all that is sticking out of a target and I have no worries about just grabbing the fletched part of my arrows to pull them. They always bounce back perfect! I never got that kind of durability with blazers or fusions.

I've been trying different vanes for a while now. What broadheads, arrow weight and approx fps are you guys dealing with?

 

[Ozz08]

1epichunt,
For the last year and a half I have been shooting the same arrow setup.
Harvest Time HT2 .300 spine arrows
125 gr wac em exit broadheads w/10 extra grains added to insert.
430 gr total weight arrow @285fps.

 

[PhillyB]

I switched from Blazers to FFP 360's last fall...

The FFP's are a lot quieter and seem to do a better job with the ST broadheads.

 

[Stinky Coyote]

The ff 360's and the ff flash were on my radar also, I knew I was going to try one of the flex fletch...from memory the flash run a bit over 4 gr ea and cant remember the 360 weights but believe it's heavier than the SK 300, the often overlooked silent knight series because flex fletch markets them as crossbow vanes...I've decided that running closer to the edge of minimum steerage like the flash or SK 200 might not be necessary, for only .2 gr ea more than a blaser u can get that SK 300, way more steerage than a blazer...a safety factor and then some, like a 7.5" brace height and an 37.5" axle to axle ...they look good too but that is never a criteria for me. I'm running speedpro 6.2 shafts and can afford plenty of weight out back and still have very high foc.

 

[Jake Leibke]

Thanks guys. I am looking at the flex fletch line also, I have some sk 200 on order.

 

[Sunspot]

I've posted this elsewhere but I prefer the Flex Fletch FHP-200's (Flash) because I think they do a better job than Blazers, Fusions, etc...particularly with broadheads and 40+ yards.

 

[J-Daddy]

I haven't messed with Flex Fletch but it sounds like I should...I've played around with a lot of others though and normally go back to Blazers...For me they fletch up easy enough, fly good and are tough... I always liked AAE vanes but I tear them up to often shooting groups, Blazers just hold up better for me.

 

[Rent Outdoor Gear]

I'm a FF360 fan. I've experimented with dozens of vanes, but nothing steers a fixed blade head as well. Without fail, every one of my best shooting setups has used the 360. I also like the 300 shield cut for smaller heads. I occasionally shoot a smaller vane like a 2.5 shield cut for expandables, but I rarely use them.

If your tune goes out a little, the 360 (3.6") vanes will keep your broadheads from taking over. They're extremely durable and return to shape when you wad them up in a target. I like to put them on a vinyl wrap with fletch tite platinum or Saunders NPV and they are nearly instant. I give them about 15 seconds each. If you're putting them directly on the shaft, be sure to scuff and clean thoroughly. Also clean the bases of the vanes with MEK or 99% Acetone to remove any mold release that might interfere with a good bond. I put a good helical on them. They run true on Archer's Advantage out to 80-90 yards, then I lose about one yard every ten on the sight tape beyond that so I splice a slower tape on after 80 yards to compensate. They are also quieter in flight than most of the short, high-profile vanes I've messed with.

 

[Sunspot]

Good point about tuning and how a larger fletch can keep your arrow in-check. I like a 3 degree helical on my FHP-200's.

 

[Jake Leibke]

Darin- thanks. Is there much of a change in point of impact with the 360's compared to a shorter higher profile vane? Or what about compared to a 4 fletch small vane arrow?

 

[SDHNTR]

AAE Max hunters. I put as much helical as my jig will allow.

This! With the AZ EZ Fletch Mini, you can put some seious helical to them and fletchig is a snap.

 

[Evan Williams]

Hey Jake

I know you saw Dallas post my photo either on Facebook or Instagram but I finally have my bow back together! And am getting ready to test vane set ups myself!

!

 

[Rent Outdoor Gear]

Darin- thanks. Is there much of a change in point of impact with the 360's compared to a shorter higher profile vane? Or what about compared to a 4 fletch small vane arrow?

They shoot right with the shorter vanes out to about 80 yards, then you might see them drop a bit more depending on what you're comparing. Some high-profile, short vanes drop as much or more though (NAP quickspins for instance). Some of the extra drop with the 360 is due to drag and some is a function of mass weight. I don't get too hung up on trajectory because you're going to adjust your pins for that and the difference is insignificant when you think about real shooting conditions. If one set of vanes shoots a yard lower at 90 yards than another set, it means you're going to have slightly wider pin gaps out there. However, if you make a 2-yard ranging error you probably wouldn't be able to measure the difference between the two vane types assuming both are sighted in properly. Anymore, my focus is almost entirely on accuracy and creating a setup that's simple and bullet-proof.

I have set up arrow combinations with mechanicals and small vanes for hunting in windy conditions at long range that are totally different than my normal elk/deer setups. I've done it for caribou and dall sheep because I knew that a 20 mph wind was probably going to be the norm rather than the exception. Small vanes coupled with mechanical broadheads are an advantage in the wind without question. It's a matter of physics.

The driving force behind wind drift is often misunderstood. It's really a function of reducing the overall aerodynamic drag on the arrow. Your arrow aligns itself in flight with the nose pointed slightly into the wind. Crosswind from the right = arrow pointed slightly right on it's way to the target. Therefore, the resulting drag forces acting on the arrow are pulling back through the centerline of the arrow (opposite the direction of the arrow point). The higher the total drag, the greater the angle of the shaft AND the higher the force pulling the arrow off-line. This is why a longer bullet of the same caliber (with a higher ballistic coefficient) drifts less in the wind even though a cross-wind would seemingly have more surface area to push on.

For this reason, it also makes sense to fletch your target arrows straight with only a small offset so they will still spin stabilize - and even a hunting arrow IF you are shooting a low-profile mechanical and don't need a lot of drag to stabilize the broadhead you choose.

Broadhead accuracy problems occur with fixed blades when the drag up front in the arrow is too close to the drag in the rear - the arrow does not find a consistent flight angle and the drag forces pulling backward are all over the place. This causes your groups to open up. That specifically is why it's always better to err on the side of too-much-drag (vane) when using a fixed blade head.

In my experience, the 360 FF, with a helical fletch job will stabilize broadheads with cut diameters up to about 1-3/16" very reliably. Any more than a 360 FF is overkill and will just add wind drift, and anything less (for my setups) is borderline. Your results may vary slightly depending on your broadhead, your tuning abilities, and your luck. There are infinite ways to arrive at a similar amount of drag and stability with differnt vane shapes, lengths, textures, more/less vanes, etc... You could experiment for a lifetime and probably find a better vane combo or one that perfectly suits your setup, but in my opinion there is very little to gain - except fletching practice.

Coop

 

[KMD]

Max steerage, min weight, tough, low drag...6.8 gr each for flex fletch silent knight 300's....they look to be the ideal blend of the stuff I want out of vanes...they r very thin and smooth yet stiff/tough.....blazers r wet noodles by comparison and seem twice maybe three times as thick too for maybe 6.6 grains....now that I've switched from blazers to these...hard to go back.

Agree!
I wanted to build a heavier for hunting this year, so I called South Shore Archery for their expertise in arrow building. Had a nice talk on the phone about what I wanted, and we settled on using SK-300s for vanes on my FMJ 300s. Gotta tell ya, those SK-300s shoot GREAT! With a right helical fletch, you can see them pinwheeling down to the target...they seem to provide alot more spin stabilization than my previous Blazers.

For conversation, I'm shooting 1 1/4" dia, 150gr. VPAs screwed into 50gr HITs, 15% FOC, 580gr total weight, and three, right helical fletched SK-300s keep 'em reigned in beautifully!

 

[DeepMauka]

Not to derail topic too much, but hat jigs do y'all use for fleshing your arrows?