Plastic vanes....

[SAM E. STEPHENS]

Anyone shooting plastic vanes , or the short Blazer type plastic fletchings. Have never tried it and was thinking on giving it a go. Never had an ILF set-up either so might try both , don't really want to shoot off a rest but might try a weather rest. The idea is a set-up I don't have to worry about in the rain , have done everything known to man to keep my feathers dry and nothing ever works. Figure a light shaft and heavy point to flex the arrow around the riser. Might be wasting my time and money ?????

,,,Sam,,,

[ThePushArchery]

Sam,

This year is the first year I've finally successfully tuned a vaned shaft for shooting off the shelf. Shooting 3x4" vanes on a Hokd Tip Pierce shaft - 500 spine - with 250 gn up front.

Torture tested the set up inducing poor releases and exaggerated bow torque. I can't get this arrow to fly badly with a broadhead.

I'm tickled pink!!

Matt

[woodchucker]

Back in the early 80's my friends & I all shot aluminum arrows off a Bear Weatherest from our recurves. We never experianced bad arrow flight unless our arrows were bent!
Today, with most comercial arrows being fletched "cock vane down" for compounds, I've seen Traditional shooters just rotate the cock vane up, and shoot them right off the shelf!? I never tried it myself, but I've seen these guys shoot, and their arrow fight looked fine to me!!!

[Joe2Crow]

I have a bear b-mag set up as my rainy day bow. Using a bear weatherest and shooting 3 5-inch vanes with cock vane out. Arrow flight is good.

[KSdan]

I know guys who do it with an elevated rest.  Weatherproof and durable.

[Steve O]

Shooting from a rest doesn't do anything but give you better arrow flight with any arrow you are already using. You will see the 1/2" (at most) it raises your arrow from your hand is not the accuracy killer long touted by the magazine article crowd. The Weatherest will work but is a super hard/stiff choice. Without a rest it will be a very tough row to hoe. With a rest, nothing to it. Before my last trip to Alaska (and before Photobucket screwed me) I had a pic of at least a dozen differently fletched shafts that would shoot my 250g Abowyers to the same spot out of my TallTines Stickflinger with a Hoyt Super rest. Three and four fletched Blazers, AAEs, NAP Quickspins, and feathers. I've not had one durability issue in all the time I've used the elevated rest.

[J. Cook]

Sam - I have a "rainy day bow" set up with elevated spring arm style rest and 4" AAE Plastifletch vanes.  It shoots beautifully, and is actually much quiter as you dont get any feather "hiss."

I do agree with Steve in that off the shelf is going to be tough and in my experience e I've found it impossible.

[Kevin Hansen]

Interesting input here...
Steve, I'm curious to know if you normally use the elevated rest and vanes, or only in certain circumstances?
Anybody find one brand of vane to be best? If so, why?

[JRY309]

I shoot plastic vanes out of a couple of my ILF bows,but do use an elevated magnetic flipper rest with a plunger.On my Morrison 17" metal riser I shoot Easton X7 2312 Cobalt with 4" Quick spin vanes,fly great out of it.I have a 25" PSE riser that I shoot 2" Blazer vanes on Easton ACC 3-18 arrows.I prefer to shoot feathers off a shelf,never shot vanes off a shelf.But see no reason why it wouldn't work,with properly spined arrows and adjusting your nock height.

[M60gunner]

I have all but one recurve setup with the old fashion "brush" rest. I shoot vanes and feathers interchangeably. I modified my rests to sit close to the shelf. My vanes are 4" from AAE or the 4" low banana shape from NAP.  I fletch them straight offset. I do not find a big advantage to 5" vanes if any.
 I know a couple guys that can use vanes off their LB shelf. Raising the nock point helps them. That's an old trick I saw used by an old bowyer whose name slips my mind.

[Steve O]

Originally posted by Kevin Hansen:
Interesting input here...
Steve, I'm curious to know if you normally use the elevated rest and vanes, or only in certain circumstances?
Anybody find one brand of vane to be best? If so, why?

Kevin,

I have 2 Stickflingers, one with, one without so 50/50. I have 9 TT tecurves and 6 have rests. It doesn't take much to switch between them but I don't switch much once it gets close to the season and I'm almost always shooting one with a rest by that time.

[Steve O]

And I really like the NAP Quickspins; the come in all sizes from tiny to 5". The 3" are a great compromise and the really stabilize a broadhead better than 5" feathers. Blazers work excellent as long as you put them on with a good sharp helical.

[Blackstick]

I'm the same as Joe2Crow only using an "A" Mag. Works out well.

[longbow fanatic 1]

I'm shooting four 3.25" plastic vanes for exactly the same reason you described. The vanes I'm using are VaneTec vanes and I'm very pleased with their performance. I bare shaft tuned my hunting arrows with plastic vanes and they're flying great.

[M60gunner]

What I found interesting was the small Blazer vanes flew well from my Bear TD. I envisioned the wide vanes hitting the riser or shelf. But I was wrong. I use them on my son's arrows for his wheel bow. Just can't get used to the smallish wide vane look.

[motorhead7963]

got a set of arrows with 4" vanes that I shoot off the shelf out of my longbow and a couple recurves. They are absolutely silent in flight.

[Orion]

One of my shooting buddies shoots 4-inch vanes off the shelf with great results.  The veins are quite soft.  I can't remember the name, but he indicated they were rather old.

[Jon Stewart]

Sam, I have around a thousand Plasti fletch vanes from the 60's if you want to try some I will send some off. these were used by tournament archers back in the day. Problem is they are stiff and the longest I have are around 2.5 inches long and they have to be straight fletched BUT they were used by many archers.PM an address if you want to try some.  I have some around 1.5 inches long also. Again these are not the soft kind but very stiff.

These are left overs from my dads archery shop.

I started experimenting with vanes when feather prices started to climb a few years ago. I like Blazer vanes for their ease of application, replacement and the fact that I can actually get them to fly off the shelf of my bows with the addition of a longish sealskin rest since they are so short. Although I can't really see what is happening, I suspect that the arrow fishtails away from the shelf just in time to avoid hitting it. Sealskin may cushion it a bit. If you fiddle with it, it will fly, maybe a little faster  and quieter than a feather.

PS nothing replaces feathers aesthetically....

[SAM E. STEPHENS]

Thanks everyone , I'm stuck in Houston working so haven't got to look at this. When I get home I will start working on a set-up..

,,,,Sam,,,