My Tech talks about Blazers . . .
 

Did some searching here and still have to post . . .:

Just bouncing this off of you guys/gals ; When I asked my bow tech about putting Blazers on my arrows . . . he commented on how they have a higher (taller) profile than the 4" I've been using. The result is (in our high wind country) that the arrows tend to fly where you aim them, but they fly "crooked", or at an angle. He did not recommend them because of their suseptability to wind.
Does this ring true?

RE: My Tech talks about Blazers . . .
 

I was shooting yesterday in the backyard. The wind was blowing 20-25 gusting to 30. I have 2" BLAZERS and did not notice anything out of the ordinary. I was shooting at 40 and 45 yards. I hit where I was aiming. Keeping my aim steady in the wind seems to be my major hurdle...Just my observation is all.

RE: My Tech talks about Blazers . . .
 

Your "tech" doesn't have a clue. A Blazer vane has less surface area or smaller side profileand thus is less effected by a side wind. The vane being slightly taller gets more vane farther away from the shaft/broadhead into less turbulant air for better control. The less turbulant the air is the ore control the broadhead will have over the shaft. Think about driving a car behind an 18 wheeler in the turbulanceand then driving that same car in "clean" air.

RE: My Tech talks about Blazers . . .
 

While I am not a Big fan of Blazers. I think your Tech guy is in LaLa land;)I wouldn't worry about the wind causing a problem.

Dan

RE: My Tech talks about Blazers . . .
 

Not quite sure if I buy what your tech is saying. I would go as far as to say that fletchings are not that expensive and that I recommend trying some and seeing for yourself. I also think that you may want to be concerned about what kind of broadhead you shoot in wind like that. Esp on long shots. The key is to find what combo works best for you and your type of hunting.


Ed

RE: My Tech talks about Blazers . . .
 

Ed, I totally agree!! Nothing like experimenting and finding answers for your rig yourself. I have played with a lot of different fletching combos every year and this year will be No different. I may even set one Bow up using QS Speed Hunter ST's, as they have impressed me in the past.

Feathers usually win out for me though.;)

Dan

RE: My Tech talks about Blazers . . .
 

Yep, I too ama die hard feather shooter. Can't be beat IMO.

RE: My Tech talks about Blazers . . .
 

x2

RE: My Tech talks about Blazers . . .
 

Blazers in my area are about all anyone uses now. I shoot Senior Pro and shoot them and feel they dont wind drift any more than a convential vane.
DB

RE: My Tech talks about Blazers . . .
 

Dan what is it about the blazers that you don't care for? I shoot blazers and I'm a little curious about
what you have to say, and I do respect your opinions.

RE: My Tech talks about Blazers . . .
 

Don't really have anything against Blazers. I do think they cause a lot of clearance issues that are easily avoidable with other options.

Even though I shoot arrows during the summer fletched with several different combos including Blazers in the Fall I always go back to feathers. Which I believe are the Best all around choice.

Dan

RE: My Tech talks about Blazers . . .
 

If feathers are so awesome in your opionion. Why do less than 10% use them for tournament shooting? If they were so much more accurate. Wouldnt tournament pros be using them? Vanes are more durable and more accurate. Feathers wont hold up even in something a simple as indoor shooting let only practice in the outdoors.
DB

RE: My Tech talks about Blazers . . .
 

Just because the majority doesn't use Feathers does not mean they are not the best.[8D]

Better control than any other fletching, Period. As a Hunter that's what I want.

I realize most will go the cheaper routes, because they do work, just not quite as good;)

Dan

RE: My Tech talks about Blazers . . .
 

Who said anything about tournaments? They are not the be-all end all to archery, DB- some of us couldn't give a crap what "pros" shoot or "tournaments". Pros shoot whatever they are given, or paid to shoot- and thus they jump from company to company year in and year out if they are not getting the "deal" they need/want.

pros shoot vanes for less downrange velocity decay, and the fact that feathers won't hold up on a spring blade style rest (again what alot of "pros" use).

Put a fixed blade broadhead on the front of your arrow, and feathers kick vanes to the curb.

Have a form goof under pressure which causes contact with a rest or cable, or if you hit a twig you didn;t see and those vanes flop around like a fish out of water and your broadhead planes off line. Ever watched slo-mo footage of vanes vs. feathers?

If it's raining so hard that your feathers get soaking wet, you've got no busniness bowhunting cos any bloodtrail will get washed away. Modern feather sprays and powders work fine, and the addition of a fletch cover will help in a moderate rain or snow if yo are that worried. I hunted with feathers for YEARS and never had one of these mythical "feathers collapse in the rain" issues. I also leave the woods if it's pouring. For those Pacific Northwest guys, I could see this being an issue, but for 95% of the bowhunters out there feather would work just fine.

However, vanes are FAR more affected by chnage in temperature- ever spray one with food powder? the compressed cold air makes them stiffen up and shrink- Same thing happens when you take your bow out of your nice toasty case/truck and walk to your stand in cold weather.

Bottom line- they have both issues, they both excel, and you cannot say one is overall better. I stopped listening to "pros" years ago- most of them are only concerned with cha-ching- especially in the current state of this industry (i.e. which is a joke)

RE: My Tech talks about Blazers . . .
 

I hunt! Have for over 25yrs. I also shoot Broadhead tournaments with Blazers. I can show you accuracy with Vanes if you think feathers are so much more accurate. I can put them in a Hooter Shooter and prove there just as accurate. Take the human error out of the arrow. Feathers are noisier than vanes. I do hunt in the rain. Often bad weather is the only weather you get in the fall. I use what is going to give me the best chance for harvesting that trophy. Shoot what works for you. I DO!
Jeff when I say Pros, Im talking guys who work for the arrow companys. Tim Strickland/Tim Gillingham. When these guys advsie me! I listen and then go test it for myself.
DB

RE: My Tech talks about Blazers . . .
 

Hopefully one day we can go shoot broadheads. I have talked to Guys at Easton/Goldtip and listen when they talked. One must find what works for them. Its not about cheaper for me. Its about what hits groups down at 30yrds. Where feathers might help someone is where they are getting contact with the rest. Fall aways have elimanated that promblem.
DB
DB

RE: My Tech talks about Blazers . . .
 

DB, I won't get into a pointless argument but I do know what works best for me as well asmany others.

Feathers are more forgiving, faster at hunting ranges, and give a broadhead tipped arrow better FOC.

All things that are important to me.

You shoot your Blazers or whatever you want. I never said they don't work. They are just not the best choice for me!;)

Dan

RE: My Tech talks about Blazers . . .
 

I shot feathers for a few years and switched to blazers and shot them for 3 years and now just switched back to feathers. I have not had issues with either I just prefer the feathers.

RE: My Tech talks about Blazers . . .
 

It is all about what work for you. Good luck.

FOC can easily be achieved by vanes or feathers. Both work and will kill deer.

RE: My Tech talks about Blazers . . .
 

Dan, when you use feathers are you using the Razr's or one of the parabolic feathers?

RE: My Tech talks about Blazers . . .
 

I hear that alot... "Take away the human factor". I find this argument to be completely pointless because the last time I checked a hooter shooter won't fit in a treestand.

A hooter shooter can be set up to shoot bare shafts just as accurately as it can shootfletched arrows.

The point of feathers is to help reduce the effects of the human error.

RE: My Tech talks about Blazers . . .
 

What does shooting from a treestand have to do with arrow accuracy? Feathers are thing of the past. Vanes in pro shops out sale feathers ten to one and will continue to in the future. I have yet to see any broadhead tournament here in my state won with feathers. I dont think it will happen. I can take any archer and have him shooting tight groups immediatly with vanes with correct arrow out of well tuned bow. Shoot what works for you! Blazers vanes do help broadheads in my opionion.
DB

Here a picture from the state broadhead tournament. Now I shot 12 heart shots out of twenty out to 40yrd at unknown distance. All eight others shots were right near or in the vitals. Accuracy is what I look for when hunting. Blazers get me there. My arrow is the crested white nock and white crest. Shooting the fixed blade G5 Montecs. Vanes are accurate.

RE: My Tech talks about Blazers . . .
 

Vanes work for me. Im accurate. I have missed one deer in the last 12 years. Dont take crazy shoots and my farthest was 42yrds. Usaully harvested six deer a year and sometimes more due to doe populations.

Shoot what works for you. I hunt with Blazers and shoot broadhead tournaments with them as well because there flat accurate. Main thing is have fun and enjoy archery. That will make you the most accurate along with practice.

RE: My Tech talks about Blazers . . .
 

Exactly bigbulls!! Lots of things are better for reducingthe human error factor and would mean little if we allshot out of a hooter shooter.

Centaur1 I have shot Razr feathers and with good success. I use them out west where I feel winds are more of a factor to deal with. In most of my other hunting I use 4" feathers. Weight difference is not worth talking about and I'm sure they stabilize an arrow quicker.

It's Not about what fletching some pro uses.:eek:I could care less that's why I use what works Best for Me!;)

Dan

RE: My Tech talks about Blazers . . .
 

I take guys ever year that are far from pros. Guys who harvest there first harvest ever year. It is about what works for you.Calling me all about pros is far from the truth. All these guys got there first deer. Not a pro in the bunch. But smiles on all there faces.

RE: My Tech talks about Blazers . . .
 

Never said you were ALL about pros DB, but I know from reading 1000's of your posts it does influence your choices at times.

I'll take a newbie in the woods and enjoy their True excitement over anything elsein the world!;)

You going to Metropolis this year?

Dan

RE: My Tech talks about Blazers . . .
 

By the way DB! Welcome to HNI!! It's always a pleasure to see you on a forum.

There are a ton of Great guys/gals/Bowhunters on here. Hang around and help make this place even better.

Dan

RE: My Tech talks about Blazers . . .
 

Honestly, this got twisted into something like a Ford vs. Chevy argument, with one guy saying "I just prefer Fords" and the other saying "You're wrong for liking Fords because......" What ever happened to personal choice?

I shoot feathers because I like them. I've shot full vanes and blazers, and just prefer feathers. I can miss or hit just as easily with either, and I seriously doubt either event was keyed to the type of fletch. I have 5" feathers on my huntin' arrows and 4" on my target arrows. Why? I don't know, it's just my preference. I'd like to believe that the additional wing area on the 5" means a bit more stability in flight, but truth be told, it doesn't really matter to me, it's my choice. Does that make me wrong? not if I'm satisfied, and the results work for me.

Each of my three sons are better archers than I am, and they shoot blazers. But guess what? They shoot feathers with just as much accuracy. Ask them why they shoot blazers rather than feathers and they'll give the same answer as me, "I just like them better." Does anything really matter beyond that?

In our local indoor paper league, two of the top three finishers shoot feathers. The top two make heart shots on animal targets 38 out of 45 tries a night, from up to 25 yards: one shoots feathers and the other shoots blazers. The feathers shooter is pretty well known to me, and trust me when I say that if he honestly thought he could go 45/45 by switching to blazers, he would have done it long ago. (Likewise with the blazers shooter.)

I think it's a bit of a reach to say that blazers "take the human error out of the arrow", because that sounds a bit absolute to me. What's the other kind of error, shall we call it mechanical? Okay, mechanical errors are going to be relatively fixed, and once those are compensated for, the repeatability should be somewhere close to 100%. The only thing that keeps every indoor archer from X-ing 100% of the time, then, is "human error".

Maybe it's like golf balls. Some people prefer Titleist, some prefer Maxfli. But a good score always comes down to putting, where the design of the ball is almost 100% minimized, and it's all up to the individual.

RE: My Tech talks about Blazers . . .
 

Its all good. Everyone should just have fun with it.

RE: My Tech talks about Blazers . . .
 

Amen!!

Now you gonna be at Metropolis or not?:D

Dan

RE: My Tech talks about Blazers . . .
 

Im sure hoping to be there. Would like to do the classic as well. Not sure if I can do both with vacation time left. Ill most likely be there though.
DB

RE: My Tech talks about Blazers . . .
 

DB, If you are going to be at Metropolis let me know. We'll have dinner together one night.:D

Dan

RE: My Tech talks about Blazers . . .
 

Meanv sounds like a great plan. I usually stay at the Motel 6 in Puducah.

But always eat at Billy Dovers Resturant as well.
DB

RE: My Tech talks about Blazers . . .
 

Just keep me informed DB and we'll make a plan come together.:D

Dan

RE: My Tech talks about Blazers . . .
 

Interesting post. I putter with fletching all the time, because puttering with fletching is fun but the rationalization I tell myself is that I'm trying to find the BEST choice. I shoot quite a bit, that said - I'm not the best shot in the world, but not the worst either. At the end of the day, I don't think I can shoot the difference Blazers or feathers with broadheads. So at the moment, I shoot which ever blows my skirt up that day!

RE: My Tech talks about Blazers . . .
 

they shot good to me

RE: My Tech talks about Blazers . . .
 

If you can hit a deer, or any other game, in the vitals, what does it matter if you are using feathers or blazers? Its just a matter of personal choice. My choice would have to be feathers and thats just because thats what i started shooting and why change something if you know it works for you?