Feathers or Vanes
 

Why do you like them, what brand do you use, and which would you use on carbon arrows?(Beman ICS Hunters). What colors do you like on your shafts as well. Trying to get my arrows going while waiting on my bow to come in. Thanks. BHunter32.

RE: Feathers or Vanes
 

I tried several different vanes and ended up liking Bohning's the best a couple of years ago. I switched to feathers back then and really,really liked them & have been shooting them since. I started shooting my best groups ever with feathers,picked up 5 fps , found paper tuning easier(I think they stabilize an arrow faster),and feathers are forgiving with clearance problems .Feathers are not good if it rains , there are spray products that help with that,but personally I always have 1 arrow with vanes with me if I think it might rain.

RE: Feathers or Vanes
 

Also I have heard people say that they think they need to re-fletch a lot with feathers ....after shooting a deer or when they get messed up passing through a target. All you have to do run them over some steam(tea pot or pressure cooker works) and they'll snap back into original shape. I shot three deer and a 40# raccoon(the corn bandit) with the same arrow/fletchings this season .

RE: Feathers or Vanes
 

I shoot shield cut feathers, with white eze crest wraps. I use 2 yellow feathers and one white feather. Yeah feathers do get banged up easier but they ad a wonderful amount of forgiveness when something is a little out of wack. When I stared out with carbon arrows I had vanes on them and was getting 54 foot lbs of Kenetic Energy then I switched over to feathers and lightened my arrows but increased the kenetic energy to 57 foot lbs. In my book feathers are deffinitly the way to go. But I do keep a few fletched with vanes for those bad weather days

RE: Feathers or Vanes
 

I prefer vanes on my compound bow. I used to use Easton Diamond 4.75 inch vanes, but they discontinues making them that long. Since then, I have moves to AAE vanes, which I believe made them for Easton.

On my longbow, recurve, I use only feathers.

Colors, I feel are overrated. On my compound I use three black and one white, and on my recurve and longbow, I use two black and one white. I used to go for the brightest vanes, but don't really see the need in it anymore. On a black carbon arrow, I would probably make sure that I had at least one white.

BTW, when I used to shoot carbons, I used the 3.75 inch Easton Diamond Vanes. They worked good for me with fileld points.

RE: Feathers or Vanes
 

I shoot with feathers. 5" left wing. My current ones are a turkey feathers in sort of a brownish grey tone. Blood shows up well.

Since I shoot fingers,I like thier more forgiving characteristic. They seem to stabilize the arrow faster, but that may have to do as much with surface area and spin, I don't know for sure. If they just touch brush, they are less likely to deflect as much a stiff vane.
And I think they hold to the shaft better since thier base in contact with the fletchlack is porous where vanes are not. The bonding to the staff is very strong. Also like stated earlier they can be put back into shape with a little steam.
I only shot vanes for one season out of 40 plus seasons, just did not work for me.
Im going to try carbon arrows this year so I have no real insight into their preformance in that area.

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RE: Feathers or Vanes
 

I'll shoot vanes on my compounds until they wear out, but I always refletch with feathers. Lighter weight, better FOC, better broadhead control and less need to worry about accidental fletching contact.

I like shield cut feathers better than parabolics. No other reason than they simply look better to my eye. My colors are generally orange and red, but I do use white with a gray barred. If I did a lot of shooting in snow, and I know it sounds odd, but I'd shoot hot pink and lime green. Those colors shine out real good under a few inches of snow and give a better chance of finding an arrow.

RE: Feathers or Vanes
 

I shoot Carboneros 400s with 100 grain points. I recently bought some Eze eye wraps, that are American flags: red, white and blue. I was using vanes but shoot with a whisker biscuit, so I am switching to 3&quot; feathers from 4&quot; vanes. They will be red, white, and blue, one each, with the blue feather as the cock feather. They will have white uni nocks. One, I thought it would be unique, two, bet I can find them in the woods, and three, everyone will know it is my arrow in the 10 ring! <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

Der Jagd Meister
aka [email protected]

RE: Feathers or Vanes
 

Feathers . If you turn the arrow opposite of the way it is suposed to go and your feathers slam into your rest your shot will not be off by much but do that with vanes and say bye bye . Vanes are more forgiveing and help with the number one tuneing-accuracy problem fletching contact . I'll bet most archers have fletching contact evan with your fall away ,it might be slight but none the less , if you dont your lucky . If your nock rotates a littel you get contact . One more thing Mr. Cousins shoots feathers .

We all have different oppinions , if we did'nt the world would be a BORING place

RE: Feathers or Vanes
 

I like feathers better but I will make sure that I have
a vane or two in the quiver in case of rain.

[Deleted]
 

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RE: Feathers or Vanes
 

I plan on swithcing to feathers.Those of you using the EZ crest wraps what kind of fletching glue do you use?Can you refletch the arrows without removing the wraps?I would like to use them to make refletching carbons a little easier if they will stay on when you remove the feathers.Anyone use fletching tape for feathers?

Thanks,
CB

WHACKEM N STACKEM

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RE: Feathers or Vanes
 

I recently fletched up a dozen feathered arrows out of curiosity. They definitely cost more and aren't as durable as vanes. I haven't had much time to compare accuracy yet, but they make more noise in flight. Not sure if it's enough to spook game, however.

Never trust a bow under 40 (inches).

RE: Feathers or Vanes
 

With the high humidity and dew every morning, rain every afternoon the way it is in Florida, I use vanes.

FOOLPROOF?
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What if the &quot;Hokey Pokey&quot; really is what it's all about?

RE: Feathers or Vanes
 

Cajun, I use the fletching tape on feathers and won't willingly use anything else. It's the best thing they came up with since the fletching jig. <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle> It's the best to use with the wraps because you can peel the old feathers off without messing up the wraps. The wraps won't stand up to scraping glue off the arrow.

BTM, you say the feathers aren't durable as vanes. What problems have you had with the feathers? Maybe someone can help you get longer wear out of them. Sometimes all it takes is a few seconds over the spout of a steaming tea pot or pan of boiling water to make them good as new. The noise subsides when the arrows have been shot enough to soften the feathers up.

RE: Feathers or Vanes
 

A.P. I was hoping I would'nt have to go slumming on the tradional board to get a reply.:)I'm looking forward to trying the tape with the wraps.I saw a post on another board about a guy who made his own wraps using bumper sticker paper for inkjet printers.I allways hated re-fletching carbon arrows.I think tape and feathers might be the ticket.Which waterproofing compound works best?I've got some of the powder type,but never used it.

CB

WHACKEM N STACKEM

Edited by - CAJUNBOWHNTR on 02/03/2003 20:09:40

RE: Feathers or Vanes
 

I used to use the cheapest hair spray I could find for waterproofing. White Rain was really good. Then I started using Scotchguard spray. I'll be sunk when I run out of the stash I put up when I heard the EPA was getting it taken off the market. I've never used any of the specialty feather treatments, so I can't answer that question. I've heard the only problem with the powder is that it can be pretty messy.

RE: Feathers or Vanes
 

I like feathers! I here people say vanes are more durable and I look at the feathers they're shooting and they are wavey and one or two might have a hole in them. I like feathers, I feel I get more consistant arrow flight, they're faster in my shooting range (under 30 yards) and they last along time. I shoot 4&quot; feathers. My color chioce is 1 solid chartruese and 2 chartruese barred feathers.

PRACTICE....PRACTICE....PRACTICE......SUCCESS!

RE: Feathers or Vanes
 

I like feathers. They're just KOOL.<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle> To me, a beat up old feather will still fly better than a torn up vane. Water proofing is a concern, but it's not an impossibility. I usually shoot 2 white and either a blue or pink. Real men can use pink.<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle> With the carbons, depending on rest set up, clearance can sometimes be a problem. A feather will be a little more forgiving if you get a little brush of the rest or something. My Muzzy Zero eliminates that worry.

RE: Feathers or Vanes
 

I've always used Gateway feathers and never seen a need to switch. I like using 1/white 2/blk,white barred and a white nock on black Goldtips.

RE: Feathers or Vanes
 

Great David, I am really glad to here that real men can use pink feathers cause I've had some in my box for over a year, always thought I would be able to see them better in the brush from the tree but didn't think real men could show up with pink feathers. Next time I refletch I'm thinking two pinks and a yellow:)