Roseaukaine

OK-OK, I know this subject has been beaten to death, but I want to know what you guys use for hunting. I have 18 gold tip xt' s- 8 feathers and 10 vanes, and it seems that the vanes are sooooo much quieter and tougher than feathers. I do find that the feathers are more " forgiving" , but after they are shot a few times, that hisssssssss traveling towards the target seems like it would create its own set of problems when hunting. Also, I have only had to get 2 vanes replaced, and my feathers get replaced at least every other week (I shoot once a day). Another factor is the clearance on my string. The vanes clear my string with no problem, but sometimes I have to stroke the feathers towards the nock to align them again before I shoot. Should I keep the feathers for 3d, and save the vanes for hunting, or should I just go with the same for all the arrows?

hunter9022

I shot vanes for a while, but once i switched to feathers i realized what i was missing. Yes, vanes are quieter, durable, waterproof, and cheaper. But, feathers are more accurate, stabalize better, lighter, and can be as good as vanes. Feathers can be shot wet. There not as good, but they can be. Plus, they make stuff now to make them just as waterproof. They will stablize an arrow much much MUCH faster than a vane, and give you more forgiveness if your arrow contacts the rest. They cause drag which keeps them going straighter. As for durability, i rarely have to replace my feathers and i also shoot at least 50 to 60 arrows a day at the least. Dont shoot your arrows so close together!(lol, just kidding) You may try shooting at different targets though. As for the noise. Stand down range and have someone shoot a feather fletched with vanes and one with feathers. You cant hear the arrow till it goes past you. And, even then the vanes sound like little darts flying by. Feathers have more of a woosh. It all comes down to a preference for one thing or the other. I personally will stay with feathers.

Another point to consider, feathers are just neater lookin.

Rack-attack

I don' t think vanes are any more durable than feathers, in fact i think the opposite.

But don' t listen to me. I am a complete mess

mlaubner

I only shoot vanes for both targets and hunting...mostly for consistency.
I use the same bow and arrows for both. I shoot Hunter Class.
The reason for me is simple...feathers WILL get heaver in damp/wet conditions. This has to change your F.O.C. on your arrows. How can that be accurate?
Vanes come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors to match up to any shooting condition. (I biuld my own arrows).
Feathers are great for indoor targets/3-D, but for me, I do not want to keep changing my gang adjustments for different arrows or maybe forget to change...basically just a hassle.

c903

Have you ever seen a bird with plastic feathers?

Feathers are much lighter, faster than vanes up to 40-50 yards, stabilize arrows much faster and much better, and I have never had serious problems when the fletch became damp or wet. The moisture proofing powder does a fantastic job.

Videoed and chrono tests show that feather begans to stabilize the shaft as soon as the shaft disconnects from the string. Vanes did not start to stabilize for the first 7-8 feet after leaving the bow. Also, tests show that a feathered fletched arrow leaves the bow 26fps to 28fps faster than a vaned arrow.

Vanes develop memory and become bent, torn, and dog-eared. You get a slice in a vane and your arrow flight is affected, You lose some quills in a feather, your shaft will still fly good.

It has also been proven that soft vanes are the worse and begin to bend in flight.

Most of all, vanes shooters will have many more clearance problems then I will with feathers. Try to shoot a vane off of a shelf type of rest, then shoot a feather fletched arrow.

I tried vanes one time and have never had so many inconsistent flight problems.

I have never had the " hissing" or noise problems that some say occur. Most likely, the fletch was helical. I fletch with a 1-degree offeset.

mlaubner

c903,
I do not want to start anything, but...

We are not shooting birds off of our bows...we are shooting arrows.

Feathers are lighter, but do not retain the speed down range that you claim. In fact vanes retain more speed down range as feather create more drag. Feathers are faster out to maybe the 20-30 yd range...but vanes have an edge after that.
Dri-fletch only lasts a few shots before you need to re-apply it...and it' s expensive!

If your vanes develop " memory" you can simple dip them in hot water to straighten them out.

I also have to believe that the shooters in this forum are not shooting off the shelf, but rather with some form of a rest. Those shooters would probably be posting in the " Traditional" forum.

All that being said...both have their advantages/disadvantages.
I suppose we' ll have to agree to disagree.

BobCo19-65

I use vanes on my compound and feathers on my longbow. I must say that I like the more silent flight of vanes as oposed to feathers, and would use them on my longbow if I could. I also do a lot of my hunting in the rain and the vanes are much more convenient.

Arthur P

I' d only use vanes on my hunting arrows if I intend to hunt in a steady, soaking, day-long rain... which I don' t do any more. I have shot tournaments in steady, soaking, day-long rain with feather-fletched arrows and have gotten lower than average scores, but that was more the result of shooting in miserable conditions than wet feathers. I' ve shot lower than average scores in the same conditions with vanes.

If I get a good deal, I' ll buy arrows fletched with vanes and shoot them until they get shot up, which (fortunately) doesn' t take very long at all. Then I refletch with feathers.

I' m like Rack-Attack on the durability thing. The shooting I do, and the people I shoot with, I' d have to be able to buy vanes and glue at wholesale prices to be able to afford to keep my arrows fletched. Feathers outlast vanes 10 to 1. I' ve got arrows that have been wearing the same feathers for several years. Beat up feathers can be rejuvenated by passing them over the spout of a steaming teapot or over a pot of boiling water. You don' t have to replace them when they get ruffled. In fact, you' re throwing good feathers in the trash and wasting money if you do. Of course, it' s your money to waste.

Noise. High profile feathers fletched in a tight helical will usually be noisy (and are also probably the source of the drag myth). A light helical or small offset goes a long way to being much quieter. After a few weeks of shooting, feathers soften up and are quiet as a mouse.

It' s a flat out fact that feathers are lighter and, so, are a tiny bit faster than vanes over typical hunting yardages. I don' t personally know a lot of folks that shoot at deer past 60 yards. That' s the distance I start seeing noticeable difference in point of impact between vane fletched and feather fletched arrows. For all practical purposes, speed comparison between feathers and vanes is a non-issue, IMO.

There are good waterproofing agents on the market and, yes, they do have to be reapplied after an arrow has been shot a bit. But you' re not likely to be shooting the same arrow over and over again on a hunt. Actually, I just spray my feathers with Scotchguard the night before I go out if there' s a chance of getting wet.

Some REAL benefits of feathers. The lighter weight gives you better FOC for better stability. Beat up feathers fly better and quieter than beat up vanes. Feathers give similar broadhead control with less surface area than vanes (4" feathers control just as well as 5" vanes). Feathers give better forgiveness of any accidental fletching contact, on the rest or on sticks and twigs downrange.

If you' re shooting feathers instead of vanes for 3D, then you have to be doing it for a reason. For better better accuracy and better scores, I assume? Same thing applies in the deer woods.

But if you' re in a situation like BobCo, where most of your hunting is in the wet, then vanes would be more convenient.

BobCo19-65

I can' t argue with you Artur and Rat attack, I have found the feathers to be much more durable. I have had chunks taken out of feathers, and they still fly great. I can' t say though that I have ever had a feather shoot as quiet as a vane. May be a fluke thing for me. I have had a bad experience with feathers though a few years back that made me go with vanes pretty much exclusively with my compound. I was hunting in snow, the kind that you have to keep brushing off everythng (that is another condition that I hunt in often, snow, freezing rain, etc). Anyway, I had the water proffing stuff on the feathers, but the snow kept landing and staying on the feather. To make a long story short, I took a stump shot out of my stand to see what kind of flight I got. I ended up packing in for the day because I was so upset with the result. I just can' t bring myself to have to use plastic baggys etc.

Roseaukaine

I didn' t realize that feathers could be relied upon when there is a chunk missing out of them. That is the main reason I refletch them - not because they are grossly inaccurate, but because they don' t look as pretty as the others[:-]. I do have a 4 degree helical on the feathers (1 degree on the vanes), and that might explain the noise (and the broken knocks on the feathered arrows) Personally, I prefer my feathers over my vanes. Looks like I will just keep a couple of vanes ready for hunting in inclement conditions, and spray the others with scotch guard (good tip)!!