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    Vanes Off The Shelf?

    I'm thinking it might be nice to have some waterproof arrows. I'm hoping Rick will chime in since he uses vanes, but I'm open to all advice. Who here shoots, or has shot, vanes from your trad bow?

    What vanes work best for a non ILF recurve (softer, maybe)? What tuning tricks do I need to know? And how forgiving are they of a bad release? Less so? Is that a non issue with proper tuning?

    #2
    Rick is the man on vanes.

    Gary

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      #3
      Some folks have good enough consistent form to shoot vanes off the shelf I do not.


      Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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        #4
        Malachi, there's only one trick to getting vanes to shoot off the shelf.

        That trick is - You have to get the arrow high enough to completely clear your hand & any part of the shelf during pass. Feathers forgive a little contact. If a vanes touches anything during pass it's not forgiving at all.

        To do that:

        (1) If you have a relatively narrow shelf, then simply placing about a 1/4 to 3/8 inch hump to raise the arrow that much will generally work. If it's a wide shelf, then you're going to have to go up 1/2 to 5/8 inch, or more.

        Examples:
        (a) My narrow shelf BW recurves only needed a 1/4 to 3/8 inch hump.

        (b) My wide shelf ILF rigs have to have at least 1/2", so I just go ahead on up to the bottom of the berger button hole, and if your bow has a berger button hole, it's conducive to go to it for some added tuning possibilities if needed.

        (2) Shoot cock vane "IN" at 90 degrees to the strike plate. This actually holds true for any fletching shot off the shelf. Cock fletch "IN" gives the absolute best clearance possible for shooting off the shelf provided your tune is correct.

        Outside of that, it's just a matter of getting it tuned to shoot just like any other setup.

        Vanes do not create as much drag on the arrow, so they will not compensate as well as feathers for being out of tune, or for breakdowns in form.
        But, it isn't as critical as some might think, again provided your tune is correct.

        Hope that helps.

        Rick

        EDIT:
        Yes softer more flexible vanes help a lot, but aren't an absolute necessity.
        The softer more flexible vanes really just help to be a little more forgiving when your form breaks down, such as a plucked release.

        I use the Marco Soft Vanes from Mullen sales. They aren't the softest vanes out there, but not the stiffest either.
        Last edited by RickBarbee; 03-04-2019, 06:34 PM.

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          #5
          Malachi...Ive got some inherited 340 Easton Axis FMJs Ive been wondering about tuning...Ill have to front load the pookey out of them. They are already fletched with blazers and some wraps. I got to wondering if I could give myself some more margin of for error by takin a razor blade to the vanes and making blazer rubber feathered vanes.

          300 grain heads...here I come.

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            #6
            P.S.

            If I knew the bow you are wanting to do it with, or better yet could see some pictures, and measurements from the grip throat to the height of the flat part of the sight window, it might help me to point you in the right direction for how much lift from the shelf you need.

            Rick

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              #7


              Foolin around. Top right. Different arrows. Interesting to see the paradox through the paper.

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                #8
                Originally posted by Briar Friar View Post
                Malachi...Ive got some inherited 340 Easton Axis FMJs Ive been wondering about tuning...Ill have to front load the pookey out of them. They are already fletched with blazers and some wraps. I got to wondering if I could give myself some more margin of for error by takin a razor blade to the vanes and making blazer rubber feathered vanes.

                300 grain heads...here I come.
                No.

                It'll just make them flutter, and won't benefit you at all.

                I've even tried the Bi-Delta "Rain Vanes", and some others created to try to be more like feathers. I didn't like them at all. My standard medium soft vanes work 1000 times better.

                Rick

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                  #9
                  Rick I purchased a Black Hunter longbow and it has a significant crest on the shelf. I thought about trying vanes off of it.

                  Gary

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                    #10
                    Originally posted by DRT View Post
                    Rick I purchased a Black Hunter longbow and it has a significant crest on the shelf. I thought about trying vanes off of it.

                    Gary
                    Those are nice little bows, but the crested shelf alone isn't going to do the trick.

                    They still have a fairly wide shelf, so you're likely going to need 1/2 inch, or more of arrow lift to do it.

                    Rick

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                      #11
                      Maybe I'm just lucky, but I got some Beman Porkchops 340s with vanes, and they flew fine with no tuning required after adding the 300-grain tips. Cock vane out, btw. Nock point is fairly high. That may help.

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                        #12
                        Yeah, nah. Feathers work fine for me.[emoji16]

                        Gary

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                          #13
                          Originally posted by RickBarbee View Post
                          P.S.

                          If I knew the bow you are wanting to do it with, or better yet could see some pictures, and measurements from the grip throat to the height of the flat part of the sight window, it might help me to point you in the right direction for how much lift from the shelf you need.

                          Rick
                          The bow in question is a Toelke SS recurve. I can't get a good closeup picture right now as it is in Montana at the moment for some 'fixin of da stupid'.

                          I do know the shelf is real close to the hand, but is also narrow. Thanks for the help Rick!

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                            #14
                            I’ll say first off I’m a feather shooter, I don’t see that changing. However, I was shooting a bob lee one piece recurve at one point, and was staying at a buddies place in OK one weekend. Short version is my quiver got left in a bow shop and didn’t realize until after they closed and we were shooting that evening. Since I didn’t have a single arrow I was bored. Finally grabbed a few of my buddies Easton fat boys with blazer vanes. Off the shelf I knew it was going to be terrible, but it was better than not shooting. They flew absolutely perfect. Makes no sense, but it worked great. So before I went through a hassle if I wanted to shoot vanes I would shoot them and see what happen first. Sometimes you don’t want to overthink it. I would expect to have to do something, but I didn’t for those.
                            B

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                              #15
                              I much prefer the look of feathers as apposed to vanes. If anyone ever comes out with a vane, that truly looks like feathers I'll be all over them like stink on poop.

                              That said - if you ever get the hang of shooting vanes off the shelf, then realize just how much more durable, and consistent they are, plus how much quieter in flight they are - you'll never want to use anything else.

                              Rick

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