Arrows Vanes!!

choizeno

FNG
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Sep 13, 2021
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Aloha all!

I am back again with another question lol, I pulled the trigger on what arrows I wanted to shoot and went with the black eagle rampages in the 250 spine.

Now on to the vanes! Prior to this, I've always had the archery shop glue all my vanes (straight back) but I've decided to build my arrows including squaring the arrows, gluing inserts, as well as gluing the vanes.

With so much options out there (helical, straight, offset), and the type of vanes, what do you guys recommend the most?

Shooting a 80# hoyt ventum @30" draw.
 

7-Pointers

Lil-Rokslider
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Aug 22, 2014
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Fwiw, 3 degree offset, widely referred to as three degree helical, seems to be the best combustion of flight correction for broad heads and speed retention in most of the internet studies I’ve read when using blazer vanes. I also match the direction of twist, left or right, the the natural direction of my shaft twist leaving the bow.
 

WCB

WKR
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Jun 12, 2019
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I also go Helical- I have tried a few different vanes and just keep coming back to Blazers
 
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I've mostly shot three 2" Blazers at 3° right offset but have lately been experimenting with four longer, lower profile vanes.

Don't stress too much over your vane decision. There's no definitive right answer; it's all guess work so just pick something and try it out. The greater the surface area of your broadhead, the more drag you need to create with your fletching to counteract the planing tendency of the head. Number of vanes and their height/length/angle all affect drag, and it's better to have too much than too little but there's no way to really know how much is enough other than trial and error. If your broadheads group poorly, it may be due to insufficient fletching drag.

Unless you're building target arrows, don't fletch them straight; you want to induce some rotation if you're shooting broadheads. Offset vs. helical refers to the shape of the clamp used to mount the vanes, and both methods result in a vane that follows a helical path around the arrow. A "helical" clamp typically yields vanes at a greater helix angle (usually 4-6°) than a straight clamp oriented at an "offset" (usually 1-3°).

I don't think "clocking" your arrows to determine natural rotation direction is worth the effort. If you're shooting single bevel broadheads, you'll want the bevel direction to match the vane direction, but other than that right vs. left doesn't matter.
 

Marble

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Pick a good vane that won't make contact, offset your clamp, follow instructions for applying to arrow if provided and take your time.

Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk
 

jt4

WKR
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Dec 11, 2018
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You’re gonna get as many answers as there are options, so I’ll throw in my vote for 2” rayzr feathers. I think they’re more forgiving than vanes and seem to stick every bit as good if not better to my rampage 250s.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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Listening to a podacst with Dudley and Snyder they talked about arrow building. Sorry i forget which nock on episode as it was an older one but i took notes and what i gathered is you should take a few different vane styles to experiment and see how they group for you. So fletch three arrows one way and three another way, and with different types and 3 vs 4 fletch etc and shoot them a lot and see if one set groups better. Its more trial and error for you and your bow and arrow setup.

I say for me, i dont notice any major differences until ive been shooting over a week with some sets. Blazers 3 fletch just seem to work best for me with field points. Flex Fletch 3” 3 fletch 3 degree helical with an offset work best for broad heads for me.

In That podcast they also ranked factors important to arrow building and vanes were like middle of list. Arrow spine and arrow straightness were the top priority. FOC was near the bottom. But they also mentioned durability in the list and i think it was the bottom of priorities but pointed out feathers arent as great when you miles back hunting as they arent as durable as plastic vanes.
 

Zac

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I'd stick to what is known to work. Blazers, and AAE Max Stealths are probably the most popular. 3 or 4 fletch would be fine. Don't be disappointed if you don't get 3 degrees out of most jigs. If you want something that you know has enough stability then 4 fletch at a 1 degree offset is just fine.
 
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Blazers with the aae helical ez fletch will stabilize anything but will be loud. I use the aae max stealths in the ez fletch they seem to do the same job with less noise.
 

5MilesBack

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Over the years I've tested a lot of vanes and in every case my 2" Quickspins have proven the most accurate over any other vane setup I've tried at 60 and 80 yards, with both FP's and BH's. For 4-fletch the Q2i Fusion Xii 2.1" work very well for me. They aren't quite as forgiving out to 80 yards as the QS's but they're still pretty darn good.
 

N2TRKYS

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If you’re using bell curve arrows, it probably doesn’t matter what vanes you use. In that case, just pick whichever one is most pleasing to the eye. The offset/helical is the only thing you can do to the arrow to change the rotation of the arrow in flight. If that’s important to you, then fletch accordingly. However that, like most other arrow tuning tactics, don’t seem to matter for accuracy.

Good luck with your build and have fun.
 
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Button

WKR
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I’ve fletched blazers with helical and now I’m trying AAE hybrids. I’m not a good enough shot to recommend an opinion. Pick something and try it out, that’s what I’m doing.
 

Rrush

FNG
Joined
Oct 7, 2021
Messages
21
Aloha all!

I am back again with another question lol, I pulled the trigger on what arrows I wanted to shoot and went with the black eagle rampages in the 250 spine.

Now on to the vanes! Prior to this, I've always had the archery shop glue all my vanes (straight back) but I've decided to build my arrows including squaring the arrows, gluing inserts, as well as gluing the vanes.

With so much options out there (helical, straight, offset), and the type of vanes, what do you guys recommend the most?

Shooting a 80# hoyt ventum @30" draw.
Really depends on what you're trying to drive- Fixed v. Mechanical...arrow weights


I recently tried AAE hybrids and Max Stealth. Found the Max Stealth to be marginally better shooting in a 4 fletch config on FMJs. Also giving Silent Knights a go this week in a 3 fletch on a lighter arrow.
 

Rrush

FNG
Joined
Oct 7, 2021
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Update - don’t love the Silent Knight 3”- not very durable at all. Arrow is slower than same arrow with a 4 fletch AAE hybrid vane. Going to try Stealths next. Might chrono
 

mortskee

FNG
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Jun 13, 2019
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q2i fusion x-II are my current favorite because they are easy to apply and fly well, using a bitzenburger with left offset
 
Joined
Feb 28, 2016
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I’ve messed with different setups but honestly blazer vanes at a 3 degree helical put on with the bohning tower jig are consistent and accurate. Really like the helical for stabilizing arrows, creates more drag and a slower arrow at long range but not by enough that I’d change them. I have a bitzenburger but that tower jig gets all the work for 3 fletch arrows
 

JNDEER

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buy an Arizona EZ fletch ( I like the true helical version) and whatever vane you prefer. If you want a quiet arrow the AAE Hybrid 26 in 3 fletch is good or like 5Miles said- the Q2i fusion Xii in 2.1 4 fletch has been good to me as well at 30" draw.
 
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