Unless the powders or sprays have gottin better I hated feathers in the rain, they would shrink right up tight agaist the shaft,and were even worse if you were walking near a corn field or tall weeds and brushing up against it.. I will stick to blazers for now.. I will agree they look cooler but they are much louder.. Walt
I had no idea...I want to scrape my dang vanes off right now! Feathers do look cooler - and since I typically only shoot with broadheads - I'd love the extra stability. Only problem is I've never had to refletch a vane on a carbon arrow (guess they are durable)...how do you effectively get vanes off of carbon without damaging the carbon? Might have to wait until next season at this point...
Matt, Norway (maker of the Duravane) makes a cool little product called a Zip Strip that's really cheap... if you want to go even cheaper, I've heard you can buy utility knives with a little half-circle cutout that should work just as well. If you do happen to gouge the carbon a little, I've found that sanding it out works extremely well.
Another huge benefit of feathers is you can use feather fletch tape. When you need to change a fletch you just pull the feather off and rub off any residual sticky with your thumb, wipe down with some denatured alc and you are ready. That makes it super easy to replace just one fletch .
more questions: -What type of rest do you shoot with your feathers (does something like the Hostage Pro tear them up?) -4 or 5 inch vanes for those with carbons out of a compound? -Helical or None?
Absolutely. TF has bases I prefer. Not to thick and a fairly even width along the whole feather. Gateway has width problems and MeanV has thick bases. It is all preference but I prefer a thinner base and even width that molds itself to my shaft. I get a better offset helical, IMO
The HP should bother feathers. I prefer 4" parabolic Offset helical is my preference but helical for sure.
I shoot a dropaway not because I shoot feathers, but because it gives me a chance to shoot as hard a helical as I can -- so there's two of your questions answered right there. Like Bruce, I actually fletch both offset AND helical. I've found 4" feathers to be plenty adequate, because of feathers' inherent ability to do SUCH a good job of stabilizing in flight. I too get mine in parabolic, and always RH (right-hand).
Jeff, If you've never notice feathers are louder than plastic vane fletching, then you've never shot them side by side out of the same bow. Granted, for a trade bow, feathers are really the ONLY way to go, but for my set-up, a full-length 4" vane does what I want/need it to. No reason to argue with people, and when you're in someplace like Michigan or Minnesota, and those feather get wet, and then FREEZE, they're not going to be an overly good choice.
You got that right brother! The bases on the Gateway feathers I have been using are way to thick for my liking. I've got enough GW feathers to do 6 more arrows then I'm making the switch to TF.
I shoot Beman ICS Hunter 340's with either standard offset vanes or with helical feathers. My preference: FEATHERS! :D ...and I still use an old NAP Quiktune 1000 prong rest. The feathered Beman's still fly perfectly straight with zero problems. Feathers Better speed Better accuracy A little more FOC ...and they're cool!
Feathers for sure on the stickbow, but I personally think you are splitting hairs worrying about feathers vs vanes on a compound.
I've hunted in all kinds of foul weather in Michigan and Wisconsin and yet to have my feathers freeze. I personally don't see it as an issue! I hope I didn't just jinx myself! :D
Feathers are bad. Noisy, expensive, melt when wet, made from innocent turkeys, fragile, spread bird flu and will kick your dog when you're not looking. I use 'em but I'm a glutton for punishment.
I like the way my feathers get all matted down after they pass thru the animal I just shot! Now thats awesome!
Actually,the meanV bases are the smallest most consistant bases I have seen.Not arguing which is better because I actually think the bases are to thin on MeanV feathers.I am holding the 2 in front of me right now.Maybe things have or did change on the bases but the ones I have are smaller. I do prefer Tru Flight as well but the MeanV feather is a good feather,especially for the price. As far as the noise factor,here is a video of old damaged feathers which everyone knows are noisy. The camera is actually in front of the target so you do hear it go over the camera. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fA2twAYOCV8
I got some when he first started selling them and they were about twice the thickness of the TF's. I am guess they have changed since then.
I got mine last season.Maybe they are inconsistant from batch to batch but for the price,they are hard to beat.I actually have 2 tru flight and 1 MeanV on my arrows this year and they are doing great.
I don't know? Why doesn't everyone shoot vanes? Honestly, the brand of arrow I shoot typically just comes with vanes so that is what I use. They work for me so why should I switch to feathers?
