Hey all,
I recently heard about some new fletchings available to TRAD guys and gals. A company is making some plastic fletchings that are supposed to work very well with longbows and recurves.
The company that is selling them is AAE. :deadhorse:
I would like to know if anyone has tried them and if you have, how did they work for you? As they as good, or close, to actual feathers?
Do tell.....please.
Thank you.
Larry
Several posts on other sites.
The question will be how long guys continue to shoot them.
I've added them to my site in smaller lots so people can try them for themselves.
Initial reports have been very positive - some have 1000's of shots on them.
If tune is decent, they have been flying great and impacting with the feathered arrows right of the shelf.
Purchase and experimentation is 100% optional :biglaugh:
I had the opportunity to shoot some a couple weeks ago, Jerry from rmsgear had a batch made up to try out. There was I think five of us that shot them, flew great for all of us, this was using field points, but I can say with much certainty that broadheads would of flown perfect with the flight we were all getting! I still wouldn't want a quiver full of them, but I plan on having a couple arrows in there with them on just for a rainy day!
The way they shoot for me, I can't tear my feathers off fast enough. The vanes are quieter, cheaper, waterproof, fletch better (for me), and fly just as good if not better. I'm not saying I'm walking away from feathers forever, but I'm sold on the vanes for now.
I just bought a dozen at a shoot.
What glue are you using?
I made up one arrow. It shot the same as my regular arrow. I was impressed and will fletch a dozen for this fall. Will still shoot feathers but these vanes just make sense .
Any quickset gel is good. Helical works best.
I used Duco on a GT
Just fletched one up with fletch tite platinum. Took a few shots out of my Hill and it flew true.
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Do you have to prep the base of the vanes before glueing.
No prep needed
I shot them all weekend at the Michigan Traditional Bowhunters Jamboree.
Arrow flight was beautiful. Accuracy was as good as I could shoot.
They shined on the 50-60yd shots. Out to 30yds, point on and flight is the same. But at 60 the vanes arrows maintain velocity longer, impacting 2-3' higher than the feathers using the same point on.
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What amount of helical are you putting on them?
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Impacted higher? How?
Less drag maybe if shorter...
Less spin if straight fletch vs helical...
What size is recommended for broadheads, 4 or 5"? Straight or helical for broadheads?
They fly fine. I'm still not going to use them. They are harder to fletch than feathers or any previous vane. They deform and wrinkle in no time. Seem less durable than feathers.
It's incredibly easy to waterproof feathers. Some camp dry, any other spray silicone, or even hair spray.
Cool idea, but fell short again.
By the way, I've fletched thousands of arrows. Including a bunch that won many tournaments. You really need to tinker with your jig to get these to meet up with the shaft. I am picky though and my standards may be different.
Quote from: KentuckyWolf on June 24, 2019, 11:18:25 PM
Impacted higher? How?
Less drag maybe if shorter...
Less spin if straight fletch vs helical...
Just substantially less drag. The feathers really drop off the table compared to the vanes at distance. 560 vs 565 total arrow weights.
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Quote from: JR Belk on June 25, 2019, 05:53:00 AM
They fly fine. I'm still not going to use them. They are harder to fletch than feathers or any previous vane. They deform and wrinkle in no time. Seem less durable than feathers.
It's incredibly easy to waterproof feathers. Some camp dry, any other spray silicone, or even hair spray.
Cool idea, but fell short again.
By the way, I've fletched thousands of arrows. Including a bunch that won many tournaments. You really need to tinker with your jig to get these to meet up with the shaft. I am picky though and my standards may be different.
They are definitely not easy to fletch. They stick well, but they are flimsy with a real skinny base.
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Quote from: SteveB on June 25, 2019, 08:28:01 AM
Aron Snyder and a few others have 1000's of shots in with them now.
They can wrinkle but it does not seem to affect flight even a bit.
Who's Aaron Snyder?
Quote from: gvdocholiday on June 25, 2019, 02:08:43 PM
Quote from: SteveB on June 25, 2019, 08:28:01 AM
Aron Snyder and a few others have 1000's of shots in with them now.
They can wrinkle but it does not seem to affect flight even a bit.
Who's Aaron Snyder?
The Trad hunter who approached AAE to develop an off the shelve vane.
He has put dozens of animals on the ground with a recurve the last couple years.
Numerous elk and mulies, sheep, goats, antelope, bear including griz, etc.
A good number of these on multi day, backpack wilderness hunts in widely varying weather - the reason he approached them for an alternative fletching not dependant on covering ot treatments to stay dry.
Steve, I took care of your report.
Yeah the wrinkle thing would put me out.
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it's a personal thing, this non-feather fletching thing. back in the 50's and 60's i used plasti-fletch hard vanes, and then flex fletch, spin wings, and kurly fletch, and numerous others vane brands and types who's names are long lost just as those vanes are. none were for hunting, they were mandatory for target, just as they are today for the paper punching games. these "new" vanes are prolly just another passing fad. i'll stick with feather fletches on my hunting sticks. ymmv.
Quote from: Roy from Pa on June 25, 2019, 02:29:09 PM
Steve, I took care of your report.
Thank you Roy and Terry!
Never heard of them, who sells them?
Got some yesterday and fletched up one arrow. I shot it last evening along with my regular arrows and couldn't ell any difference when shooting form 15 -50 yards. I'll be putting some in my quiver for my Oct trip to Kodiak.
Quote from: longbowman on June 27, 2019, 08:09:58 AM
Never heard of them, who sells them?
https://mountainmufflerstrings.com/t/fletchings
You guys realize these we mainly developed for guys hunting back country and extended hunts in extremely wet environments. Not really for the everyday just shooting stuff. Feathers are still better there.
Has anyone used a Bitzenberger to fletch these vanes?
I've done several doz with mine. Need to be sure the clamp fits tight to the arrow. A couple strokes on the clamp jaws with a file to level it is sometimes needed.
Yes, used the bitz on mine. It wasn't hard, but wasn't as easy as feathers either just because they're not as stiff. No big deal. Used bohning fletch fuse on them and you ain't pullin them off! I don't believe they're something I want to use for every day shooting. But that's just for me. I don't like how they wear and like the feathers better. Glad I tried them though. I do have some gateway batwing samples I got from them I want to try. They look neat and the Hann-bun kuro thing with dual colors also looks cool.
Quote from: SteveB on June 27, 2019, 12:13:29 PM
Quote from: longbowman on June 27, 2019, 08:09:58 AM
Never heard of them, who sells them?
https://mountainmufflerstrings.com/t/fletchings
Steve do you ship over seas? I'd love to try some of these for my next Tahr hunt. Even though my quiver is enclosed and made of pic pipe, after a week of extreme wet and bashing through jungle my fletches, even the ones I havnt used are near destroyed. If they work well would be a good option to have half my arrows set up with these.
Great, thanks. I've got a pack coming to try out and wasn't sure if I should use my Bitz or if I needed a different jig.
Hi!
I'm making a half a dozen poor weather/ high visibility arrows and was thinking I'd ask a few questions first.
Is anyone using arrow wraps with these vanes? Is there something I should consider when using these? What kind of glue are you using?
Quote from: Miikka on August 07, 2019, 04:14:18 AM
Hi!
I'm making a half a dozen poor weather/ high visibility arrows and was thinking I'd ask a few questions first.
Is anyone using arrow wraps with these vanes? Is there something I should consider when using these? What kind of glue are you using?
Wraps work. Use a quick set gel for glue. Do not wipe the base of the vanew or wrap with anything. Helical clamp works best
Quote from: Miikka on August 07, 2019, 04:14:18 AM
Hi!
I'm making a half a dozen poor weather/ high visibility arrows and was thinking I'd ask a few questions first.
Is anyone using arrow wraps with these vanes? Is there something I should consider when using these? What kind of glue are you using?
Yes, I fetched some up to play with when we get snow (next month :goldtooth:). Wraps are fine and like Steve I used a quick set gel with helical on my Bitz. Mine were the 3" and they were fine off the shelf (hit with my 3" feathers) out to 40 yards with hybrids and ILF. I never got around to trying any with my ASL yet as it takes different shafts.
Same here, I used wraps and Gorilla glue gel super glue on my Bitz. They worked great. The base of the vane is very skinny so applying the glue was not very easy, just take your time and they will turn out just fine.
I used AAE's glue and Bitz. You have to make sure your clamp is clean and the clamp base is flat. Use a light file on it and your vanes won't wrinkle when you glue them. I've had great results with them so far in the flight and noise departments.
To me, they seem louder than my feathers.
Quote from: SteveB on June 27, 2019, 07:51:16 AM
Quote from: Roy from Pa on June 25, 2019, 02:29:09 PM
Steve, I took care of your report.
Thank you Roy and Terry!
Why was Snyders name taken out? He's a trad archer that has done great things for the sport and gotten A LOT of people to convert over. Im confused
I have fletched about a dozen now with my helical bitz and wraps. Really impressed with how quiet and fast they are, but I can't comment on durability yet. Impact the same as my feathers but i'm only shooting out to 25 yards at my current range. I was never very good at waterproofing feathers as I didn't like the chemicals involved, so this might be a good option for me at least for this year. Always nice to tinker.
I have a goat hunt coming up and from my scouting experience i've had to deal with wind or rain or sleet most of the time, so something more weatherproof is very welcome.
I fletched up a couple of arrows with the new trad vane and have shot them almost daily beside my feather fletched arrows since they first came out. I find them to be quieter, fly the same and are very durable. I have not experienced the wrinkling that some people here have. I'm very impressed with them and will have several in my quiver when I hunt elk next month.
I've been using Trad Vanes since they were first available and have taken them on 2 hunts so far. I hunt in a lot of wet weather and was really excited about these initially but, overall, my results have been mixed and I'm sticking with feathers for now for most of what I do.
For reference, I've shot them out of a number of longbows and recurves, mostly my wooden Morrison ILF riser, Big Jim Thunderchild and Black Widow PLX. I've been hunting exclusively with trad bows in Alaska for almost 30 years.
I've been playing with the Valkyrie system so most testing has been using micro diameter shafting.
Fletching: I used both a Bitzenberger and AAE mini max in both 3 and 4 fletch configurations. I used 3" full length and also some 4" that I cut down on the back to 3" AH shape. I found that I needed more glue than I usually use with feathers and initially had a lot of issues with the trad vanes falling off or coming partially loose after lots of shooting. Using more copious glue (AAE glue) helped but I still don't find that they stick as well as feather especially when stuffed in a pack for multi days and when repeatedly dragged through the alders and brush.
Target shooting: I shoot exclusively off the shelf and found the trad vanes more sensitive to bow tune and to feather tune relative to the shelf vs feathers of the same size and configuration. Grouping was pretty good overall relative to feathers but much more sensitive to release errors or swapping to other bows to which they weren't tuned.
Broadheads: I shoot a mix of valkyrie Jagers and a variety of single bevel 2 blade heads. As above, the trad vanes seemed more inconsistent and more affected by any issues related to tune or release from shot to shot.
Hunting: I kept a few in my quiver during my deer and goat hunts in August but never shot one at an animal, instead opting for my feathered arrows, even in rainy weather when I shot my billy.
Durability: this is probably my biggest issue. I don't mind the wrinkling but they just don't seem to hold up. I'll try to enclose some photos but these things just haven't done well for me. they tear easily and compared to the identical shafts with feathers that have been in my rotation for the same time (I shoot every day all year) the trad vanes have fallen apart while the true-flights still look pretty good.
Overall, I'm disappointed. On average I spend 40-50 days per year on wilderness bow hunts in Alaska and had high hopes for these. It's wet up here and I like the concept a lot. I'll probably keep one in my quiver on my upcoming hunts this year just to see how they hold up and in case I find my feathers thoroughly soaked but I'm pretty sure I'll be sticking with feathers for the shots that count.
Skook,
Great review! Looks like you have put them to the test up there. I'm like you, I'm gonna keep one in the quiver but probably continue to use feathers. I do LOVE the idea of having the vane in there just Incase of a downpour and matted feathers.