fido dog, I don't have any pics currently of my personal bows with feather rests. I plan to take some of a longbow I just finished so perhaps I'll take a few of my old boys that sport feather rests and share them. I just recently re-finished an older Howatt Hi Speed that looks great and shoots great with a FR.

I've never shot or owned any arrows with vanes so I can't answer how they'll shoot.

If you're interested in getting a couple of really nice feather rests to try out you should contact Daryl Damron on here. He goes by the handle TRAP. He makes a mighty fine feather rest at a reasonable price.

Good luck
Dave

Hatrick, I'd appreciate some pics to see what they look like.

Jovan...

I recently put elevated rests on one of my two recurves and liked it so well I put one on the other one too.

Shoot much better with them.

Fido,

You can find pictures of TRAPs feather rests in the sponsors classifieds.  There was a how to on making them on here about a year ago, try a search.

I got some of Trap's Feather rests at last years auction---and ------ I      am very impressed with the quality of workmanship and their durability.    Elf.

If planning to shoot at a 3d that does not allow a rest I will setup a recurve to shoot off the shelf.For a hunting bow if it is cut deep enough it will get a rest of some sorts.A simple stick on bear or hoyt rest is a lot better than no rest at all.I hunt with light bows compared to many and also shoot large broadheads.I want perfect arrow flight every time.A rest insures that and allows for easy tuning. jmo

In the early 80's when I shot a wheel bow I used a Hoyt pro-rest and shot vanes. They shot good.
Like James, I am shooting bows in the low to mid 40's and don't want to waste any energy on wobbling arrows. I have shot off the shelf for years but have to continually fuss with it to get good arrows flight. Just last week I put a rest back on an old Shakespeare Kaibab and it made a world of difference. Day before yesterday I put a trimmed brush rest on my Bob Lee and now it shoots 2016, 1916, LW, RW, cock feather in, or cock feather out equally well. I used to have to worry about getting the feathers indexed just right to clear the shelf..Now I just shoot.

fido..... most likely the vanes won't shoot worth a hoot off of a shelf mounted feather rest.
It's a bow interference thing.

If you want good flight with vanes go with the suggestions George gave.

What happens to a feather rest in the rain?

See what the flight looks like. Personally, if I am happy with the flight without an elevated rest, I'd prefer to go that route. However, I have a few recurves that shoot better with the elevated rest. I prefer the Bear flipper and I cut the bottom down a bit to get it close to the rest as possible.

I don't care for vanes in either scenerio though.

Joe- I honestly believe that an elevated rest is the way to go so far as optimizing your bow/arrow performance goes. I don't use them for reasons too vague to get into here, but folks I know and have known who kill a bunch of Stuff ( Paul Shaffer and Barry Wensel) have used them to great effect. Both Paul and Barry use the "Weatherest" type and cut it down on the botton (about 1/3") and it works great and gives you the option of vanes or feathers. Paul S. shot vanes exclusively and you would be hard-pressed to find a more complete archer/hunter. Grant

Thanks for all the feedback

David... I've hunted with a feather rest quite a bit and find that they are surprisingly rugged. A good treatment with a waterproofing agent helps a lot.