Vanes or feathers?

[OGG]

I heard (read?) someplace long ago that if you shoot a recurve "off the shelf" you need to shoot feathers to achieve accuracy.  That vanes kick the arrow too hard away from the riser and shelf.  Any truth to this?  I'd like to know before I sink a gazillion dollars into feathers OR vanes.  Vanes for sure are a bunch less expensive.  Duane

[mscampbell75]

YES its true!  Feathers is the way to go off the shelf!

[seabass]

i second that mscampbell75.vanes must be shot off an elevated rest.feathers are cooler anyway.lots of luck,steve

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Third!  I have shot Vanes off a shelf and did ok. I shoot feathers better!

[Night Wing]

Elevated rests are needed for vanes. Feathers are more forgiving than vanes anyway. Faster recovery time in my opinion.

[Stiks-n-Strings]

Feathers fold up when they go across the shelf and open up again when they clear. Vanes will kick your arrow all over the place off the shelf so you nee to shoot them off a rest.

[luvnlongbow]

Yup, feathers for sure off the shelf. And as stated earlier, you can use vanes off an elevated rest.

[motorhead7963]

if you are going to shoot vanes(which are dead quiet)then try out a Bear weather rest. I have outfitted a few bows of mine and will continue to change the rest over to the weather rest. I get excellent flight and my arrows are much quieter!! (now to figure out how to quiet down snuffers)!?

[flycastr]

Feathers are lighter than most vanes, too.  And, there are various products available to make feathers weather-resistant.

[beetlebailey1977]

Feathers all the way