# Bohning blazer vanes arrows on a recurve? Yes? no?



## sandperson0 (Mar 16, 2015)

As a beginner, I don't think it matters. Both my friend and I shoot Victory V3's with blazers on them just fine.

I have noticed a lot more traditional shooters in the south bay though, so maybe there's just a bias towards feathers.


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## chrstphr (Nov 23, 2005)

Why punish a new archer with a bad release with clearance problems? Feathers are much more forgiving
. 
Shop does not have my vote. Sounds like an excuse to sell arrows that are for adults.
Chris


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## limbwalker (Sep 26, 2003)

Feathers are expensive and harder to fletch than blazers. Take more glue too.


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## dmacey (Mar 27, 2015)

IMO, our hunter-gatherer ancestors from prehistory got it right when they came up with the stick-with-a-string-on-it that launches another stick on-end at an animal: feathers have been the best way to stabilize the flight of an arrow for 1000's of years and they still are.

I still use huge 4" feathers on my ACC's for my recurve, since I'm not good enough yet for much more than a rough tune to do me any good at the target. On my goldtips for my compound, I'm still using 3" feathers since they're lighter and do give me a slight edge over vanes when I make a mistake. And I don't see a drag-induced difference until after about 50 yards.

As for Blazers, truth is I don't like them at all and don't really grok the big fuss about them. I don't know exactly why, but they just seem to penalize me at the target more vs, say, parabolic Easton vanes. 

So I would agree that feathers are the best thing to default to for beginners or for when you just have a bad tune that you don't want to mess around with for one reason or another...

DM


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## dchan (Jun 29, 2004)

limbwalker said:


> Feathers are expensive and harder to fletch than blazers. Take more glue too.


This. +1

Beginners buying first set of arrows? Add up to a dollar more per arrow. Many are already in shock at the cost of arrows.


Then getting re fletched because they got wet or mangled. one of the local shops charges 5.00 and will only do all three, not just the damaged one. I would not be surprised if some charge more now. 

If they are shooting off a shelf, then feathers are almost a must but properly selected spine arrows (read close enough) for beginners should clear the riser.

Our club used to use feathers. Couple of years ago we switched to carbon impact super clubs with vanes. My fletching time for repairs went from an hr or 2 per week repairing arrows to about 5-10 min per month! They are durable and fly fine when the spine match is relatively good. (With in 3 spine groups) We never looked back.


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## RickBac (Sep 18, 2011)

Blazers are fine for a beginner.

I have never been a fan of feathers. If I buy a bag of feathers, half are unusable due to poor quality control. A new archer trying to deal with this can be frustrating.

If you don't like blazers, talk to the shop about AAE Plastifletch or Bohning Impulse.


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## Last_Bastion (Dec 5, 2013)

I say feathers over blazers. Heck, I'd rather only shoot bare - shafts than blazers. At the beginner level, you can beat the hell out of feathers and they'll still work fine, but blazer vanes will cause clearance issues most of the time and aren't worth it. If they're set on using vanes, there are better options out there than blazer... I'm a fan of AAA Wav, if I'm not using my spin vanes


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## erose (Aug 12, 2014)

The biggest thing in my opinion is clearance. As long as the arrow is clearing and the vane isn't negatively impacting the flight of the arrow, you are good. Me I use Vane-Tec vanes, which fly pretty good for new-be's and they are low profile enough that as long as the nock is index correctly clearance isn't going to be an issue. No only that they are only $10.00 per 100! So they are cheap.


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## rharper (Apr 30, 2012)

My vote is feathers for beginners in recurve. If they are just shooting indoors or shorter range outdoors, I keep them on feathers. Once they move out longer or really are not beginners anymore, I move them to a "elivane" type fletch.

I understand the quality issue for sure but for those more experienced that I have seen, they pick through the bag to get the best ones that look good and have equal sized bases.


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## Astroguy (Oct 11, 2013)

I think this is personal choice. A good nock rotation on a plunger and button 1st. Then use what fletching is needed for the archers skill level and arrow size. 

When I did not use feathers , Flex Fletch low profile or parabolic were what I chose when a more durable vane was needed. Soft bales don't do feathers any good at all after pulling them through.

Where you shoot is important when making a choice. Its no fun refletching most of your arrows after a shoot because of a poorly maintained club. 

If your not shooting through, get what better shooters choose use for their choice of their archery gear. Don't overlook Spin Wings. They have great control on a small light size. 

Using Blazers on my compound and 4" feathers on my recurve's indoor setup.


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## limbwalker (Sep 26, 2003)

Feathers are remarkably durable. I prefer them for my youngest archers for this reason.


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## Mulcade (Aug 31, 2007)

Blazers are just too darn expensive. Get some of the various types of AAE vanes, instead. Just as durable and cost much less.


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## Rick McKinney (Mar 4, 2008)

Feathers are the most forgiving and best for beginning archers. Use a helical jig if possible to get the best spin on the arrow which helps a lot. If you go to rubber vanes, go with a lower profile than a Blazer. The reason for the popularity of the Blazer is it's higher profile which works great to stabilize the broadheads. However, for target archers, it may not be the best. The clearance issue becomes a huge factor. Go with the lower profiles out there, whether it be Flex Fletch, AAE, DuraVane, Boning or others. 

One of the reasons that the feathers work so well is that they move out of the way as they pass the arrow rest. And since their profile is high, they help stabilize the arrow flight. Great beginning fletch. May be a bit higher maintenance but at least the archer will get better results.


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## Snowriter (Jul 24, 2015)

I use VaneTech Swift Vanes (2.25 in) on my recurve arrows. They fly great, they are cheap, and easy to fletch.


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