Turkeygirl Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 So I was wondering how do the Blazer vanes compare to regular length vanes? I see alot of people are going to Blazer vanes and I was thinking about new arrows or at least refletching mine with Blazer vanes but was was wondering how well they work? Howm uch of a difference do they make on arrow flight compared to regular vanes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutchies Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Re: Blazer vs. regular vanes The biggest difference is that they are lighter. Make sure your front of center will be fine if you add blazers. What arrows do you shoot, length, and grain tip? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkeygirl Posted January 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Re: Blazer vs. regular vanes I shoot Beman ICS 500, just switched from 125 grain tips to 100 grain tips and they are just over 25 3/4 inches from arrow nock to end of arrow without field tip in). I'm kinda wondering if they are short being that my draw length is at 26" (would be better at 25.5") Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutchies Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Re: Blazer vs. regular vanes They are fine........I shoot a 26 inch arrow and I have a 28 inch drawlength. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutchies Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Re: Blazer vs. regular vanes Your Front of Center is 11.3 now if your arrows are the black model not the camo. If you put blazers on you should consider switching to 75 grain tips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkeygirl Posted January 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Re: Blazer vs. regular vanes Yeah, my arrows are the black version. So stick with the regular vanes. What about if I want to put like wraps on? Will that effect the arrow or arrow flight at all? I'm thinking of getting someone to put some wraps on for me, kinda customize them a little bit. Oh something else I thought of, if/when I did get new arrows, would it make a big impact on my sightsand such if the arrows were cut at 26" since right now the current ones are just over 25 2/4"? Just looking for some input. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Finn Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Re: Blazer vs. regular vanes That 1/4 inch won't make a lick of difference. Put the wraps and blazers on and you'll be happy with your setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutchies Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Re: Blazer vs. regular vanes Yep he is right. If you use wraps and blazers you will be fine. The reason your FOC changed with the blazers is they are alot lighter than most vanes. If you use a wrap the weight will come out the same as before or close. Good advice Finn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkeygirl Posted January 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Re: Blazer vs. regular vanes Ok so switching from regular vanes to wraps and blazers I should be fine regarding everything arrow wise? Is the arrow going to react any differently with new vanes? Of course my whole set-up will have to be readjusted anyway with a new string being put on and string loop and switching to 100 grain tips,lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutchies Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Re: Blazer vs. regular vanes Since you are putting a new string now is the time to make the change. Switching vanes will sometimes make the arrow have a different point of impact. Normally only when moving from a Helical fletch to a straight or offset. If your gonna make the switch do it now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Re: Blazer vs. regular vanes I've found the lighter the arrow shaft the higher the FOC needs to be for good broad head flight. For light carbons 12% is not unreasonable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutchies Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Re: Blazer vs. regular vanes She was at like 13.7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Re: Blazer vs. regular vanes Blazers are supposed to stabilize the arrow better than reg vanes, and improve BH flight. I fletched up some arrows last year with Blazers, and my BH flight was WORSE than what I had with feathers. So guess what, I went BACK to my feathers........... All that with a FOC of just over 13% also........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Re: Blazer vs. regular vanes A higher FOC will reduce the actual spine effectiveness of the shaft you are using. If you are borderline on spine, a higher FOC will mess you up every single time. You may raise your FOC and suddenly find your arrows are underspined. Usually that what's causing the problems not specifically FOC. To get the spine monster under control you usually have to turn your poundage down. Look at the draw weights pro's list on their tournament bows. This is one of the many reasons almost all of them shoot just under max of their setup. They are tuning the bow to their arrows. Not the other way around. Gator, I'd be surprised if the blazers gave you a higher FOC than feathers. I can't tell from your post. Usually Feathers give you the highest FOC. Especially 4" or 3" feathers versus regular blazers (not the minis which can be close to the same). Blazers are a great durable fletching that surpass regular fletchings on performance. But IMO it's darn hard to beat feathers in good condition. Which I believe you have found. Problem is, it's not so easy to keep feathers in good condition. Blazers are a good compromise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator Posted February 1, 2007 Report Share Posted February 1, 2007 Re: Blazer vs. regular vanes Leo, truth be told, not sure what my FOC was with the blazers. I do know that to me, they did not live up to the hype. My POI changed drastically going from feathers to the Blazers, and I just could not live with that, so back to the feathers. My feathers to stay in top notch shape, but then also I can refletch an arrow at any time if need be. Think this ole boy will be shooting feathers for A LONG TIME!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkeygirl Posted February 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2007 Re: Blazer vs. regular vanes So I was asking this on Archery Talk and a guy who I guess helps out alot of people with their bows said this: "Right now it looks like your ICS 500’s are around 357 grains and 10.2% FOC (which is good) …if you switched to blazers you’d need a wrap for sure of at least 10 grains to bring the FOC down. At 46# now, your way over spined , if you can get to 51# that would be perfect spine for this set up with a 100 grain tip. If you go to a 125 grain tip, 46# would be perfect without changing anything but the BH weight. BUT, the FOC would be a tad high at 12.65% with the 4” vanes, and if you go to blazers, it would be way too high of a FOC even with a wrap." Ok, this is all getting way too complicated. My DW is at 46 lbs. right now and if I raise it 1 turn each, I'll go up to 49 lbs. So he's saying my arrows are overspiend for this??? I want to stick with going with the 100 grain tips because those 125 grains were too heavy for my arrows. Maybe I should just stick with 4" vanes, but how would putting wraps on effect the arrows? This is all way too complicated now,lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutchies Posted February 1, 2007 Report Share Posted February 1, 2007 Re: Blazer vs. regular vanes The wraps affect the arrows by adding weight to the tail end of the arrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo Posted February 1, 2007 Report Share Posted February 1, 2007 Re: Blazer vs. regular vanes Almost all archers know and accept the following. Mostly because it's pretty black and white it's right there in every manufacturers arrow charts. If you go from a 100grn head to a 125grn head then you are reducing the effective spine of the arrow. That's pretty cut and dry any pro-shop guru halfway worth his salt will tell you this with confidence. "Adding weight to the front of the arrow reduces the arrow's effective spine." What seems to be totally ignored and in fact even disbelieved by alot of guys who absolutely should know better. Is that the reverse of this is ALSO true. TAKING WEIGHT OFF THE BACK OF THE ARROW ALSO REDUCES SPINE. Besides adding wraps with your blazers to reduce FOC if it is much too high. You do have some other options that are less permanent. Keep in mind FOC is based on your total arrow length. IE. end of point to end of nock. Different style broadheads of the same weight can cause significantly different FOCs. A longer head of the same weight moves the balance point and changes your arrows' overall length. It's pretty hard to predict with a great degree of accuracy what your FOC will be without knowing the details of the broadhead you select. You might be close, but measuring it yourself is the only way to be sure. On the other end of things the length and weight of the nock itself makes a difference too. And there are different nock lengths and weights available. You can put a bulldog collar in the nock end and then put in your nock. Here again note you've changed the overall length of the arrow. Plus the collar itself weighs about 5grs. If you decide you don't like them you can simply pull them out. If you're shooting a fall away rest fletching clearance isn't an issue. So fletch one arrow up with FOUR blazers instead of three and see how you like it. All that blah blah blah being said, bottomline whatever you decide to do to your arrows is your choice. Since the charts show your arrows as "overspined" I would select a head weight that gets you closest to a correct spine. Then get the arrows near the top end of the recommended FOC. And finally adjust the poundage accordingly. You may find, that in fact you don't need nearly as much draw weight as the charts suggest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkeygirl Posted February 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2007 Re: Blazer vs. regular vanes Ok, not toally sure I understand it all but if I'm correct, switching from 125 grain to 100 grain is a good thing. If I switched from the 4" vanes to Blazers which are lighter, that would reduce the spine on my arrows which is not good. If I switched to Blazers with wraps, the wraps would add weight that I lost? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutchies Posted February 1, 2007 Report Share Posted February 1, 2007 Re: Blazer vs. regular vanes You got it............... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkeygirl Posted February 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2007 Re: Blazer vs. regular vanes What if I added wraps to the arrows but stuck with the 4' vanes? will that make my arrow heavier and not fly as well? By the way went out to shoot my arrows for the first time with the 100 grain tips. Seemed to shoot alright. I actually was grouping decently at 10 and 15 yards with just my 10 yard pin, then at 20 yards, went a little high and at 30 yards was a little high, not alot. I'm sure part of it has to deal with working on my anchor point since I'm trying to remember where I anchor and how, and I am working on the string being not on the side of my nose so much. One thing I'm not sure about is although my arrows weren't totally all over, a little high and to the right, it seems like since I took the broadheads off,the field points hit high and I keep moving my pins up. Is this me, the arrows, or the field tips? Since I was shooting myself, couldn't get a good view of how the arrow was flying, but I didn't see any fish tailing that I could tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkeygirl Posted February 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2007 Re: Blazer vs. regular vanes ttt... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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