A couple more renders on the aperture project

After a few prototypes, I've discovered that a few modifications were required.  The bolt head is now shaped for a pan head bolt (much easier to find) and slides in from the back so that the archer's view is smooth and symmetrical.  A few parts were thickened to add strength, and a few places were trimmed to avoid thin wall problems.  Also, the third variant, the non-glass o-ring only aperture, was added.  All will be available in right hand or left hand.

Coming soon - recurve apertures you can build

I've been testing/prototyping a recurve aperture which I plan to make available to anyone who wants to put one together.  I'm not going to be selling these things, but rather I'll make the model available for order from a 3D printing company, and then you'd acquire a bolt, a nut, o-rings, and glass if desired.  So far I'm thinking two sizes would be good: one that accepts a 15mm glass window (about 5/8" O.D.) and one that accepts a 12.5mm glass window (around 1/2" O.D.)  Naturally, you'd only use the glass if you want to use a dot or drill it for a fiber.  Otherwise you would be able to just use o-rings to vary the size of the aperture opening you look through.

Here's a rendering:

Stay tuned ... should be ready soon!

Bloodsport One Arrows - a solution to a problem

Bloodsport One arrows,
VaneTec Swift Vanes (left)
Elivanes P3 (right)

So, I have a unique problem.  I have long arms and shoot a recurve bow with fairly light draw weight (~30 lbs at my draw length).  Why is that a problem?  I dare you to find arrows that are of a proper spine that are actually long enough.

History

When I got my recurve, I got Easton Platinum Plus aluminum arrows.  The shop recommended and I bought 1816 arrows, which worked OK except for one serious problem: I could draw them off the back of the arrow rest.  That's actually a major hazard!  After consulting Easton's charts I found that the 1913 arrows would offer similar spine at a much safer arrow length of 31".  The downside?  They're not as common and components are hard to get.  I also discovered that the 1913 arrows are too stiff for a light-poundage recurve and I ended up having to use threaded inserts with really heavy points to even get them close to tuned right.

I decided it's time to move to carbon and found that arrows with the right spine are pretty easy to get ... if you have short arms.  If you need a 31" arrow shaft in 800 to 900 spine, there just isn't anything out there.  Some come close (Victory VAP is 30.5"), but even that would have my clicker hitting the riser instead of the clicker plate, scratching the paint more and more for each shot.

The Solution

When I shot a compound, I had great success with Harvest Time HT-2 arrows.  They worked really well for me.  Harvest Time was bought by Muddy Outdoors a few years ago, which resulted in all the Harvest Time arrows being re-branded.  Harvest Time made an arrow called the HT-1, which is a skinny carbon arrow designed for hunting that is intended to deliver maximum penetration with high durability and light weight.  These arrows now are called Bloodsport One arrows.  In my desperation to find a carbon arrow in the 800-900 spine range that was long enough, I checked out the Muddy Outdoors Boodsport site and discovered that ALL spines in the Bloodsport One arrows are made in 31" shaft length, and even better, they make them that way right up to 1000 spine arrows!

What Are They?

The Bloodsport One arrows are skinny, lightweight, carbon arrows.  They come in three straightness tolerance options (0.006", 0.003", and 0.001") and are available in spines from 300 through 1000.  They can use glue-in points and use Easton G Nocks (no bushing - they push right into the arrow shaft).  They actually come with Bohning F Nocks, which are Bohning's equivalent to the Easton G Nocks.  Here are the specs, copied from the Bloodsport website:

Spine ID OD GPI
1000 .165" .209"  5.1
900   .165" .211"  5.3
800   .165" .215"  6.1
700   .165" .220"  6.5
600   .165" .223"  7.1
500   .165" .231"  8.2
400   .165" .238"  9.1
350   .165" .245" 10.2
300   .165" .255" 11.7

So, as you can see these arrows, although designed for hunting, actually have specs that make them competitive with Easton Carbon One, Carbon Express Medallion XR, and Victory VAP arrows, but at a longer shaft length.  For long-draw, low-draw-weight recurve shooters, these arrows fill a need that just isn't served by anyone else.  The skinny outer diameter means they don't drift in the wind, and the light weight means you can get more distance without having to go up in weight.

How Well Do They Work?

I've been using these since summer 2013.  I got 800 spine with 100 grain glue-in target points.  As it turns out, I might have been better off with the 900 spine since they're still a tiny bit stiff.

As for flight, they work very well.  I've had people comment on how they look like fast-moving spears when they're shot.

What I Like

• They're not terribly expensive - quite a good value, in fact
• They're high quality
• They fly well
• They are light weight
• They're skinny for less wind drift
• They come in long shaft length at soft spines

What I Don't Like

I don't like the graphics.  They're designed for hunters wanting to make sure everyone knows they enjoy spilling blood.  I wish they'd make the same arrow with different graphics for us target recurve shooters.  Seriously, that's all I don't like about them!

Recommendation

If you're in the same predicament as me - long draw, light draw weight - you will have a difficult time finding an alternative to these arrows.  Even if you do, they'll likely cost more money for similar quality.  The Victory VAP is close in length but at 0.003" tolerance are quite a bit more expensive.  The Carbon Express Medallion XR is similar in price and have similar specs, but the shaft length at 800 and 900 is much too short for me.  The Easton Carbon One arrows are the same story as the Medallion XRs.

These simply solve the problem for me without making me go up in draw weight.  They're very good arrows and if you can live with the graphics I highly recommend them.  For orangutan-armed, wimpy recurve shooters like myself, these really solve a tough problem!

A Great Archery Book - Archery by USA Archery

Since starting in archery in 2008, I have only actually purchased one archery book.  It was shortly after my daughter started back in shooting recurve and when I switched to recurve.  We were both having difficulty and although we could occasionally get advice on what we were doing wrong, we could never find out what to do about it and what it looked like when we were doing things right.

The book, "Archery" by USA Archery was recommended to us by a coach, who said that it's almost enough to replace a coach.  I now know that's not quite the whole story - a coach is very valuable - but it's a great way to learn how you should be improving your archery skills if you can't afford a coach.

Other than taking the USA Archery coaching training courses, I've learned more about archery technique from this book than any other resource I've found.  The good thing is, if you follow the instructions you're learning to shoot the way that USA Archery Certified NTS Instructors would teach you, and you're also learning to shoot the way that the USA Olympic Team is taught.

This book is a bargain.  On Amazon, it's $18.71 right now for the paperback.  I recommend the paper version because it can be taken with you and can still be read even if you forget to charge your tablet/phone!  It's quite possibly the best money I've spent on archery.  Even if you have a coach, get it and read it.  Review sections with your coach.  I can't recommend this book enough.

Elivanes - What I Personally Use

Elivanes in the gold

As I said in a previous post, my favorite plastic vane is the excellent VaneTec Swift.  In fact, had I not found the vanes that are the subject of this post, I'd still be shooting Swifts.  However, after reading many encouraging posts on ArcheryTalk and seeing how many top-level archers use them, I gave Elivanes a try.  Now they're what I personally use.

What Are They?

Elivanes are mylar curly vanes.  They have a permanent helical molded-in.  They're extremely lightweight and are applied with fletching tape rather than gluing them on.  They come in a few different shapes and sizes.  I personally use the P3 vanes (P means Parabolic profile).  The S3 profile is also highly regarded.

How Well Do They Work?

Using my fletching jig set at 1 degree straight offset, I drew lines carefully on my Bloodsport One Series arrows using a mechanical pencil.  I applied the vanes using the double-sided tape provided with the vanes and taped the ends down using the provided black tape.

I've been using these vanes for close to six months now, with great success.  They have proven to be quite durable - I've not had to replace a single vane.  When the archer does his job right and releases cleanly, these vanes work remarkably well.  Because they're very lightweight, it gives you just a little more arrow front-of-center balance.  They correct any remaining wobble rapidly and get the arrow spinning for additional flight stability.  If you have a rough, plucky release though, they probably won't correct all of it out.  In other words, these are not good for beginners.

A Tournament Advantage

One advantage to using these vanes, besides the very good flight performance, is that you can replace them easily on the field or at the range - no jig required.  As long as you have your lines drawn on well and bring the tape with you, you can fix any ruined vanes at the tournament so you can keep shooting.

Summary

The Good: 

• Lightweight
• Fly really well - stabilize and impart spin
• Suprisingly Durable

The Bad:

• Won't compensate for a bad release
• Don't come with enough fletching tape
• Aren't good for beginners
• Aren't as pretty as the VaneTec Swift vanes

A Few Helpful Tips

As I said, the package doesn't come with nearly enough double-sided fletching tape.  There also isn't enough of the black end-securing tape.

Get a roll of Bohning fletching tape.  It'll last you several dozen arrows and besides sticking better, it's a tiny bit narrower and therefore works even better - provided you have your shafts cleaned well.

For the end tape, I picked up a roll of pinstriping tape from an auto parts store.  It was cheap and will also last for several dozen arrows.  As an added bonus, you can usually get different colors of pinstriping tape.

A Note About These Photos: the photos you see in this post were taken by me.  If you're wondering how I got such nice depth of field effects, I used a 1970s vintage Fujinon 50/1.8 (non-EBC) at f/4.0 on my Canon 60D.  No processing was done other than adjusting exposure and cropping/resizing.

My favorite plastic vanes - VaneTec Swift

The VaneTec Swift 1.87" vane

Since switching to recurve I've experimented with a number of different types of vanes for my arrows.  I've tried VaneTec SuperSpine in a couple of lengths, AAE WAV vanes, FlexFletch FFP187, and VaneTec Swifts in a couple of lengths.  While the WAVs and the FFP187s did fly well, each had their own issues.  Of all the plastic vanes I've tried, the ones that have consistently worked best for me are the VaneTec Swift series vanes.

What are they? 

Swift 1.87" and 2.25"

The Swift vanes are a low-profile, shield-cut, plastic vane.  They come in plenty of colors and are available in three sizes: 2.88", 2.25", and 1.87".  While not designed to be an ultra lightweight vane, they are comparable in weight to similar vanes from their competitors (except the WAV).  Even though they're marketed as a 3D shooting vane, they work great as recurve vanes.  I've personally used both the 1.87" and 2.25" vanes but not the 2.88" vanes.

How well do they work?

Swift vanes work with all fletching glues and have a narrow, but not too-narrow base, which makes them easy to glue on.  They have a nice shape that makes for attractive finished arrows.  They're also very durable and don't discolor much in sunlight or when exposed to adhesives.  Most importantly, they fly very well.  For me, they fly just as well as the WAV vanes and the FFP187 vanes.

Recommendation

Blue and Flo. Green 2.25" Swifts

If you're looking at trying out some high performance vanes and don't have to have the absolute lightest plastic vanes available, you'd have a hard time finding a better plastic vane than the Swift vanes.  Although they're heavier than the WAV vanes, they're far easier to glue on and are more durable.

AAE WAV vanes

Last year, AAE introduced a new vane that has caused quite a stir.  The vane is called WAV.  It's a 2" vane that's low-profile (0.33" tall) and weighs only 1.7 grains each!  A plastic vane of this size with that weight is truly remarkable.  In addition to the impressive specs, it's got a nice shield cut shape (which I like) and bold graphics (which I like reasonably well).

So, when they became available, I was in the process of getting some new arrows to try out so I grabbed some WAV vanes to try out as well.  Here are my impressions, experiences, and opinions.

Impressions: the vanes are noticeably lightweight.  The material is very thin, and the base where you glue them to the shaft is considerably more narrow than other vanes.  The material is not as stiff as other vanes, almost stretchy.  They have a matte surface finish.

In shooting, I found that these vanes do what they advertise - they fly really, really well.  I fletched mine up with 1 degree straight offset, which worked well for me indoors and outdoors.  I used my usual Flex-Bond adhesive, which turned out to be not ideal.  Because of the very narrow base, it's really tough to glue these vanes on, and unless you use the glue AAE suggests (AAE Max Bond Glue) they will literally fall off.  I didn't have a single shooting session in which I didn't have at least one vane simply fall off.  They do fly really great when they are still on the shaft, though!  Another issue I had is that they warp/distort quite easily.  If you shoot an arrow a little close to another, the impact can cause puckered, almost stretched vanes.

The Good: These are really light, very attractive, great-flying vanes.

The Bad: They're hard to glue on, will probably fall off if you don't use AAE's glue, and tend to warp/distort a little easier than I'd like.

My verdict: If you use the AAE glue, I'd recommend these vanes if you must have the lightest 2" low-profile vanes available.  They really do fly well, look nice, and are light enough to almost compete with mylar vanes.  However, be prepared to replace them a little more frequently than other plastic vanes.

In the end, for plastic vanes I switched back to my favorite - the VaneTec Swift.  The Swift vanes in 1.87" weigh almost double the WAV vanes (3.2 grains), but that's still pretty light.  They're much more durable, much easier to glue on, they come in more colors, and they fly pretty much exactly as well for me as the WAV vanes.  If you can live with the small amount of extra weight, give the Swifts a try.