I saw the NuFletch vane system at the ATA show in January. IMO, this is a revolutionary product and will be great for crossbow hunters and shooters just getting into the sport and have no means or experience to fletch their own arrows, those that want to shoot heavier arrows and those of us that hate pulling out the old fletching jig to replace a damaged vane.
Crossbows typically are more damaging to arrows and vanes because they are normally faster and the arrows are a shorter 18 to 22 inches, resulting in vanes being forced into target material more often. With the Nufletch system, it takes less than 10 seconds to replace a damaged vane or all 3 vanes. Another great feature of the Nufletch system is that some crossbows’ barrel channels are not deep enough to prevent lower vane contact. This can negatively affect accuracy and damage the lower vane. The design of the Nufletch system lowers the vane’s height just enough to clear the bottom of the crossbow’s barrel channel .
The NuFletch system will be offered for crossbow arrows in diameters to match popular sizes from Gold Tip, Easton and others. To keep your crossbow arrows the same length using the NuFletch system, simply cut off 3 1/8” inches from the rear of the shaft and install a standard aluminum screw in point insert for that brand arrow and you are ready to screw the NuFletch system with vanes onto the rear of the shaft. Flat and moon nocks will be available for the NuFletch vane systems. The moon nocks can be rotated to achieve an exact index of the lower vane to clear the barrel deck channel.
There will be a net gain in arrow weight and some additional stiffness due to the shorter shaft using a NuFletch vane system. Using 2.1” Fusion vanes and 20” GT Lazer II shafts as an example, here’s what I found in weight comparison. The standard 20” arrow with brass insert, 100 grain point, standard nock and Fusion vanes weighs approximately 401.5 grains on my 2 grain scales. After cutting 3 1/8” off the rear of the 20” shaft, installing a standard aluminum screw in point insert in the rear of the shaft and attaching the NuFletch unit with Fusion vanes, the arrow weighed 488.1 grains, for an 86.6 grain increase. That is a substantial amount and shooters that are trying to squeeze all the speed they can from their setups will likely see this as a disadvantage. Others may see it as an advantage, depending on their thoughts on arrow weight. I would guess it’s fair to say that most new crossbow shooters and hunters would not have a problem with the additional arrow weight when compared to the advantages of the Nufletch system and some people looking for a means to add weight to their arrows will find this a quick and easy way to achieve that. The NuFletch system will also substantially change the FOC of an arrow so for the shooters that insist on certain FOC for their arrows, they will have to add more weight to the front of the arrow with heavier points and/or inserts.
I will be shooting arrows on a daily basis with the NuFletch vane systems installed, with field points and broadheads that work well with normally fletched crossbow arrows, to determine any differences in performance, accuracy and POI from normally fletched arrows, using several different crossbows in speed ranges from 280 fps to 380 fps. I will be posting my results and opinions on the shooting sessions going forward. I stand corrected by the NuFletch folks if they see errors in my postings.
Crossbows typically are more damaging to arrows and vanes because they are normally faster and the arrows are a shorter 18 to 22 inches, resulting in vanes being forced into target material more often. With the Nufletch system, it takes less than 10 seconds to replace a damaged vane or all 3 vanes. Another great feature of the Nufletch system is that some crossbows’ barrel channels are not deep enough to prevent lower vane contact. This can negatively affect accuracy and damage the lower vane. The design of the Nufletch system lowers the vane’s height just enough to clear the bottom of the crossbow’s barrel channel .
The NuFletch system will be offered for crossbow arrows in diameters to match popular sizes from Gold Tip, Easton and others. To keep your crossbow arrows the same length using the NuFletch system, simply cut off 3 1/8” inches from the rear of the shaft and install a standard aluminum screw in point insert for that brand arrow and you are ready to screw the NuFletch system with vanes onto the rear of the shaft. Flat and moon nocks will be available for the NuFletch vane systems. The moon nocks can be rotated to achieve an exact index of the lower vane to clear the barrel deck channel.
There will be a net gain in arrow weight and some additional stiffness due to the shorter shaft using a NuFletch vane system. Using 2.1” Fusion vanes and 20” GT Lazer II shafts as an example, here’s what I found in weight comparison. The standard 20” arrow with brass insert, 100 grain point, standard nock and Fusion vanes weighs approximately 401.5 grains on my 2 grain scales. After cutting 3 1/8” off the rear of the 20” shaft, installing a standard aluminum screw in point insert in the rear of the shaft and attaching the NuFletch unit with Fusion vanes, the arrow weighed 488.1 grains, for an 86.6 grain increase. That is a substantial amount and shooters that are trying to squeeze all the speed they can from their setups will likely see this as a disadvantage. Others may see it as an advantage, depending on their thoughts on arrow weight. I would guess it’s fair to say that most new crossbow shooters and hunters would not have a problem with the additional arrow weight when compared to the advantages of the Nufletch system and some people looking for a means to add weight to their arrows will find this a quick and easy way to achieve that. The NuFletch system will also substantially change the FOC of an arrow so for the shooters that insist on certain FOC for their arrows, they will have to add more weight to the front of the arrow with heavier points and/or inserts.
I will be shooting arrows on a daily basis with the NuFletch vane systems installed, with field points and broadheads that work well with normally fletched crossbow arrows, to determine any differences in performance, accuracy and POI from normally fletched arrows, using several different crossbows in speed ranges from 280 fps to 380 fps. I will be posting my results and opinions on the shooting sessions going forward. I stand corrected by the NuFletch folks if they see errors in my postings.