Tac vanes
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14,297 Posts
Tested them extensively. Wasn't impressed. Very expensive and I bought all of the adhesion nonsense they sell to make them stick since adhesion is an issue with them. Even then I had some issues. They also weren't great on durability and didn't stabilized fixed blade heads as well as blazers. Went back to blazers - way less expensive, more durable, stick better and stabilize better. Slam dunk frankly. I had high hopes for the TAC but was severely disappointed.
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3,527 Posts
I like the TAC. I have shot the 2.25” in 3 and 4 fletch. Both are good and both are very quite. It’s a good vane.
I’ve been testing some for the last week. I wanted a better 3D vane. I wanted something stiff that adhered well. They are the stiffest vane I’ve ever had, and 2nd place to them isn’t close in that regard.
They seem quieter than the other vanes I’ve used, but these arrows aren’t quiet in the first place so I’ll have to try them on a hunting arrow to really know how they perform there.
I had no issues with adherence, I used their stuff and followed the instructions exactly. They seem to be practically welded to the shaft. Given the stiffness of the vane, the generous base width, and the fineness of their glue tip, they were some of the easiest vanes I’ve ever worked with.
Most importantly, they steer and correct well and hit behind the pin. More shooting to come as I’m still fine tuning this rig. Initially, I think this vane is a winner.
As a hunting vane, my concern is that given their stiffness a minor twig or something hitting them in air may cause a larger deflection in the POI. This is just a concern in the back of my mind, not something I’ve tested yet. I will test this before I decide to hunt with them though.
D
They seem quieter than the other vanes I’ve used, but these arrows aren’t quiet in the first place so I’ll have to try them on a hunting arrow to really know how they perform there.
I had no issues with adherence, I used their stuff and followed the instructions exactly. They seem to be practically welded to the shaft. Given the stiffness of the vane, the generous base width, and the fineness of their glue tip, they were some of the easiest vanes I’ve ever worked with.
Most importantly, they steer and correct well and hit behind the pin. More shooting to come as I’m still fine tuning this rig. Initially, I think this vane is a winner.
As a hunting vane, my concern is that given their stiffness a minor twig or something hitting them in air may cause a larger deflection in the POI. This is just a concern in the back of my mind, not something I’ve tested yet. I will test this before I decide to hunt with them though.
D
Switched to the TAC Driver 2.75 last spring. I really like them. Shot them over the summer for 3D and for the hunting season. Had pass throughs on both antelope and whitetails and they have held up extremely well. I personally like them better than Blazers and Pine Ridge Archery Nitro vanes which I used in the past.
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210 Posts
That’s interesting. You couldn’t pull mine off with a pair of pliers if you wanted to. I just built about 15 arrows with them and they stabilize a black hornet and muzzy 3 blade out to 70 yards. I have to respectfully disagree that they don’t stabilize, stick better, and they aren’t as durable as a blazer as I’ve torture tested them and they have held up great.
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9,920 Posts
They hold up until you shoot them in cold weather. They get brittle in the cold, that makes them a no go for hunting for me here in the mitten.
I do like them for 3D but for hunting, there are better options imo.
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2,455 Posts
I really wanted to like them........out of same pack I had deviations around 1/8" in height and around 3 grains per vane......not sure if I got a bad batch. I should have called and said something but I didn't.
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843 Posts
I've been considering them on my next arrow build but it seems the reviews are keeping me from trying them out. I did see a review from PJ of LAS and he makes them look amazing. How does their glue and primer work?
Check my review above. Honestly they fletched Easier than any vane I’ve used before. I don’t care too much about that as long as the process isn’t too difficult (I’m looking at you aae trad vanes).
Most shooters tend to stick with a vane line unless they’re really unhappy. I’ve been pretty happy with my aae vanes. However, I’ve noticed some of the top scoring 3D guys were shooting stiffer vanes like TAC or SKs which made me curious to try them. I’m happy I did so far.
D
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843 Posts
Well, I was going to give these a try even before I started checking the reviews and that's what I'm going to do. The only true way to see how they fly is by trying them myself.
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14,297 Posts
I honestly don't think they'll ever gain much momentum. Vanes and not that complicated and there are many that work really well. The extra cost of these vanes isn't warranted and the cost and hassle with buying special adhesion accessories and fletching will keep the vast majority of people away from them.....and for good reason.
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14,297 Posts
That's what I figured. I've been using blazers forever. Just about every year I get the itch to try another vane and I end up doing some pretty serious testing of that vane against the blazers and I've always come back to blazers (and I've tested about every top brand you could name). So when TAC came out and Levi was extolling the virtues of this new amazing vane I said I have to try it. Invested a chunk of change into multiple colors of the Driver 2.75 and the Summit vanes plus all the adhesion crap.
I then tested them hard vs. blazers on flight stabilization, especially with fixed blades, and on durability. They did not adhere nearly as well but I got them there. I use onestringer wraps which should be noted. Some claim they've gotten them to stick really well directly on shafts. Their adhesion is VERY finicky so maybe it just doesn't work well on wraps. ??? The flight on the Driver 2.75s was substandard. That's the one I was most excited about as it looks cool and has a little lower profile. The Drivers absolutely without question did not stabilize a fixed head (used a handful of diff heads) as well as a Blazer or as well as the Summit. The Summit performed equal with Blazers on flight but then that's to be expected as they are almost exactly the same size and shape. Durability was not good with the TACs. They are stiff and brittle. They cannot take the pounding that a Blazer takes. I would have been refletching arrows FAR more often with the TACs which would get even more expensive.
At the end of the day they simply didn't measure up. Even if they did only "measure up" I wouldn't have continued to use them because for equal performance why would you pay more? But they didn't even measure up so I concluded you are paying a premium for a lesser product. Stupid.
So, by all means, dump your own money into testing them if you like. Maybe you'll reach a different conclusion or convince yourself to reach a different conclusion but I'm just sharing my experience with them for anyone who wants to gain valuable input before making the investment.
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12,158 Posts
I like the profile and they are extremely quiet. I bought all of the gear necessary to fletch them and still had problems with adhesion. In theory they’re great, but I think there are better vanes out there especially at the price point.
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