After many failed attempts I was able to test out 8 different vanes and their down range sound. I did this test I was just curious. Overall I was surprised many of these vanes are pretty close.
For this test I set the decibel meter at 35 yards and the target at 100. I shot from the same spot each time and filmed all of these together. These results are the same string of shots. These are all 4 fletch left helical. I used the same settings on the last chance archery fletching jig for all of these arrows. I did notice the longer vanes such as the silent knight showed more helical as they are longer.
I believe that 4 fletch with helical can be overkill on certain vanes but hopefully this was about as loud as any of these vanes can be to show the overall sound. I will release a 3 fletch video with fewer vanes but also testing the sound the same way for those who want to see 3 fletch. I had used 4 fletch for the downrange speed video so went ahead and used those for the sound video. I wish I could have done all of these 3 and 4 fletch.
This is not a professional sound test just my own findings. I believe that each setup will be different and one should test their own if they are trying to find the quietest vane for their setup. There are so many variables from the decibel meter used to the way the arrows are fletched. I tried to eliminate as many variables as possible but I don’t think it was a perfect test. Hopefully it was a helpful test though!