Sponsored by: Goat Tuff, Tru Fire, Arizona Rim, S4 Gear, MyTopo, Barnett
By: Mark Rohlfing
Recently, I was working on a dozen of new arrow shafts. I methodically prepped the insert end with a wire brush. Then using a Q-tip cleaned inside the shaft with my Goat Tuff cleaning solution. I also wiped the inserts with the solution and proceeded to glue the inserts in with Goat Tuff Impact glue. The inserts held like a rock. I think you’d have to destroy the arrow to get them out!
I continued on and cleaned the outside of the shafts with the Goat Tuff cleaner and then discovered I was out of Goat Tuff glue. I had some older fletching glue so in a pinch I thought it would work so , locking my shaft in the AZ E-Z Fletcher I proceeded to meticulously fletch up the Opti Vanes with the only glue I had.
After letting them dry for a day I was eager to get ready for the next archery league shoot. I fired off my new arrows with confidence and they seemed to fly great. After a few rounds I noticed one of my fletchings had fallen off. I began inspecting the vanes and discovered the majority were also starting to fall off.
Proof positive – use the best archery glue you can when fletching your arrows. Authors choice: Goat Tuff.
How exasperating is that? You do everything you have to do to get them perfect and then the glue doesn’t hold! Now I was stuck. I was in a hurry to get my arrows fletched but I should have waited until I could get a new bottle of Goat Tuff glue. Now I had to remove all the vanes, clean each shaft again and re-fletch all of them. I don’t know if cleaning the vanes will make a big difference, but I definitely know using a quality glue like Goat Tuff does.
HECS made the differance on this buck.
Moving on from one hex to another. I did have the privilege of using the HECS (Human Energy Concealment System) this fall. I was fortunate enough to arrow a 300” bull elk and 140”whitetail buck while wearing the HECS suit. However, I am more impressed with calmness that multiple whitetail doe’s exhibited only 2-3 yards from my tree stand. I’m generally kind of a skeptic on these new systems and it’s hard to quantify how much it helped when there are so many other variables involved with archery hunting. I can definitely say it did not hurt my success. If you are a close range hunter (20 yards and in) I would recommend giving it a try.
There is nothing better than introducing a youngster to archery.
Remember, now is a great time to re-tune your bow, move tree stands, look for sheds, join an archery league, teach a kid to shoot a bow and of course get ready for fall deer season! Most importantly, have fun!
