Sponsored by: Goat Tuff, Tru Fire, Arizona Rim, S4 Gear, MyTopo, Barnett
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.
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.
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.
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!
