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Published March 23, 2018 in Archery TipsBy P.J. Reilly
Four Products that make arrow pulling easier
As winter turns to spring, and the weather starts getting nice, it’s time to start thinking about outdoor archery games – 3D, field archery, 50 meters for compounds, 70 meters for recurves, etc. And while it can be a problem on some indoor ranges, difficulty in removing arrows from targets and target butts really seems prevalent in the outdoor games.The foam, compressed cardboard and/or bales that catch arrows outside often don’t want to give them up without a fight. Changing weather conditions, construction for durability and other factors combine forces to make them really arrow grabbers. But don’t worry, there are some products out there that can make arrow removal easier.ARROW PULLER – Every archer shooting arrows into targets should have an arrow puller. These inexpensive rubber devices wrap around the shaft and give you a better grip as you pull your arrow out of a target. Your bare hand can easily slip on an arrow shaft as you try to remove an arrow – especially if it’s cold or your hands are sweaty. With an arrow puller, you can get a good grip on it, while it is firmly holding on to your arrow.In the event you stick an arrow in a target, and there just seems to be no chance of budging it by hand, Hamskea makes a device called the AroJack that is designed for just this situation. It grips the arrow, while employing a lever that pushes on the target while pulling back on the shaft. It’s a great tool for removing those arrows that sail a bit wide of the target, and stick into wooden frames.ARROW LUBE – Several companies make special lubrications that you can rub on about the last quarter of your shafts at the point end. This will make it much easier to pull your arrows out of targets, and will protect the shafts from getting coated with target material.The compressed cardboard butts commonly found on field archery courses are notorious for leaving cardboard residue on untreated arrow shafts. This residue can add a fair amount of weight to your shafts, so you’ve got to scrape it off every time you remove an arrow. Treat your shafts with some arrow lube, and you can minimize that problem – if not eliminate it altogether.With arrow lube, you’ve got to reapply it fairly regularly during the course of a shooting round, because the material will rub off as the arrows are shot into, and pulled out of, the targets.ARROW TREATMENTS – Along the same line as arrow lubes are arrow treatments. This is a longer-lasting arrow coating designed to ease arrow removal from targets. Dyna-Tek makes a pair of products called Dyna-Slick and Dyna-Slick Shield. Dyna-Slick Shield is a clear coating that you put on the bottom third of your arrow, and then allow it to harden and cure. Once it’s properly cured, arrow removal should be easy for hundreds of shots.If you start to see signs of the Dyna-Slick Shield coating beginning to wear off, you can refresh it with Dyna-Slick. This material is wiped on to restore the coating.For those archers concerned about arrow weight, Dyna-Tek estimates its coating adds no more than 1 grain in weight per treated shaft.BULGED POINTS – Some manufacturers offer points that are bulged so that at least part of the point is fatter than the arrow shaft. The bulge cuts a path into the target that’s larger than the shaft, so the target material won’t grip the arrow as tightly.
The foam, compressed cardboard and/or bales that catch arrows outside often don’t want to give them up without a fight. Changing weather conditions, construction for durability and other factors combine forces to make them really arrow grabbers. But don’t worry, there are some products out there that can make arrow removal easier.ARROW PULLER – Every archer shooting arrows into targets should have an arrow puller. These inexpensive rubber devices wrap around the shaft and give you a better grip as you pull your arrow out of a target. Your bare hand can easily slip on an arrow shaft as you try to remove an arrow – especially if it’s cold or your hands are sweaty. With an arrow puller, you can get a good grip on it, while it is firmly holding on to your arrow.
In the event you stick an arrow in a target, and there just seems to be no chance of budging it by hand, Hamskea makes a device called the AroJack that is designed for just this situation. It grips the arrow, while employing a lever that pushes on the target while pulling back on the shaft. It’s a great tool for removing those arrows that sail a bit wide of the target, and stick into wooden frames.
ARROW LUBE – Several companies make special lubrications that you can rub on about the last quarter of your shafts at the point end. This will make it much easier to pull your arrows out of targets, and will protect the shafts from getting coated with target material.
The compressed cardboard butts commonly found on field archery courses are notorious for leaving cardboard residue on untreated arrow shafts. This residue can add a fair amount of weight to your shafts, so you’ve got to scrape it off every time you remove an arrow. Treat your shafts with some arrow lube, and you can minimize that problem – if not eliminate it altogether.With arrow lube, you’ve got to reapply it fairly regularly during the course of a shooting round, because the material will rub off as the arrows are shot into, and pulled out of, the targets.ARROW TREATMENTS – Along the same line as arrow lubes are arrow treatments. This is a longer-lasting arrow coating designed to ease arrow removal from targets. Dyna-Tek makes a pair of products called Dyna-Slick and Dyna-Slick Shield. Dyna-Slick Shield is a clear coating that you put on the bottom third of your arrow, and then allow it to harden and cure. Once it’s properly cured, arrow removal should be easy for hundreds of shots.If you start to see signs of the Dyna-Slick Shield coating beginning to wear off, you can refresh it with Dyna-Slick. This material is wiped on to restore the coating.For those archers concerned about arrow weight, Dyna-Tek estimates its coating adds no more than 1 grain in weight per treated shaft.BULGED POINTS – Some manufacturers offer points that are bulged so that at least part of the point is fatter than the arrow shaft. The bulge cuts a path into the target that’s larger than the shaft, so the target material won’t grip the arrow as tightly.