If you’re considering traditional archery as a hobby because you think it will be simpler with less tinkering and gadgets, think again! I’m not implying that there’s as much involved as there is for compound bow shooting, especially when it comes to mechanics of the bow, but in some ways there may be even more tinkering. If I’m being honest, I think that’s one of the things I love about it. One of my favorite things to do is build and try different arrow setups and that’s just what I got myself into last week when my two dozen Safari Tuff Old Skool arrow shafts arrived.
I’m a follower of The Push Archery podcast and YouTube channel. It’s a local business in Butler, PA and the owner, Matt Zirnsak, seems like a good guy. Recently Matt took on Safari Tuff as his first corporate sponsor after many years of running his business without one. He had been touting their arrows of course after they became a sponsor, but I had been hearing other positive reports about them and became curious. When I found out Matt would have a booth at his home club, the Oneida Bowhunters shoot, and that he’d have Safari Tuff arrows to try, I was eager to attend and check them out.
After I finished the shoot I went to The Push booth and got my hands on some arrows. I was looking for 500 spine arrows in the Old Skool model, but someone else was already using them. That led me to grab the 400’s in 29” and 30” lengths. Matt told me there was 250 grains up front, which was great because that’s what I had been running. I was surprised with the 400’s flew like darts out of my bow, particularly at the 30” length. After shooting probably 20 arrows, I decided I was going to return home and place an order. I also decided I was going to use four fletchings when I built the arrows because they seemed to make a difference when I shot the test arrows.
It took me a few days to get the shafts and I also ordered 3” feathers and 100 grain brass inserts, which arrived about the same time. I started by bare shaft tuning and after some trial and error, settled on 30” just like the ones I shot on the weekend. I added four 3” vanes to the setup and immediately headed for the backyard range. The arrows flew great, looked great, and hit hard. They’re more consistent than what I had been shooting and that gave me a lot of confidence heading to the Barr Township Rod and Gun Club shoot.
I’ll continue to shoot them from my longbow, which they’re set up for, and see how they hold up. Right now though I might already have my hunting setup dialed in, which is way further ahead than I was at this time last year. Assuming all goes well with my shooting this summer, all that’s left to do will be making sure my broadheads fly well.
I should mention that I also bought an Alpha Pack quiver at the event. It set me back $150 but it was a nice show discount and so far I love it. Maybe I’ll do a story on it later this year once I’ve used it a bunch.