Well, nothing wrong with the nostalgia stuff, especially when you can look back and realize you were growing up, along with Easton. Be that as it may, I pulled out a ’68 Bear and an ’81 Easton catalog to see if I could find something better than my memory…which was the easy part.
In the ’68 Bear catalog Easton 24SRT’s were still available, as were XX75’s and X7’s. I have a number of 24SRT’s…they are bare aluminum with no added color. The only mention of color was “full length olive drab shaft color, extra…..doz. $1.50.” Also listed were Bear Magnum Arrows, which were “made of a special tough alloy to Fred Bear’s specifications.”
From a 1982 Bear Archery ad, the Bear Metric Magnums specs state X-7 alloy with a “Sylvan Brown Hard Coating. Non-corrosive, will not wear off. Most other arrows are only anodized.” (I have both Magnums and Metric Magnums…finish is similar, numbering system changed.)
However, more to the point regarding the Autumn Oranges, in the ’81 Easton catalog specs are given for the Autumn Oranges and the Gamegetters, of the day. The Gamegetters were 2024 alloy with 8000 lbs. less tensile strength and were dull olive green with soft anodized finish. The Autumn Oranges, stronger 7075 alloy and had a hard anodized finish.
Of course, these few references offer less than a complete story, but it seems a fairly clear indication that coating/anodizing aluminum shafts was evolving. Aside from Bear Magnums (which I also favor), Autumn Oranges and Gamegetters were what many hunters had to choose from…and between the two, Autumn Orange was the winner, hands down. Also, in 1980 X7’s were made with 7178 alloy, placing AO’s in the mid-price range.
All things considered Autumn Oranges won the day, and still continue to deliver superb performance. IMO, they rank high on the all-time “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” list. Rick.
Topic: What makes autumn orange Gamegatters so good? (Read 755 times)
