My new Arrowmaster quiver is here!
As I removed it from the shipping box, my first impression was that it was much lighter than I had anticipated. The quality of construction is absolutely top notch. They really pay attention to detail!
Of course, the first thing I did even before loading the Arrowmaster up with arrows was slip in over my shoulders to see how it fit.
PERFECT! Absolutely perfect! The quiver lays upright and out of the way along my right side (I ordered a right-hand model).
The strap attaches at two points on the upper end of the quiver, and one point at the bottom, making it ride far better than I had hoped. It really stays put, and is in the perfect position, completely unobtrusive.
Time for some testing. I seem to do a lot of belly crawling when hunting mule deer, so I slid the quiver around to my back, where it rode right along my spine, and I proceeded to belly crawl around. The quiver stayed in place perfectly.
Next, I crawled around on hands and knees. The quiver again stayed in place perfectly.
I then worked on attaching it to my Ebberlestock hunting pack, and that actually worked out okay. I rigged it so I could maneuver the quiver to ride sideways when I am fighting my way through alder thickets and so it would ride upright when just hiking regularly.
As I said, attaching it to the pack worked "okay," but nowhere near as nice as just slinging it over my shoulder the regular way and having it ride alonside the pack. As you can see from the pictures, the quiver lays perfectly against the side of the pack, completely out of the way and unobtrusive.
The reason I had wanted to attach it to the pack was because when elk hunting I have binoculars and a large bugle tube strapped around my neck, and didn't want a third strap to contend with. However, as well as the quiver rides this way, I am not going to complain. I will get used to three straps.
When hunting anything other than elk, when I won't have a bugle strap to contend with, the Arrowmaster is going to be a real pleasure.
In the attached photos, the camera makes the quiver look bulky, but it is so light and rides upright so well that I cannot even tell it is there when I am wearing a pack. I will be able to slip through nasty brushy country with the greatest of ease. Plus, the Buck Suede material is soundless. Branches will not be making noise against the quiver as I move through brush.
I made one modification to the quiver. I added more foam in the hood for the broadheads to slip into. I did this to bring the top of the foam up even with the quiver opening, so there is no cuplike area for debris to collect in when I am hiking through heavy brush.
In the photo above, you can see that I have six arrows in the quiver, with plenty of room for more arrows. I am going to place three arrows with Judo points in that open area you see to the left. For Australian hunts, I should be able to slip 10 broadhead arrows in easily, and have room for one Judo for practicing on termite mounds (they are too fun to pass up----literally the perfect target for stump shooting!)
There is one more modification I will make. I am going to sew some neutral-colored polar fleece to the strap where it goes across my chest, as the dark black strap will stand out in most of the country I am hunting in. I will send Rod at Arrowmaster a suggestion that he offer the quiver with two options for strap colors, black and military green or tan as is used on lots of backpacks.
The only downside I have found to the quiver is that I can hear the feathers rustle agains the the others as I draw arrows out. I had a feeling the only reason I was hearing it so loud was because it was so close to my ear, so I drafted my wife to stand out in the yard and draw arrows slowly out of the quiver while I stood 10 yards away. She could hear the feathers rustling against each other———but I couldn't.
That was all I needed to know. THIS ARROWMASTER IS GOING HUNTING WITH ME THIS FALL!
Kudos to Rod and the gang at Safari Tuff, they have designed an outstanding hunting quiver!
P.S. I have now ordered a Duiker model too. I think I may hunt elk with it, and use the larger Arrowmaster for deer and bear and moose hunting, and especially for Australian hunts where I need to carry lots of arrows.