Did a test on two ruined carbon arrows and couldn't pull the insert out with the arrow held in a vice and used Channel Lock pliers to pull out the insert.
Used it on three of my brand new Cabela's Carbon Extreme by Easton arrows, as well as 3 of my older USA made GT's that lost inserts. Also tried to pull out all six of those inserts but in a non arrow damaging way. Held up perfectly. Am going to shoot the heck out of them tomorrow and will see how they hold up. If all goes well will do the remaining new CCE's I bought.
Also fletched them all with a AZ EZ fletch tool W/6* helical. Of my first older carbon test arrows only had one loose a fletch, and easily re-fletched that single vane, then I did six of my 12 new arrows and again had only arrow where one vane failed to adhere, and again was a snap to fix.
Will reserve my final evaluation until I shoot the newly fletched arrows to insure my fletching job worked. Used AAE pressure activated fast set gel and Flex-fletch 4.18" vanes. Pretty happy with my first try results.
Now lets see how the fletchings and inserts hold up after hard use.
When shooting targets indoors, we used to run into many target butts that were well worn in the high use areas, and would allow many arrows to pass through the primary backstop and be stopped by the backing material, usually a hard rubber that grabs and holds the points. Those conditions were much more often found when the hunters among us were shooting indoors with our hunting bows at hunting draw weights.
Most of us who started by using the hot melt commonly available then found that using epoxy to hold insets in found us leaving many, many fewer inserts in the backstop material, and getting many fewer remarks about our inserts ruining other people's arrows and requiring the range owner to replace his backstops more often.
On the other hand, if we were not leaving inserts in the backstops or inside an expensive foam target, then the other advantages of the hot melt made it the better choice. The cost of an insert and field point is negligible, but the cost of the backstops and foam targets tipped the scales towards using the adhesives with more tenacious holding power.
My favorite insert glue nowadays is the same instant Superglue that I use for fletching. Occasionally it will break loose after an especially hard impact, like when a hardwood tree jumps into the arrow's path. We have several varieties of jumping hardwoods here. The impact sometimes leaves me retrieving an arrow with insert and point missing, or with about the same frequency, with the insert pulled partially out of the shaft and needing to be completely removed and cleaned before gluing back in. Either result is better, IMO, than leaving the shaft in the woods or breaking it while wrestling it away from the wounded tree.
So, the level of permanent adhesion desired has at least three levels and might be too little, too much, or just right depending on your personal needs.
