So before I added my lumenoks to my arrows my FOC was around 11%. Adding 15 grains of weight to the back of my arrows isn't going to help that, should I care? What sort of FOC do you guys shoot? Clem
I have no idea, and don't care. I shoot lighted nocks, and I do know my arrows impact a little different with them versus regular nocks. But my arrows fly true with both, so, I practice 100% of the time with lighted nocks.
If you like to have greater arrow penetration then the answer is yes. The higher the FOC the greater the penetration will be. I started mine out at 12% and then moved to a 125 grain broad head that bumped up my FOC to 14%. Honestly my goal was to hit 16-18% but with the current set up that isn't possible. I am also thinking about adding glued in weights to the end of my arrows to give me that extra weight up front.
I plan my arrow builds to be around 13% foc with 100 gn points/bhs. I use online calculators to see if I'll need heavier inserts than standard. It's a good midrange % that gives you all the benefits without the wide pin spacing. I tried 20% and the arrows dropped too fast. It was better to match the 20% foc arrow's total arrow weight and reduce the foc to around 13%. The heavier arrow still dropped but not as fast and hit hard and accurate.
Yep I like to be close to 15%...I can shoot lightednocks and still be over 12% FOC helps with penetration and accuracy IME Imagine throwing darts and having a light tip and heavy back...the front weight on a high FOC arrow pulls that shaft where you want it to go. Another important factor is outside diameter of the arrow...the new small and microdiameter arrows certainly seem to penetrate much better than the old standards.
I'm shooting 12% with my new set up. FMJ's with a 50gr insert, 100gr Nap Kill Zone Max, lighted nock. Shooting 260fps out of my Spyder 30 at 60#, 30" dl, works great for accuracy. Can shoot a 2" group at 60yrds with this set up. I haven't checked my other arrows for my Nitruim Turbo, they are: fmj's, 75gr insert, 125gr Kill Zone, lighted nock. I'll check it tomorrow.
FOC is important. However, it can also be given more importance than it deserves. Easton recommends 10-15 percent for bowhunting setups on their website. I tend to favor their recommendation. I'm sure countless hours of study went into it.
I've been bowhunting for 22 years and have never calculated FOC. So, I guess you could say I'm not too worried about it.
I'm working on trying to get some more FOC in my next dozen arrows. I have another dozen deep six fmj's and 29.5 in now just have to wait for the brass inserts to get here. I tested my last half dozen without the brass inserts and they were at about 7.8% hoping to get around 11% because doing anything more will give me almost a too heavy arrow the old ones were about 490-495 grains and new ones will be about 525
I try to be at at least 12%. I am at a 495 gr total arrow weight now with a 13% FOC and it performs great. If I could get it up a little more I would, but I like my total arrow weight where it is currently at.
I used to not care about FOC....since I have my penetration has seriously exploded. To me not caring about FOC is similar to not caring about PH when doing a food plot.
My bow is accurate. My arrows fly straight. I've always gotten pass throughs on deer and bears. I guess I just don't see any reason for ME to further analyze something that has already been working very well for a long time. If I were having issues I suppose I might check things like FOC. To each their own.
I'll also admit, the need to analyze ones FOC does go down the higher poundage they pull and longer their draw....at a certain point on deer a fast noodle shot in the right spot will blow through.
The lighted vs a regular nock was only around 5 gr difference for my set up no difference in flight out to 60 yds
