Next year I am hoping to work on building up my FOC and arrow weight. What percentage of FOC are you guys usually shootin for? 10-15 percent? My arrows are light at 8.8gr/in so thinking of throwing on a 50 gr weight and 125 gr heads to help out. Thoughts?
I wanted to hit above 20% but memory serves me even with my set up I ended up just shy...I should have those calculations laying around. Purely in my own observations of my builds and some others that have invited me to help have really seen 15% minimum being an excellent goal as that is usually when arrow flight truly starts being better and especially "arrow shudder" as I call it upon target contact. A major issue with penetration many have is just like their arrow wobbles upon shot it again wobbles upon hitting an object (target). At the bow shop we took arrows that most hunt with (around 425 grains) and shot through my bow, and then my new set up and even my buddy, the shop owner, was astonished at how deeper and how still the arrow was upon impact - less shatter/shudder = less resistance = more penetration.
Thanks fellas, I never put the numbers down on paper before, I just bought arrows, had them cut to length and put a 100gr broadhead on. I did not realize how light they were until I did. Luckily, I haven't had any issues with shot placement, but it would be nice to have that extra weight for those occasions and GP. I'm going to push mine up to 525+ and see how that works.
My arrows I shoot out of my Heli-m are 8.8 GPI. Those are the ones I have a 100 grain insert in tipped with a 125 grain head. The FOC on them is 16.9%. They’re cut to 28”, so if I changed to a 100 grain head and a 50 grain insert on them I’d be looking at about a 440 grain arrow with about a 12% FOC. I have a wrap (5 grains), 4 Bohning Heat Vanes (6 grains each) and a Gold Tip Acculite nock (8.3 grains) on the back end, so that will vary a bit. It would be a good arrow configuration.
I love a heavy arrow set up, but one thing I will say to keep in mind is that the heavier the arrow the more arc there is in the trajectory. I learned a long time ago that it’s a lot harder to “thread the needle” through a narrow opening in brush when your arrow has a flight path that resembles the St. Louis Arch. The first shot over 40 yards I ever took on a deer never left the tree. I was still new and hadn’t really considered the trajectory. My arrow arched up and hit a limb sticking out of the tree I was in. As far as I know it’s still there. It doesn’t take long to adapt to that though.
Ashby foundation is doing a lot of research and testing on this. The suspected "arch" is perhaps not an entire myth but it is 100% not as people think. The main reason believed to be is a high FOC (typically heavier arrow) will stablize better and "carry" itself further carrying it's trajectory much longer. I remember when I switched to heavier...yes my pins moved lower, but the crazy thing is the pin difference or gap between my pins no longer were spaced as far a part. It was very minimal but noticeable. Ashby Foundation on a recent podcast with Meateater spoke to it some and I wished they'd went deeper into it. I'm trying to find the write ups and supposedly there is a video somewhere.
I'm shooting 300 spine 5mm axis 27.5" long at 10.7 gpi, 4 Tac driver vanes (24gn) wrap (5gn) and lighted nocks (24gn), iron will insert and collar (125gn) and day6 broadheads (180gn) for a total weight around 660 and FOC around 19%. Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk
Of course I was exaggerating on the amount of arc, but my 530 grain arrows out of a 60# bow have a visibly different trajectory than my 450 grain arrows out of my 65# bow, especially on long target shots.
That was the biggest surprise for me, when I put in 75 grain inserts. I only practice to 50 yards and my sight tape changed some just as you. Complete opposite of what I expected.
I giggled a bit, that's pretty funny. Probably not at the time, but it is now. Damn, I bet that hits like a tank. I friend of mine has been looking at 600+ arrow setups, seems a bit overkill, but then again, I'm in the 400's so what do I know. My arrows shoot quite flat, at least from what I know. I don't think having a slight (or perceived) arc would hurt. I was pretty good with a 203 grenade launcher not using sights. Knowing/having a distinctive arc may help even if it's minimal. That is al theory in my brain for now, don't quote me on it. I'll shoot for 525-550 arrow, I think that will get in the sweet zone for my needs; perhaps it'll even help punch a few extra turkey tags. Why the heck did I start preparing for the season so dang late.
I laughed a lot once the disappointment wore off. It was a 50 yard shot at a doe. She was wide open in a field, totally relaxed, broadside and had her head down feeding. There were three other does in the field with her. The sound of the bow was nothing compared to the thwack of my heavy arrow slamming into that big oak branch. Funny thing is, all four does just looked up, looked around for a minute and kept feeding. So much for the sound of a bow making them drop. As a joke I always said that since my arrow never left the three, technically I didn't miss. I sometimes wonder if that arrow is still there. It was about 20 feet off the ground in a 5" diameter limb about 12 feet from the trunk of the tree. There was no way to get it.
Johnny I think most of us have done the same. I've done worse , shooting at a turkey from a blind, arrow didn't clear the blind and put hole below the window.
Morning fellas! Well, my 5 year-old is at his first day of kindergarten, I can't believe it, time has absolutely flown by. Everyone says don't blink, but damn, it seems faster than a blink. He seemed excited, but all his friends from Pre-k all went to other schools so he has to make new friends. He's quite social, we've had him in mothers day out for 2 years then pre-k at the church, so he has pretty good social skills. I'll get the after action report when after school, hopefully all goes well. Heat index is supposed to be 109+/-, no way I'm doing any season prep today, I'll be floating in the pool with cold beer. The humidity the past week has been miserable, like a wet sheet draped over your entire body miserable. I leave for my yearly Michigan golf scramble/Army reunion on the 19th, usually that is my final push to finish all my prep-work for the year. I need it to cool down though, at least need the humidity to drop.
It is amazing how time flies Steve. Do your best to slow down and enjoy every minute. My oldest granddaughter starts high school this year and it seems like it was just a few years ago when I took her mom to her first day of kindergarten. I sure do feel old.
The temps are bad here also. Thought about taking the day off and maybe tomorrow to. No ac in the factory I work at just fans blowing hot air on you. I gotta suffer through I need them 2 days for hunting season.
We’ve had bad heat the last couple months. But this week hasn’t been bad. We don’t have the humidity like you guys do. Tomorrow morning pulling up the trailers to get elk camp ready. We start hunting the 21st
Well just found out that my opener for WI bow is now rained on by a wedding for a cousin and a retirement party for my father in law. Don't these people realize that hunter or not they need to check season dates first lol.
