Arrow FOC
- Thread starter Ought Six
- Start date
Ridgerunner6901
Well-known member
Well it certainly will expose a weak shaft situation. So if your setups is marginal increasing f.o.c could theoretically negatively impact grouping. Just my opinion, im no expert
grizzly63
Well-known member
Supposed to stabilize arrows better for more accurate flight. the beginning of that would be having a bow that is tuned to your chosen arrow. If that doesn't work, you need to change up the stiffness of the shaft by adding/ subtracting weight, changing the length or selecting a different shaft. IF you cannot get your broadheads to fly to the same point as your field points within reason, it could be an indication. Keep in mind that broadheads make the shaft longer and affects the spine slightly.
I see so many people worrying about it that I was wondering what people on here thought. I’ve got a long draw length so my arrow shafts are long and heavy and it is really hard to get FOC and still keep speed, I’m at about 8% FOC and don’t want to add any more weight. Broadheads and fieldtips fly right with each other, I’ve killed bulls with it, probably shouldn’t pay any attention to it. But I’m a tinkerer, always looking for the next best thing to make me 1% better
Flatbrimmer
Well-known member
On ethical close range shots under 35-40 yards: no. 40-60 dramatic
Sounds like you have a solution already. I get the tinkering part though. If nothing else order a few shafts from Lancaster and build what you’re curious about. They don’t require you to buy a half dozen minimum. For myself I’d rather be in the 280-285fps range. Whatever it takes to get there is where like my arrows to end up.
Mighty Mouse
Active member
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2022
- Messages
- 108
My advice is to ignore FOC altogether. You're hitting where you aim and killing what you aim at...that's all that matters. Build your arrows for whatever speed/total weight you want and let FOC fall where it may.
Mighty Mouse
Active member
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2022
- Messages
- 108
What change occurs at 40 yds that makes FOC start having a dramatic effect?
Flatbrimmer
Well-known member
Beyond 40. You’ll see a faster drop. If you’re taking shots at something 90 yards away, you’ll see the drop.
Disagree?
Mighty Mouse
Active member
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2022
- Messages
- 108
Are we talking weight or FOC? If we're talking weight, then, yes, a heavier arrow will drop faster and that drop will be more noticeable at longer ranges. But if we're talking FOC, I don't think FOC alone has a noticeable effect on trajectory. Two arrows of the same total weight but different FOC will drop (very nearly) the same amount over any given distance.
Flatbrimmer
Well-known member
…… i disagree. Respectfully. I’d love to test this with you. I just upped my FOC with 50 gn black Eagle inserts last season and it has dramatically impacted both my penetration (positively) and drop rate (negatively) beyond 40/45 yards
This...
If you like to tinker then go with the lightest spine that you can safely shoot with heavy cut on contact well made heads up front. You will have to tune each arrow to find the "sweet spot" on the spine. You will know you found it when you can group your arrows real tight without fletch at 30 yds. Everyone focuses on bow tune and forgets to tune each shaft.
Did the FOC increase your penetration and drop rate, or did adding 50 more grains to your arrow do that? 50 grains is a significant amount of weight
I’d agree with this, I think @FoodIsMemories might be confusing weight with FOC, although weight can be directly related to FoC by putting it in the front, putting more total weight into your arrow system is going to cause a significant drop down range no matter where you put it. Speed vs weight makes for a flat shooting bow, but then there are the arguments related to weight and penetration. Finding the sweet spot is probably key.
I’m not worried about penetration, I’m shooting a “heavy-ish arrow” (490 grains) at around 295-297 fps. I’m just seeing if anyone noticed any forgiveness in fixed blade broadhead flight due to FOC. Fixed blades will show inconsistencies in form, anchor point, trigger punch, etc, especially in the heat of the moment, so if FOC helped to alleviate this and made my bow setup more forgiving, I’d be interested in upping it. However, I have a feeling it won’t make any difference.
One article I found online did say that higher FoC can keep an arrow stabilized and from flying erratically down range, which would help with fixed blade flight, but I’m not noticing it with 8% FoC though.
In an older bow, completely different setup, speed, poundage, draw length, etc, my FoC was closer to 13%. Only difference I’ve seen between 8% and 13% is when shooting long range and forgetting to set my sight at the range (overly tired dad brain at the range), the 13% was nose diving when it hit the ground and was easy to find either stuck in the spot or a few yards away; the 8% arrow, because it’s flying so much “flatter” (not nose diving as much) skips off the ground and goes another 60-70 yards.
Last edited:
Flatbrimmer
Well-known member
isn’t that what I said?
Flatbrimmer
Well-known member
I believe adding it up front did. I ran the same setup without the inserts for awhile first. That’s just my observation is they nose dived after 40. I don’t believe they helped stabilize my broadhead much different either still Flew about the same..
Mighty Mouse
Active member
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2022
- Messages
- 108
Interesting. Both of your arrows had the same total weight? Do you mind sharing the details of how each arrow was constructed (shaft make/model/spine/length, component weights)? I'm curious how great the difference in FOC was and what else you changed (besides insert weight) to keep TAW the same.
Did your total arrow weight stay the same or did it increase because of the added weight?
Oh I got you now, kind of thought we might be on the same page but wasn’t sure
