Ideal FOC?
#11
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Posts: 1,051
RE: Ideal FOC?
Sorry Art, no offense meant. By the way, that 45 after my name doesn' t just stand for my favorite caliber any more! [:@] LOL
I just seem to remember that a lot of people didn' t put in the time to tune like I did, and apparently you did too.
I just seem to remember that a lot of people didn' t put in the time to tune like I did, and apparently you did too.
#12
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 9,175
RE: Ideal FOC?
Danny, most ' old schoolers' I knew that bowhunted ' way back when' were also competitive shooters. We had our bows tuned. There were a lot more competitive shooters back then and a good deal fewer bowhunters, but even then compeitive shooters didn' t make up a majority of bowhunters. Today there are a lot more bowhunters and a lot fewer competitive hunters. Competitive shooters aren' t anything but a tiny fraction of everyone out there now. Most bowhunters swear they don' t even have time to shoot a few arrows once or twice a week. If they refuse to make time to practice, I seriously doubt they are making time to meticulously tune their bows.
People that hang out on these forums are far removed from the average ' bowhunter' and that' s a fact that a whole lot of these folks don' t seem to understand. Someone that' s highly experienced can probably get an arrow to shoot pretty decently with low FOC, like 7-8%, but I think it' s an unstable arrow that will be deflected easily and blown around more by the wind than it would be with a higher FOC. That goes especially for shooting into a stiff breeze!
Bump up around 15% and that arrow will plow right along and not much will affect it. There will be detrimental effects on trajectory but those effects won' t be much of an issue over normal hunting yardages. I like to split the difference between those two points.
People that hang out on these forums are far removed from the average ' bowhunter' and that' s a fact that a whole lot of these folks don' t seem to understand. Someone that' s highly experienced can probably get an arrow to shoot pretty decently with low FOC, like 7-8%, but I think it' s an unstable arrow that will be deflected easily and blown around more by the wind than it would be with a higher FOC. That goes especially for shooting into a stiff breeze!
Bump up around 15% and that arrow will plow right along and not much will affect it. There will be detrimental effects on trajectory but those effects won' t be much of an issue over normal hunting yardages. I like to split the difference between those two points.
#16
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location:
Posts: 2,413
RE: Ideal FOC?
I think the ideal FOC varies with each set-up. A buddy of mine just got a new Merlin Quest 35, and I don' t know what it is about it' s nock travel with the new Omega cam, but that arrow comes off so straight, I think he could shoot the biggest fixed blade broadhead there is, at around 5% FOC.
A little story about his bow - he was practicing at 20 yards with field tips and noticed something didn' t feel right on his last arrow in a group, and he noticed a very slight fishtail to the arrow. When he pulled it out of the target, he saw that it had lost the field tip and insert on the prior shot. Funny thing, it was dead center in his 1.5" group! Even so, his hunting arrow will have an FOC of about 12%. In a brisk wind, higher FOC becomes far more important.
A little story about his bow - he was practicing at 20 yards with field tips and noticed something didn' t feel right on his last arrow in a group, and he noticed a very slight fishtail to the arrow. When he pulled it out of the target, he saw that it had lost the field tip and insert on the prior shot. Funny thing, it was dead center in his 1.5" group! Even so, his hunting arrow will have an FOC of about 12%. In a brisk wind, higher FOC becomes far more important.
#18
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location:
Posts: 2,413
RE: Ideal FOC?
Can I then assume that if your bow is finely tuned that the F.O.C. is not as critical unless there is a stiff cross breeze?