How much FOC is too much?

[Wudstix]

Was wondering if there is such a thing as too much FOC?  Right now have a Beman 400 29" with Big Jim(VPA) 300 grain and 100 grain brass insert running 28.17%.  Just fiddling with carbons and may use on hogs.
 

[smoke]

I think it becomes too much only when your spine becomes too weak and your arrow no longer flies true. 

[bowmaster12]

As much as you can get and maintain good arrow flight and you or ok witb the trajectory of the arrow

[blacktailbob]

Maybe a little.

[Pine]

There is such a thing as diminishing returns.
A few years ago I was shooting at the archery range with my 60# recurve with an arrow that weighed 610gr.
A guy had me try one of his arrows that weighed a little over 1000gr. and at 20 yards it hit about 4" lower and bounced off the backstop.
My arrows were penetrating about 6" so where's the advantage of an extra heavy arrow?

[Wudstix]

Just tinkering with a couple carbons before I trade them.  I'll get the woodies flying well.  Perhaps use the odd one of the carbons on hogs.  Really hate to break a woody on a feral.
 

[ozy clint]

only disadvantage I see is that in a cross wind they fly 'sideways', with the fletching not following the path of the point. this somewhat negates the penetration benefits.

[Sam McMichael]

I agree with bowmaster12.  Good arrow flight and trajectory are the essence of great performance, and when this is combined with high FOC good results are quite likely.

[Sojurn]

My experience mirrors ozy's.  To much foc and they fly sideways in a crosswind.  I keep my foc in the 18 to 20% range, and worry way more about arrow flight.

[Wudstix]

I'll keep fiddling after I get my wood arrows flying well with Snuffer 160 grain heads.  Right now at 625 grains and 9.4 gpp.  Hit right on spot, if I do my part.
 

[David Phillips]

The guy from the Traditional Wilderness podcast has a video of him shooting the big 1 1/2” mangus broadheads without fletching, bare shaft. I think he said he’s shooting 30% FOC. The shaft follows the weight. You can have high FOC without an overweighted total arrow weight, the two are not synonymous. The whole point of FOC is most of the weight forward.

[woodchucker]

I only shoot wood arrows, so all this FOC stuff kinda stumps me??

I use the 1/3 balance test. I set my finished arrow on the table, and slowly push the point end off.
I want the "balance" point to be about 1/3 back on the shaft from the BOP.

Works for me... My arrows fly just fine

[Wudstix]

David;
With the set-up mentioned 57% of total weight is in the front @3".  They flew great at close range after I get my wood arrows tuned up I'll go back a mess with the carbons a bit at 15 yards plus.  Wood takes priority.
 

[David Phillips]

I shoot wood arrows most of the time myself, but the durability of carbon cannot be denied. Hogs especially are hard on wood shafts. I’ve shot a lot of hogs and everyone I’ve shot with a wood shaft was broken. Carbon has its place and I carry a couple in the back quiver for hogs while deer hunting. The EFOC extreme forward of center does help with wind planing and penetration. There will be a different trajectory than a wood shaft with the weight more evenly distributed. Getting 25-30% EFOC would be near impossible with wood arrows so a lot of people that only shoot wood don’t understand it. Dr. Ashby did enough testing on FOC EFOC heavy arrows etc. to prove the point. You’ll notice no one has disproven his reports or proved a POC arrow with 125 grain Bear razorhead out penetrates a EFOC heavy carbon arrow and they never will.

[old_goat2]

only disadvantage I see is that in a cross wind they fly 'sideways', with the fletching not following the path of the point. this somewhat negates the penetration benefits.

Did you reduce the size of your feathers in relation to how much you increased FOC? This will make a big difference in how they handle a crosswind. Increasing FOC increases the lever arm length the feathers act upon. I don't have any more tail wiggle with my high FOC arrows than I do with my more balanced arrows and they seem to hold the line better

[woodchucker]

Thank you for putting it in "dummy terms" David!!!

Tyler builds all of our arrows, so breaking or loosing them doesn't hurt so bad!! LOL
I'm gonna sit this one out.....

[ozy clint]

old_goat2- i use 4x4" parabolic feathers.

[Wudstix]

Finished tuning a set of Big Jim wood arrows I got in a trade.  FOC on woodies is right at 18% and at 15 yards hitting the spot when I do my part.  625 grain arrow weight with @ 9.4 gpp.  Think this will hunt for me.  May drag a couple carbon sticks for hogs. 

[old_goat2]

old_goat2- i use 4x4" parabolic feathers.

. That's way way too much feather for high FOC, perfect for balanced foc, it's no wonder you seen the fishtailing.

[McDave]

Interesting, I never knew that some of the speed loss from EFOC, or to be more precise the higher gpp that results, could be offset by smaller feathers resulting in lower wind resistance.