Arrow weight, FOC, etc...

[Wolfshead]

I am a greenhorn as far as hunting and especially bowhunting is concerned. I am learning all I can on the subject and hope to hunt for the first time this coming fall.
With that being said, I am curious about my set up. I will be hunting for whitetails.
My set up is  this 64" Bama Hunter Longbow, 45 lbs @ 27" (my draw length),surewood Douglas Fir shafts, 55-60 spine (bowyer recommended spine), 29.5 BOP, 125 gr head total arrow weight of 544-546 grains per arrow which is approx 12 GPI?
I read that I should be around 10 GPI is this too heavy?
Do I need to worry about FOC?
Please help the Greenhorn out recommendations, suggestions, etc....
Thanks
Doug

[Friend]

Your inquiry focuses on subjects which illicit never ending debates.

Obtain the following and your set-up will be golden:

1. Optimum arrow flight
2. Sharp broadheads
3. Shot placement on the ‘mark’

[LittleBen]

Hey Doug, Scott(Friend) hit this one on the head. If the arrow flies well, the broadhead is sharp and the shot is on the mark, you will be a happy camper.

With a given set of wood arrows, you really don't have alot of control over FOC like you do with carbon arrows. At a given arrow weight and spine, carbon arrows will almost always have higher FOC just because the shaft is lighter.
The truth (my opinion) about FOC is this: you need some FOC, and all arrows have it. it's typically 8-12% or something like that. I think that the UFOC, EUFOC, ohmygod%^&@%^#%FOC, is a lot of nonsense. Maybe it makes things better .... maybe not. I think it's not worth worrying about. Does 93octane gas make your toyota tercel run better? Who cares if it runs fine on 87.

More than 10gpp is no problem, your arrow won't be quite as fast and flat shooting but the deer wont mind.

Shoot more, philosophize less ....  thats my take on it. Good luck.

[Terry Lightle]

What LittleBen said

[Wolfshead]

Thanks Guys
I was wondering mostly about the weight actually as with even cutting the full length shafts down to 29.5 they were still up to 12 grains per pound.
They shoot fine as far as I can tell and the bow seems to spit them out pretty quick so that is what I'll do....
Get-um flyin straight
Get-um scary sharp
And hit the right spot!

[H1tman7]

Heavier arrows mean more KE. Which is a good thing for penetration so long as you can keep them on target.

You might try flinging a bare shaft or shooting through some paper so see what your flight looks like. You can also screw on some broadheads and see if they group with to your fieldpoints as a way to rough check your tune.

[JamesKerr]

Scott hit it on the head! The single most important thing (well there are three that tie for most important actually) is perfect arrow flight, a razor sharp broadhead, and being able to hit what you look at (or for most people pretty darn close   :D   ) If you get those three down I promise any whitetail on this earth is in trouble from your bow and what ever arrow set ups or broadheads you shoot.
If you are concerned about arrow weigh just remember one thing no matter how fast a bow is until the speed of the arrow surpasses the speed of sound the deer or other animal can still get out of its way. And while a lighter arrow is faster it is louder but a heavier arrow is normally much quieter and 9 out of 10 times heavier arrows out penetrate lighter arrows in case you make a bad shot and hit bone.

[katman]

to answer you questions:

12gpp is not to heavy if you are accurate with it.

10gpp is a good middle between light and heavy but it is not etched in stone anywhere you have to have it.

No need to worry about foc, if I have a choice I would prefer more of the weight of an arrow to be up front.

Also if your broadhead tipped arrows are grouping well with your field tip tipped arrows you are tuned. So all the is left is to make the shot, practice practice practice.

Listen to friends advice and good luck next season.

[Bjorn]

Were you end up with wood arrows is where you end up. I shoot doug fir and end up at 12 -13 gpp with a 175 gn BH. My shots are limited to 10-20 yards and that is what I practice for. My focus is on tuning with little regard for FOC.

[Sam McMichael]

Friend really has this one nailed! If your equipment is performing well and your broadhead is sharp you are good to go. Don't fall into the habit of overthinking every little technical detail - it just ain't necessary. If the arrows are flying straight, then just sharpen up your hunting knife and hit the woods.

When I first started hunting with a bow I had never heard of FOC or grains per inch or any of that stuff. All I knew was that if my arrows shot straight, they would kill what I shot. I  pretty much have followed that approach since the 1970's.

[Shawn Leonard]

Doug, the weight thing at 10 gpp. is kind of a farce!! I have killed plenty of critters and some big whitetails in the 240# range and I kill all of them with 8.5-9 grains per pound. Much more important is an arrow that flies perfectly and a razor sharp broadhead with good shot placement. I think if you shoot a light bows say 40#s or so than an arrow that weighs closer to 10 gpp. can help again shot placement and sharp BHs are what really counts. Shawn

[gringol]

No one ever cared about foc or gpp until very recently.  I'm not aware of f bear or h hill caring about it.  The goal of tuning should be good arrow flight.  Like bjorn said, you get what you get with woodies.  If they fly straight, take them hunting.

[JimB]

Actually,Fred Bear did talk about GPP even back in the 1940's.

[Bjorn]

Arrow weight is one of those personal things we get to decide, go with what works and gives you confidence in potting the arrow in the right spot. For me, 12 gpp works best. I don't like them going too fast either-another personal preference. I am much more accurate with an arrow going about 165 than with a lighter arrow flying 190-light arrows magnify a slight judgement error. Find what works for you and stick with it. And like Shawn said 'an arrow that flies perfectly and a razor sharp broadhead with good shot placement'.

[katman]

Bjorn, I don't follow the "light arrows magnify a slight judgement error" could you explain what you mean? Thanks.

[Bjorn]

Just a personal thing-I find a heavy arrow is steadier at release-works for me.

[beaver#1]

Best advice I can give is find out what you like to shoot and shoot good. Don't fall into the hype. Have a good time. I feel Into it when I first got into hunting with a bow and made my first years very frustrating. Hope this helps.

[katman]

Thanks that is what I thought you meant that it magnifies form errors and I agree. Thanks

[Wolfshead]

Originally posted by beaver#1:
Best advice I can give is find out what you like to shoot and shoot good. Don't fall into the hype. Have a good time. I feel Into it when I first got into hunting with a bow and made my first years very frustrating. Hope this helps.

Yes it is getting a little frustrating if I let it.
I want to make sure I am being correct about it. I really want to "do it right".
I realize there are as many thoughts on the subject as there are archers but I wanted to make sure that I was at least in the ballpark.
Again I thank all of you for your sound advice

[Fletcher]

Doug, you will do very well with what you have.  As most posters have said, a well tuned arrow is more important than GPP, FOC or type/weight of broadhead will ever be.  As you travel this journey we call traditional bowhunting, you will find what you like and that works well for you.

I would recommend that you learn to use one or more of the tuning methods like paper tuning or bareshafting.  Perfect arrow flight is critical to good arrow performance and accuracy.  I used to think I could see good arrows flight with my eyes until I learned to paper tune.  It was a real "eye opener".

Enjoy the journey!