Does not a heavy point make FOC?

[Forresterwoods]

#4651

I’m don’t quite get all the gymnastics one has to go through fora FOC arrow. In my thinking all one needs is an arrow shaft that is spined to handle a 300 grain tip. With that in mind, what would be the need for tapering and cutting thfou growth rings? For MORE weight up front? I csn see the need to ‘beef’ up the spine of a softwood shaft while taking a little weight off the tail. For hunting I would think a 5/16 hardwood shaft with a 1” natural footing for large broadheads has the best pass through potential. I’m all ears if someone can logically explain the difference between FOC in a tapered shaft vs FOC in a stiffer straight shaft with a heavy broadhead. Good to k.

now if it’s Apples and Oranges.

Kevin Forrester

[James Harvey]

#33469

Kev, there are a few points I can think of that may be relevant here. But everything I’m about to write is all about stuff I’ve read, not from experience, so take that for what it’s worth 😉

First, if there is a substantial weight advantage to a tapered 11/32 vs a 5/16 hardwood of the same spine, that would be worth chasing. I don’t know if there is, my experience with wood is so limited.

Second, in the FOC seminar I’ve seen on youtube, Doc Ashby reckons all else being equal, tapered shafts get 8% better penetration than parallel. What penetration difference is there in 11/32 vs 5/16? I don’t know, but if it is less than or equal to 8%, 11/32 tapered is better, or at least on par.

Third, supporting your suggestion to use hard wood, is Doc Ashby’s 1st and most important point in that same seminar (and I’ve seen him say it here as well) is that “Structural Integrity of the entire arrow system is THE most important factor in terminal arrow performance. When structural integrity fails nothing else about your arrow’s design matters.” In the seminar he went on to say that the easy stand out for this is the hardwood shaft. I don’t remember the exact numbers, but it was something like 1 in 3 Al and C arrows mechanically failed on heavy bone strike, where something like 1 in 30 hardwood shafts failed.

The good Doc et al more or less gave us the specs for the best broadhead design, which Joe went and built, so an interesting follow up study would be to do some similar testing with the Tuffhead as the constant of the experiment and make everything else the variable. We know what the best head is, is there a best shaft to go behind it? If there is, what is it?

Jim

[David Petersen]

#33685

Kevin– As stated in another thread here somewhere, the primary reason for rear-tapered shafts is that they come out of paradox faster, which should result in better flight and a bit more retained speed … which is likely as responsible for the added penetration as the slight weight gain up front/FOC. I know you prefer straight shafts but most wood shooters I’ve known prefer tapered for the same reasons I do. Also, if you’re going for EFOC, the lighter the shaft the better, so long as you have 650 minimum total. So tapering heavy wood shafts increases FOC not only by the weight up front but also by the lack of weight at the back. But frankly, I shoot tapered simply because they fly better for me, and I need all the help I can get. 😆

[Ptaylor]

#33782

Along this same vein, which is stronger a soft wood like sitka spruce or a hardwood like ash? I know hardwoods are tough on direct impacts, which is why we use the baseball bats, but they can’t bend as easily. Isn’t that the reason we frame houses with softwood 2x4s? So for an arrow, could it be that strong softwoods are better than hardwoods, as far as strength goes?

[Forresterwoods]

#33854

I think the cost of softwoods is the primary reason for framing a house….along with the softwood is ”good enough”to do the job. The problem I see whith some hardwoods for arrow making are two fold. First of all many hardwoods don’t have spine strong enough for their weight, and secondly some popular hardwoods have the tendency to warp. I’ve had to search far and wide through trial and error for hardwoods that are relatively light for their spine. Also some wood has interlocking grain…leopardwood for example which resists warping as opposed to ash or hickory. I’ve seen hardwoods recover quickly like a tapered softwood. What ever works try it.

Kevin Forrester

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