Front of Center - Will it Work for You?

F.O.C.? What is it in the archery world, and what can it do for my hunting set up?

F.O.C. or Front of Center by general definition is the percentage of the overall arrow weight in front of the balance point of the arrow (Nockout Lighted Nocks”). Simply put, it’s the calculation of weight on the front half of your arrow. Just like any other proponent of your setup, higher F.O.C. has its pros and cons. A few pros I like to focus on are a more stable and consistent arrow flight (more accurate, tighter groups), so that the arrow will transfer energy more efficiently leading to more kinetic energy at the point of impact, as well as better broad head flight. Some arguments against F.O.C. are slower arrow speed and your arrow will fall quicker at longer distances. When you are getting your set up ready for the season there are many factors to take into account.

When determining what you want your FOC to be you need to take into account many factors. For Example, if I am whitetail hunting out of a tree stand my longest shot is going to be roughly 40 yards in most cases, but if I am spot and stalk hunting mule deer for example where shot distances most commonly range over 40yds my arrow FOC set up is going to very different (John Dudley). Not only is it important to take in account the animal and the type of hunting you will be doing, but you also need to maximize the benefits of your bow. Are you shooting a compound that can spit hunting arrows out above 300fps? Or are you shooting a traditional bow that doesn’t have the ability to shoot at such great speeds. In Those situations a compound hunter might not need to worry about as much FOC because of how fast it can shoot, whereas if you happen to be shooting a traditional bow you might need to have a very high FOC to make up for the lack of speed. Easton Archery advocates 10-15% as the best front of center percentage for hunting arrows (Easton Archery). In those above examples it wouldn’t be crazy to see the compound bow hunter with 8% or even lower FOC, and the traditional bow hunter with upwards of 20% and more FOC.

In my personal experience, as someone who shoots a higher poundage compound bow, I have had a lot of success with a higher than normal FOC. I like to try and find that “Happy Medium” between speed and FOC. This year my set up shot at roughly 460g arrow weight with 18% FOC. As a tree stand hunter after whitetail 99% of the time, I found this set up maximized my performance the most. It gave me enough punch on close range shots, but also stable arrow flight out to farther distances. So it gave me the piece of mind knowing I could make any shot I would encounter this season. In all honesty I didn’t test the speed of my set up, but I would venture to say I was more on the FOC side of the argument than speed. I look forward to this summer and early fall to tinker with my set up to see if I can get a little more speed while keeping my FOC high.

Sources:

Easton Archery FAQ (https://eastonarchery.com/faqs/)

Nockout Lighted Nocks (https://www.nockout.com/understanding-arrow-foc/)

John Dudley “Arrow Speed, Arrow Weight, Accuracy, and Penetration”