Tfox, nice experiment.

The problem is, what I'm talking about is considered old-school. It should be considered today's school. It's just as practical today, with modern equipment, as any other day in the past. The prinicples have remained true. The benefits are still there.

Dr Ashby has proven the importance of high weight on penetration and the effect extreme FOC has on increasing penetration. He's proven it on flesh and bone, not foam or steel. These principles hold true on any animal whether it's a moose or a whitetail. I can't tell you how many guys I've heard lament having hit a shoulder and not penetrated enough for a kill, using their modern equipment and light, low-FOC arrows. I watch modern hunting shows and see center-of-chest hits penetrating about 6-10inches - all the time. So-called professional hunters that don't know the first thing about proper arrow configuration, is what I think is going on.

The only disadvantage of heavy arrows, is when a person doesn't know the distance. That is easily overcome with today's rangefinders and proper pre-hunt planning.

I disagree completely. In my opinion, almost everyone would be better off shooting heavier points and higher FOCs. On the extreme end, I can just imagine going after an Alaskan brown bear with a 125 gr tip on a 9% FOC arrow. Heck, the arrow would probably bounce off. If I did that that shot, I'd make sure my guide is real good with a rifle on an angry bear. I wouldn't dare even imagine going after something really big, like a cape buffalo. That arrow likely wouldn't even get halfway through one rib.

I know - you're talking about whitetails, not cape buffalo. Well, it doesn't matter. A whitetail's shoulder is just as tough to get through as a cape buffalo's rib. When I tout the benefits of high FOC on heavier arrows, I'm not referring to perfect conditons and perfect hits (how often does that happen?). I'm talking about the typical hunt, with wind gusts, unseen twigs, odd shot angles, slightly off-target hits and a hunter that is not as calm as he should be. The kind of forgiveness and stability you get from this type of arrow is exactly what most hunters should have.

I blame this light-arrow, need-for-speed mentality on the popularity of 3d shooting. Field tips being shot at unknown distances. People setup their bows and their arrow to perform well at this game. Then, they go out shoot something similar at live animals. Well, hunting is a different game. We shoot broadheads and it should never be at an unknown distance. The optimum arrow to perform well in most hunting senerios, is absolutely nothing like what is best for 3d.