If you already know the length and balancing point of your arrow, you can use the FOC Calculator below to quickly find the % of your arrow’s weight that is Front-Of-Center! (enter a number or slide the orange dots to the desired number)
FOC (Front Of Center) | Calculator
Arrow length from end of arrow shaft to the bottom of the nock groove (L)
inches
Distance from balance point to the bottom of the nock groove (A)
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12/22/2024 01:18 am GMT
What does FOC stand for?
“FOC” stands for Front-Of-Center (Or Forward-Of-Center) and refers to the percentage of an arrow’s overall weight that is forward of the balancing point, or, “center” of the arrow.
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12/21/2024 11:54 pm GMT
How to find the “balance point” of an arrow
To find the balance point of your hunting arrow, first be sure you have already installed your nocks, vanes, inserts and broadheads/points onto your arrow.
To calculate FOC, you first need to find the “balance point” of your hunting arrow.
Using a triangular block of wood, find the exact place that your arrow balances perfectly. (If you don’t have a triangular block, you can also balance the arrow on your finger).
Once you have found the balance point of your arrow, measure from that point to the throat of your nock. This will be your balance point measurement.
Once you have measured your arrow’s length and balancing point, you can use the formula provided in the diagram above to calculate the FOC of your arrow.
Certainly bowhunters want to be the best they can be so that they can get an ethical kill. But, when it comes to FOC, there are varying opinions on whether higher or lower FOC is better.
Some bowhunters want a lighter overall arrow weight, so that the arrow is as fast as possible. The intent is often to keep the deer or other game from “ducking the string.”
The desire for a lighter arrow is often why some hunters don’t want a “higher FOC” arrow (since adding more weight to the front of the same arrow, with inserts or heavier broadheads would increase FOC, but also slow the arrow down.)
Consider heavier broadheads and/or inserts when seeking a higher FOC.An arrow with an FOC of 8-12% FOC could be considered “normal,” while a “high FOC” arrow would start around 15% and can go up to even 30%.
Unbeknownst to me, I had slowed the truck to a crawl as I surveyed the thick urban wood lot. Suffice to say, the car behind me didn’t appreciate it.
The greenbelt sat behind a gas station and next to a small pocket neighborhood. I had caught a glimpse of a familiar resident… It was “Shaggy,” a disheveled old buck that still donned his velvet on the early December day.
“Shaggy” is just one of a growing population of whitetails in suburban areas around the country.
But it wasn’t his set of antlers that justified his nickname, rather his mangy and matted coat. Shaggy always had a bad hair day – at least for the last couple of years. He wasn’t seen often, but this section was his core bedding area and the number of fender benders I almost caused here were too many to count.
Urban and Suburban Deer: A growing segment of the whitetail population
Urban and Suburban deer have been multiplying around the country for years. Even though hunting them is illegal in my hometown of Austin, Texas, deer nerds like me are always on the lookout for them. In fact, during the pre-rut and rut, I see an amazing number of shooter bucks within a four-block radius of my house alone. The untouchables I call them.
I’ve learned every wooded and semi-wooded area in my part of town and survey them regularly. I’ve also discovered various bedding areas, funnels, and trails in this mostly concrete jungle.
I’m told I need to get a life, but I’m okay with that.
I have a friend (who will remain nameless) that has long since been known for his bow hunting escapades in suburban Austin. A commercial real estate professional, he’s never had a shortage of unoccupied greenbelt sections to visit with his bow in hand. He was once known for his common strategy of putting on camo over his dress clothes for impromptu bow sits.
I’m not a proponent of law-breaking but have to admit that I loved his stories. Plus, much of Austin is mired in a massive overpopulation of whitetails. Some areas are so crowded with deer that many live an unhealthy existence.
For me, this softened my friend’s violation. Conservation and herd management indeed.
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Urban Deer Hunting | It’s Tougher Than You Think
Suburban deer hunting presents unique challenges. I get a kick out of the common misconception that these deer are tame and, hence are easy to hunt. Consequently, the idea has been cultivated that all deer are easy to hunt and it’s not hunting at all. This mindset largely comes from some of the city dwellers that encounter them (many of them of course, anti-hunters).
When it comes to bucks (especially mature ones), this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Just because you might see them in the “wide open,” doesn’t mean suburban deer are easy to hunt.
How do they hide in plain sight?
I’m still astounded by the random sightings of huge bucks in my neighborhood; often seemingly new ones. On many occasions, I’ve sat in my truck dumbfounded asking myself, where has this buck been all this time?
Sure, there are the deer groups often seen on manicured lawns. However, it’s not always the case, especially with mature bucks.
Despite living amid constant human activity, urban deer no doubt have people patterned. It has much to do with familiarity and hunting them is another matter altogether.
Just like in rural settings, changes in human activity promptly throws a wrench in whitetail tendencies.
“It will truly give you a new appreciation for what a deer will tolerate in its daily life. And, how quickly when one small thing steps out of that “normal” routine, a deer will take notice and alter its behavior in order to figure out what’s going on,” says Taylor Chamberlin of the Urban Deer Complex 2.0.
Tyler and his outfit tenaciously study and pursue the urban whitetail in the Washington, D.C. area – another region that houses an exorbitant number of deer.
If Urban Hunting is legal where you live, grab the stick and string
Currently, there are many successful urban and suburban deer hunters around the country in areas where it’s legal to bow hunt them. In fact, suburban bow hunting now represents a popular niche in the outdoor industry, social media, and outdoor culture, and it should come as no surprise.
The ability to live in a setting full of consistent human activity adds more proof to the resiliency of the whitetail deer.
It’s astonishing the number of trophy class bucks that are taken a stone’s throw from playscapes, soccer practices, and strip centers. If you pay attention to hunting-related social media and other channels, you will no doubt hear stories about huge bucks taken within, if not near city limits.
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12/22/2024 12:22 am GMT
There is no better example of such success than Lee Ellis and Drew Carroll of Seek One Productions who has had incredible deer hunting success right in the suburbs of Atlanta. In fact, they’ve taken bucks of massive proportions – bona fide trophy class whitetails.
“Our goal is to show people that adventure is not constrained to wild remote places and that hunting is not defined by big woods and rural parts of the country,” said Ellis. He continued, “If you look hard enough, adventure can be found in the most unexpected places and can become part of your everyday life like it has for us”.
Deer hunting within and near cities and towns isn’t easy and takes work.
First, it’s difficult to get hunting permission and requires persistence. Be prepared to ask and ask again. Your odds are greatly increased if you can procure permissions on contiguous sections.
When hunting and scouting, it’s important to locate the areas with the best cover and better yet, their associated pinch-points. Think low impact. Drive the roadways and be willing to glass from both roadsides and parking lots before you ever attempt to set up a blind or deer stand. Deer are much more used to vehicles in these settings.
Even if hunting with a bow and arrow is allowed in your suburban area, be sure to still obtain the proper permissions before hunting whitetail.
If they exist in or within the city limits, examine fields from a distance (especially agriculture). Finally, keep your ears open.
Much like in the country, the rumor mill is powerful. This is a good way to get info on good area bucks.
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12/22/2024 01:49 am GMT
Leveraging Suburban Deer Intel for Rural Hunting Success
Finally, use suburban deer behavior (and hunting) to your advantage. It can be beneficial to your more remote hunting pursuits.
Urban and suburban deer hunting provides an opportunity to study deer behavior without heading to the ranch, lease or public hunting area. I’ve often said that my neighborhood is my classroom with lessons and experiences at the ready. As a whitetail hunter and enthusiast, it’s a gift. Simply observe and you’ll become a more proficient and educated hunter.
While there are differences in hunting near the city limits vs. more remote grounds, there are similarities as well. I’ve found that monitoring deer behavior in mine and other Austin neighborhoods has helped my rural hunting immensely.
On numerous occasions, I’ve seen first-hand the beginning of the rut in my ‘hood – heck sometimes even in my cul-de-sac.
The year 2018 was no different. It had an earlier rut period than in previous years. I woke one early November day to find that the switch had indeed been flipped. Many amorous, persistent and committed bucks were on their feet. This deer hunting geek was stoked.
It didn’t take
me long to pack the truck and drive the two hours to our family farm to take
advantage of the opportunity. And it paid off. Yes, all those reports
predicting an early rut were true and I had first-hand proof – and time to
strike. Game on.
Finally, there are other benefits of hunting in urban areas, including herd management, recreation, and positive economic impact on local communities. From an outdoor tradition, legacy, and conservation standpoint it also widens hunting’s (particularly bow hunting’s) reach and footprint.
Though I won’t hold my breath, I hope to be able to bow hunt whitetails in the greater Austin area someday. In the meantime, I’ll continue to be entertained and educated by them.
On the other hand, if you live in an urban or suburban area where it’s legal, do your research and get after it. You may be surprised by what you find.
Jerald Kopp of 1st Light Hunting Journal. Be sure to check out some of his whitetail strategies.
In this article, I’m covering a re-test of the 125-grain Annihilator Broadhead.
When I originally tested this broadhead, it performed extremely well in terms of penetration, (i.e., draining a water jug) and in terms of the hole that it produced in a layer of MDF.
It also flew really well out to 50 yards. However, beyond 50 yards, there just seemed to be a drastic drop in velocity, causing an incredible drop in the point of impact.
I decided to re-test the Annihilator after talking with multiple people that had not gotten the same results as I did in my original test.
However, after making a video of that test, I was contacted by some friends who had also tested this broadhead at longer ranges, but did not see the drastic results I had seen.
I then visited with the designers of the Annihilator broadheads at the Archery Trade Association (ATA) show. They also said that their tests had not shown the drastic drop. In fact, they had seen really consistent flight, even at longer ranges. So, I told them I would very gladly test it again.
The backstory to my original test of the Annihilator broadhead
The day of the re-test, it was sub-zero temperatures (with the wind chill). When I re-tested the head, I found that the people I had spoken to were exactly right. It flew extremely well, even at longer ranges.
I realized that in my original test, I had made a two-fold mistake.
My two mistakes
Before I tested the Annihilator broadhead the first time, I was talking to a friend about it. He told me that when he shot it at longer ranges, there was a really large drop due to the wind resistance of that big surface area that they have. And so, that was already in my mind.
So, then when I shot it and tested it and there was a big drop, and I thought, “Oh, this just confirms what my friend had said.” I didn’t retest it or question my test results enough. That was my first mistake. I shouldn’t have had that in my mind.
The second mistake that I made in the initial test is that I had made adjustments to my site tapes and I didn’t take that into consideration when I was testing the Annihilator.
So, I felt really badly. I went back and made the adjustments in my site tapes and… Boom! Dead on!
I feel really badly that I made both of those mistakes, and both of those mistakes adversely affected the reputation of Annihilator (as well as my own reputation for doing a poor job in testing the broadhead).
I want to give a sincere apology to the makers of Annihilator broadheads, to their loyal fans, and especially to those who I turned off from these broadheads after my initial test, because it actually does fly very well even at longer ranges.
So, that’s why I wanted to do a completely new test. I’ve got new test mediums for 2020 that I’m using anyway. So it’s a good way to do those.
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12/22/2024 01:27 am GMT
The Annihilator broadhead | The specifics
So, let me explain this broadhead just a little bit for those of you that aren’t familiar with it.
When I first heard about it, I wasn’t that interested in testing it because the cutting diameter is sub-1 inch. It’s 0.91 inches of cut. To me, that’s just so small.
I thought, “Why would I want to test the head that has that small of a cut?”
However, what I wasn’t understanding was the design of this head has a “scoop” feature to it. So, while it has a small cutting diameter, when it presses through a medium like animal tissue, it actually displaces an incredible amount of it. (Note: As of the publishing of this article, I personally have not tested the Annihilator head on an animal).
So, the hole that it creates, and the tissue that’s displaced, is in theory far greater than if it was just 3 crossblades of 0.91 inches. It has an incredible surface area. (That showed in a test that I had done originally. The Annihilator drained a water jug in record time. It also put a big hole through MDF. And so, in the retest, I wanted to show that).
The Annihilator is designed to put a much larger hole than the head size suggests. The small surface area allows it to fly really well, but then displace a lot of tissue. And so, it makes a really nice hole.
Another cool thing about this head is that it’s a solid piece of 4140 tool steel. That is a really high quality of tool steel. So, it’s way more resistant to impact and much tougher than stainless steel, for example. It has a Rockwell hardness of 52, which is a pretty good balance of being soft enough to resharpen and hard enough to keep its edge.
You can just lay it flat on a flat stone or any kind of a flat edge surface and it is very easy to sharpen to a razor-like edge.
For penetration testing I used MDF board, foam padding and ballistic gel.
In my re-test, I used a half-inch layer of MDF surrounded by 1/3 of an inch of rubber foam mat. Beyond that was a gel block by Clear Ballistics, so you can see what happens to the broadhead once it enters the gel. (I will be doing this for all the broadheads I test this year).
Then, I shot it through a 22-gauge steel plate 5 times. (I like to shoot it through the steel plate until there begins to be significant damage to the blades. So, I basically see how many times it can be shot into the steel plate without facing significant damage. But, I stop at 5 because with some heads, I could keep going forever).
In terms of penetration through the MDF and gel, the Annihilator did very well. It did not do as well as some other broadheads I’ve tested, but it still had good penetration and made a nice hole in that MDF, as well as the gel.
Below, you can see the penetration of the Annihilator after going through the MDF and the rubber foam mats and into the gel. It penetrated 8-1/4 inches.
The Annihilator, through MDF, foam pad and ballistic gel.
Below is a steel plate after I shot it 5 times with the same head. You can see the Annihilator really does make nice holes. Thus, it should displace a tremendous amount of tissue.
The Annihilator, shot into a 22-gauge steel plate.
Edge Retention
In terms of the durability of the edge (edge retention), the Annihilator is pristine. There is not a mark on it. It doesn’t quite shave hair, but it still bit into my fingernail… very impressive.
So, it’s durable as they come. It went through 5 layers of steel back-to-back-to-back with zero damage. That’s what that 4140 tool steel is going to do. It kept its edge really, really well.
The Annihilator kept it’s edge incredibly well, even after being shot 5 times through a 22-gauge steel plate.
The water drainage test was just other otherworldly. I don’t know any other word to describe it. It drained the bag in .40 seconds!
The reason I used the water bag drainage test instead of a water jug drainage test is that I felt that in a water jug, because the plastic is pretty stiff, sometimes the plastic folds in, sometimes it comes out, sometimes it stays in place. And so, the results are very inconsistent. Even with one head, I get different results.
But with water bag drainage test, and I fill it up 10 cups the same amount that the line is the same in all the tests that I do, try to shoot it in the same spot every time.
It’s much more consistent and much more like an animal because the bag is a little more nimble, like the tissue or the hide of an animal. And so, what you see is kind of what you’re going to get in terms of the drainage.
Water drainage test.
The Annihilator goes into the bag and displaced so much water so readily, it actually created a back-pressure to the water. When I looked at it in super slow motion, I could it make the hole and suck the water right out of the bag.
It was just amazing to see that. It’s an indication of what may happen with blood-letting and tissue damage within an animal as well. I can’t wait to test it on an animal at some point in the future.
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12/21/2024 11:54 pm GMT
Conclusion on The Annihilator Re-Test
I’m really grateful that I was encouraged to retest the Annihilator, because I knew it was a great head before. It tested really well in all categories except long distance.
However, now knowing after the re-test that it actually flies extremely well, even at long distances, it has gone from a very good head to a phenomenal head.
So, now I have confidence in this head at longer ranges. It gets a 10 out of 10 in terms of accuracy at long range.
The Annihilator re-test report card.
The Annihilator did excellent in all of the test categories. This is a winner of a head and it’s something to really consider for pretty much any animal you are going after. Give the Annihilator a look. Great job, Annihilator!
And now a Battle! [Annihilator Original vs. Annihilator XL]
Let the battle begin between the Annihilator Original head and the larger Annihilator XL!
I was really excited to battle the Annihilator Original vs. the Annihilator XL. The XL is basically just a bigger version of the Original.
For my flight and some of the penetration testing, I used the Bishop FOC King Arrow from Bishop Archery. For some of the more harsh durability tests, like shooting through steel, I used the Bishop Frozen Fire Arms Dispatch (FAD) Eliminator. It has a nice footing on the end and that prevents the steel from cutting through the shaft.
And then for some of the concrete tests, I’m using a tank of an arrow by Bishop Archery. It’s called the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time). The Goat with a 125-grain tip weighs 1300 grains. Just the shaft is like a weapon in and of itself. It feels like a giant tent stake or even a spear. It is the best of the best when it comes to arrows.
Here’s a good look at both models of the Annihilator heads below. The Original has a cutting diameter of 0.91 inches and the XL has a cutting diameter of 1-1/16 inches or 1.06 inches. So, 0.91, 1.06, about a 17% difference.
The Annihilator XL (on left) is a larger, beefier version of the original (right).
Flight comparison
For my flight comparison, I shot two broadheads of each model as well as a field point, to compare.
Here’s the Annihilator Original size. You can see the two broadheads there on the left. The field point is dead center, but I dropped just a little bit.
Here are the Annihilator XL’s. The field point is in the middle at the top and then the XLs are on either side.
Out of the box sharpness comparison
In the out-of-the box sharpness comparison, I used a sharpness testing machine, by Edge-On-Up. This tester holds a wire and measures how many grams of pressure it takes for the blade of a broadhead to break it.
The Annihilator Original took 450 grams of pressure to cut the wire.
Annihilator XL took 475 grams of pressure to cut the wire.
I shot both the Original and the XL into ballistic gel, fronted by rubber matting and 1/2″ MDF.
The Original penetrated 7-1/2 inches and the XL penetrated 7-1/4 inches.
I decided to test the sharpness of the heads after the ballistic gel penetration test. The original cut the wire on the tester with 475 grams of pressure.
The Annihilator XL took 525 grams of pressure to break the wire after the ballistic gel test.
Cardboard penetration comparison
I shot both heads through layered cardboard to determine how many layers each could penetrate.
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12/22/2024 01:42 am GMT
Steel plate penetration test comparison
I shot both the Original and the XL through a steel plate five times each.
Here, you can see the holes that the Annihilators made in the steel plate. On the left is the Original and then on the right is the XL. And you can see they made great triangular chunk holes, not just 3 slits like some heads will do.
Those all make triangular holes really similar to this. But, I do prefer those to just 3 slits. I mean they make a lot more internal damage and cause a lot more blood-letting than just the 3 slits do.
Here’s the Annihilator Original after being shot into the steel plate five times. It spun true and was still in fantastic shape. You really can’t even tell it has been shot, let alone shot through a steel plate five times.
And here’s the XL. It too spins perfectly true. And like the Original, you just can’t even tell it has been shot, let alone shot through steel plate five times.
Cinder block test comparison
I shot both the Original and the XL into a cinder block to see how they would hold up. The XL showed out! See picture below.
Look how deeply the Annihilator XL embedded into the cinder block! I couldn’t believe how stuck in there it was! It wasn’t budging at all!
Here’s the Original after being shot through the steel plate five times and into that concrete block. Spins perfectly well even with a bunch of concrete still embedded at the end. It’s just in excellent shape. Even the tip is intact. The edges are intact as well.
Now, let’s look at the XL. Spins perfectly well even with all this concrete stuck to it. If there was any wobble, it was because of the concrete. The tip on this one is still super sharp and not blunted at all. The edges remained in perfect condition.
How to sharpen the Annihilator broadheads
Now, you saw how durable they are and how they hold their edge really well. But, if you want to get them really sharp, one method of sharpening is super easy.
Because the Annihilator heads are 3-blade solids at a 60-degree bevel angle, you just one flat on any stone or any surface and just stroke it gently. Just be sure you have the same number of strokes on each side.
Do this until it comes out just like you got it from the factory. It’s super easy to do. You can even do it in the field. Again, you can do it on any surface. I love that about these 3-blade, 60-degree bevel heads.
You can also use the Stay Sharp Guide. They come out with individual sharpeners that are not very expensive at all for different styles of broadheads. And, in most cases, they put an edge on those heads better than how you got them from the factory.
They have a sharpener especially designed to put an extra sharp edge on these 3-blade, 60-degree heads. This is super helpful, because one of the drawbacks is that you can only get it so sharp with that 60-degree bevel.
What can I say about the durability of these Annihilator heads? They are absolutely fantastic!
Both of them performed really well and both had some great strengths.
My only critique of the Annihilator Original is the size of the cut. It has got some really cool features and it’s incredibly durable. It flies super well, penetrates exceedingly well, but I just have a little concern about that small cut.
And then you have the Annihilator XL. Even with it’s larger surface area, it still penetrated and flew very well and it was just still extremely durable.
So, for me and my hunting purposes, like hunting whitetails and hogs and stuff like that day in and day out, the broadhead battle winner of the Annihilator Broadhead battle is… the Annihilator XL! (check out the scorecards below).
Annihilator Original scorecard.The Annihilator Original received a 9 Golden Arrow grade.Annihilator XL scorecard.The Annihilator took home the trophy with a 10 Golden Arrow grade!
