How to Build Hunting Arrows Using the 2026 Arrow Ballistic Data

The fastest way to waste money on archery gear is to optimize one part of your arrow and ignore the rest. We’re back with Part Two of our 2026 Arrow Ballistic Study breakdown, where we stop staring at charts and actually use the data to make better arrow-building decisions for hunting and 3D. I share where the study challenges my current setup, including my 11.9% FOC, and how it changes what I’m testing next.

We start with broadheads because that’s where most arrow builds live or die. The data confirms mechanical broadheads tend to fly more forgivingly than fixed blades, but I’m careful to separate external ballistics from terminal performance. Flight, noise, and accuracy are measurable here; what happens on bone, pass-through, and blade durability is still on you to evaluate. Then we dig into arrow noise and why broadhead and vane choice must be treated as a system, especially if you hunt pressured whitetails or quiet timber where reactions happen fast.

From there, we turn vane drag and lift recovery into a simple decision process: pick the broadhead first, be honest about how you shoot under pressure, and decide how important a flat trajectory is for your hunting style. We also cover a key high-speed takeaway around 310+ fps: stiffer vane materials can outperform softer versions. Finally, we tackle FOC and why higher front of center keeps improving broadhead accuracy at distance, along with the real tradeoffs in trajectory and dynamic spine. The biggest constant through every “perfect arrow build” conversation remains the same: tune the bow, then retune anytime you change the system.

If this helps, subscribe, share it with a buddy who’s rebuilding arrows, and leave a review. What part of your setup are you changing after seeing this kind of data?

See James Yates article on the study here: https://westernhunter.net/information/the-2026-arrow-ballistics-study-results/

See the interactive data from Precision Cut Archery here: https://www.precisioncutarchery.com/research/arrow-study-2026

🏹 Shop Extreme Outfitters for all of your archery & bowhunting needs: https://extremeoutfitters.com

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Transcript

Part Two Setup And Quick Recap

Zakk Plocica 0:00

All right, ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another episode of the Archery Project. This is part two of our breakdown of the 2026 Aero Ballistic Study. So if you haven't listened to part one yet, go do that first. This episode builds directly on what we covered last week, and it won't fully land, I don't think, without the foundation. So go check it out. It's the episode previous to this one. Lots of good feedback on that. There's a lot of conversation going on about it, which I can appreciate. I really enjoy reading it. Everybody's got a different opinion on this, which is good. Um, so quick recap for those who did listen, right? The study was run by James Yates in partnership with Easton, Hoyt, and Precision Cut Archery over four days in March of this year, 2026, in the Easton lab. So they use their pneumatic shooting machine, Doppler radar, chronographs, and an independent acousting testing chamber for this test. They measured drag, lift recovery, and accuracy across 23 different vein configurations, a wide range of broadheads at two different speeds. So they tested at 290 feet per second, and they tested at 325 plus feet per second. And for the first time, they formally tested FOC or front of center, the weight distribution of the arrow. Lots of good stuff from this test, man. It was very in-depth, once again, from those guys. So last week was the data. This week is what you do with it. And I'm going to get kind of personal with it and kind of give you my input on how it changes my perspective on things because my current setup has an FOC of right around 11.9%. Um, and after going through this study in depth, I have questions about whether that's where I should be or where I want to be. Uh, and we're gonna go work through all of that out loud together today on this.

Mechanical Vs Fixed Broadheads Explained

Zakk Plocica 1:53

But let's start with the broadhead side of things, right? Because for most hunters, that's where the arrow building conversation, I think, really begins. Everybody wants to talk broadheads, and this is obviously um very hot topic with a ton of different opinions. Not a bad thing. So the study confirmed for the second year in a row that mechanical broadheads fly more forgivingly than fixed blade broadheads. It's not a surprise at this point. I think most people would agree that a mechanical is more forgiving. So more accurate groups downrange, more consistent flight with a mechanical broadhead. But I want to be very clear about what that means and what it does not mean. Uh, this is an external ballistics test only, right? The study does not test what happens when a broadhead hits bone. It didn't test blade retention, pass-through, or you know, what a mechanical broadhead does versus a fixed blade broadhead does on, you know, a quartering away elk, for example. Uh, those are completely separate conversations, and I think they matter enormously. The study just tells us about the flight characteristics of the different broadheads. Keep that in mind. So the real question is given the mechanicals fly better, when does it make sense to still choose a fixed blade broadhead? And I think this again comes down to personal preference, right? There's obviously some very good performing mechanicals and some very good performing fixed blade broadheads. And I think the most important thing is comes down to your own personal testing. What works for you? What are you more confident with? Be confidence with confident with, because that is critical. When you're confident with your equipment, you're confident in the woods. Whenever you go to drawback on an animal and the confidence there, the likelihood of you making a good shot is substantially higher versus whenever you're lack the confidence in your equipment. So I think that's the big priority. Look at what you're doing, look at your hunting style, what type of animal you're hunting, and then what you're you're comfortable with, and make your decision based off that. The study does a good job of giving you all this information, but at the end of the day, it comes down to you to interpreting it and applying to what works best for you. So that's what I think, right? I don't think one is necessarily better than the other. I especially if you're a more well-versed individual, a somebody who's spent a lot of time behind their bow, you can get away with whatever you want because your shooting capability is there. Now, when we talk new shooters, though, I think mechanical leads the way in this. It's just more forgiving. And somebody that's newer into this, or somebody, this is another big thing that doesn't shoot their bow a lot and has not have a just a dialed-in shot process, is not just really dialed in with their bow and they need more forgiveness. The mechanical is the superior choice. So, all things to consider. It ends up coming down to you, but I think when we talk about new shooters, mechanical just makes more sense. If you're somebody that doesn't understand broadhead tuning uh and you know just doesn't have the time behind the bow, you want something that's going to be more forgiving, and mechanical is that option. Good quality mechanical, though, not the cheap stuff. Go invest in a good quality broadhead. The animal that you're shooting deserves it. Spend a little bit of money on it. Look at the test to results from here, look at the high performers, base it off of that.

Arrow Noise And The System Approach

Zakk Plocica 5:25

Um, and then also with the the broadheads, the spread from quietest to loudest broadhead is about 15 decibels. So on a logromythic scale, that's roughly three times as loud. Uh, and the vein and broadhead combo testing provided or proved, excuse me, that both choices matter, right? A quiet vein paired with a quiet broadhead makes a meaningfully quieter arrow than either one alone. You have to look at this as a system, it's not one or the other. Whenever you're building your arrows and you're looking at broadheads and you look at veins, you need to consider the two of them as a system. And when we talk about the overall loudness of the arrow. Um, Yates believes that deer react to the arrow's sound, not the bow. There's a lot of conversation on that. Some people believe the bow, some people believe the arrow. Yates uh is fond of or believes that the arrow is the sound that you should worry about more. I think if you can quiet both down, it makes sense. Uh, and I personally too believe that uh the arrow is probably should be the priority. So the bow makes that short, single, non-continuous noise, right? It's one and done. It goes off, boom, that's it. But the arrow, on the other hand, is continuous. It's a continuous hiss tracking straight towards the animal that gets louder as it gets closer. That's a threat. So their instinct is to respond to approaching threats. So that's why building a quiet system has been a priority for Yates and now me, even more so, uh, and why I would recommend it to customers shooting, you know, pressured whitetail elk in the quiet timber. Right? Now we have data to back that conversation. It's not just an opinion. So if you're rebuilding your arrow setup after listening to this study, here's the priority I'd give you for broadhead selection. Um, first, does it fly well at your speed, at the speed that your bow is shooting? That is critical. How well does it perform at those speeds? So you can check the accuracy data from the study. Second is is it quiet? Again, check the sound data from this study. And then third, does it fit your hunting application in terms of terminal performance? Terminal performance, what does that mean? The behavior and destructive effect of the projectile. All three matter. The study covers the first two, and you have to answer the third on your own based off your own experience, right? There's a lot of videos out there that you can watch, um, but firsthand experience, I think, is more important than anything. And it takes time to get, right? It takes probably a little bit of season, but this study does a good job of getting you getting you started in the right direction. Now,

How To Use Vane Drag Data

Zakk Plocica 8:13

how do we use the vein data? Um, there were 23 configurations tested, which is absolutely insane. So we have drag, lift recovery, and noise measured simultaneously. Here's how I think about applying that data. So, step one, decide what broadhead you plan to shoot, because that determines how much lift recovery you actually need. So, if you're shooting a quality mechanical, something that groups like a field point, you don't need a massive vein, right? You don't need the AAE eraser talon. The talent is incredible at steering a fixed blade um broadhead or those bigger broadheads, but it's also bigger. That means more drag. So if your mechanical doesn't need that much steering, you can you're carrying more drag than what you actually need. So, you know, consider to consider going to something a little bit smaller, right? Maybe like the flex, the flex fletch 360, you know, something that's quieter, less drag, but still offers plenty of lift recovery for the mechanical that you are shooting. Step two, this is a big one. Be honest with your shooting capability and your how well you perform under pressure with your bow. So this one's personal, and I think most people are not quite as honest with themselves as they should be. They overestimate their capability. We're all guilty of it at some point. Uh so if you know that you rush your shots uh when adrenaline hits, or you know, you hunt from those crazy angles, or you just make mistakes at the moment of truth, right? Your shot process just isn't dialed in. These are not character flaws, right? We're all just human. It's just part of it. Some of us perform better under pressure than others. It is what it is. So you need more vein than the minimum if you're somebody that just is not as dialed in as you need to be. And be honest with yourself, right? There's no shame in it. It doesn't matter. Just build your arrow to counter that, right? More vein forgives, more mistakes. So that little bit more lift is not a bad thing, man. It's just gonna help you out in the long run and increase your recovery rate, you know, of the animals that you're shooting if you're able to make better shots. Uh, so if you're a very disciplined shooter with a consistent form, you can run less vein, optimize for dragon noise. But be honest with yourself before you make that call. I think that is critical, man. Just take a step back, reflect, look at your past experiences. Where do you stand? How often do you shoot your bow? Are you somebody that shoots all year round? You've just dialed in. Are you somebody that picks it up when the season begins? Play it back, be realistic before you make the decision. And then step three, how important is a flat trajectory for you? Obviously, for Western hunting, for even for you know, total archery style shooting at you know, all these different distances, some extreme distances, a flatter trajectory is a non-negotiable. Ranging arrows are probably the most common cause of misses at distance, right? If you range something wrong, no good. Uh the flatter your arrow is, the more for uh the more range forgiveness you have. So a vein with more drag costs you more costs you speed and the arc. So if your trajectory matters, you want to minimize drag within the constraint of enough lift recovery for your broadhead. So again, we got to think of it as a system. It's not just one or the other. You really got to weigh your options and see where you're at and what makes the most sense based off what your goals are and where you're hunting and how far you're shooting. So the three-axis scatter plot on the precision cut archery website brings all of this together visually. When you can visually look at this, it makes it much easier for you to interpret, at least for me. When I got something I can go in and visually manipulate and look at, it gives me a better idea of how these things work in sync. So you have drag on one axis, you have lift recovery on the other, and then you have noise shown as a color. So go check it out, man. Again, it's interactive. Uh, you can hover over every dot to see the specific data and click on it to see the actual arrow groups from the study. They did a fantastic job with this, it's incredible. Um, it just makes the trade-offs obvious in a way that it's really hard for me to describe in words. So go check it out, look at it. When you can see it on on a screen in front of you, it's just gonna make a lot more sense. And you're gonna have all the different options to choose from based off the broadheads that you decide to shoot. So go check it out. Uh, one specific find that I want to call out is if you're shooting over 310-ish feet per second, the study confirms that you should go with a stiffer vein material. So the Flex Fletch 360X outperformed the standard 360 at 325 feet per second. That's the stiffer version of the same vein. So, manufacturers, I think, have been saying this for years, and this is just now there's data to confirm it. So, if you're somebody that shoots these fast blows, you know, we got scicarios out there, we got these arcs that are just pushing insane speeds. Dudes are in those 310, 320 feet per second. There's a lot of guys shooting those those speeds nowadays. Um, so pay attention to the vein material stiffness, not just the vein profile, especially when we talk about pairing these with you know broadheads. Stiffer is gonna be better for those fast bows. It's uh definitely something you should consider.

FOC Findings And Real Tradeoffs

Zakk Plocica 13:40

Now the FOC portion, right? Um FOC, this is, I think, the biggest takeaway from this actual study that they did. Uh, this is the one that I've probably been thinking about since I've gone through the study. Um, and I'll be honest with you, with where I'm at with it. My current setup, currently, I'm still on the fence, right? I my current hunting bow setup is a PSE Mach 33. It's got the EC2 cam on it still, it's set up at 28.5 inches. It's like 76 to 78 pounds. The arrow I'm shooting out of it is the Easton FMJ Max. It's 465 grains, it's shooting in the mid 280 feet per second ish. My FOC after I measured it, because I've never really measured the FOC, it's just never been that important to me. Now my perspective's shifted a little bit. My FOC right now is right at 11.9%. So after going through the 2026 study, I think that number is definitely on the low end side of things. And like I said, we can always improve the what we're doing. And I is it how important is bumping up FOC for me based off application? I don't really know, right? So when we look at the the the hunting that I've uh had the ability to go out and do is usually on the East Coast whitetail hunting, right? All my shots are typically within 35 yards. When we look at the study, the FOC improved the accuracy of the arrow at distance, right? Adding more FOC increased the accuracy rate of the broadheads that were shot within 35 yards. I don't know how much better my accuracy can really prove. But is it going to increase the penetration of the arrows? I didn't have any issue at all this year with all of the deer that I shot when it came to penetration. Not one bit. You know, everything passed through like it was absolutely nothing. And uh, you know, I had it paired with the um sever, the hybrid, the 175s, and it was just devastating. The flight on those things was incredibly good, and uh there was blood on impact with every single deer that I shot, every deer was recovered, and I don't really have any complaints, but could it be better? Potentially, based off of this study. I could increase my FOC and make things a little bit better. So here's what the study found, though. So if you increase your FOC by five percent, let's say we go from 13 to 18 percent, it predicts a two-inch reduction in broadhead group mean radius. So mean radius is half the groove diameter, so two inches on the mean radius is four inches on the full group spread at 70 yards, which is substantial. That is insane. I'm not shooting that far. Would I like to? Yes. Do I want to go out west and hunt? Yes. I think that's where this really, really matters. And according to this, there's no sweet spot ceiling. The accuracy just kept improving as FOC continued to increase. But here's the caveat: it was limited only by the dynamic spine tolerance and trajectory. So theoretically, based off this, my FOC that I should be pushing should be closer to 15 to 17 percent, maybe even more. Um, but here's where I have to be realistic about my setup. You know, I'm running an 80-pound bow, roughly 80 pounds, close to that. I still don't know. Am I gonna shoot the Mach 33? Am I gonna shoot the Mach 35 at this point? Because I when I since I'm really starting to get that thing dialed in, I really, really enjoy it. Um, and I'm running that higher poundage because I want that flatter trajectory. That's my priority with it, you know, 28 and a half inch draw length. I want to get more speed to show I can shoot that little bit heavy arrow arrow flatter farther. Um, you know, with the goal of that flatter trajectory at extended distances, you know, like total archery and whatnot, you know, range forgiveness is critical for I think most hunters and specifically most people shooting those farther shots out west. Even even here, man, when you misrange something with a heavy arrow, your drop is pretty substantial. Um, which can be bad, right? That can be the difference between a a good clean kill shot or a wounded animal or a or a missed animal. Uh so you know, if I just add a bunch of point weight to hit that higher FOC, my arrow is gonna be super sluggish, right? It's already 465 grains shooting mid 280s. Um, the arc in my arrow is gonna increase, and I'm gonna give up the ranging buffer that I've I've got, right? And I don't think that's a trade that I am willing to make blindly. You know, I don't even know if I'm willing to make it at all at this point. Uh so the question becomes how do I get meaningfully more FOC without sacrificing the trajectory that makes my setup work for me?

Three Practical Ways To Raise FOC

Zakk Plocica 19:03

And um, this is where Yates three paths are really practical. And I think most people understand this. So path one is cutting the arrow shorter. Cutting the arrow shorter moves the balance point forward and stiffens the dynamic spine at the same time. The question for my setup is how short can I shut my can I cut my FMJ max before I have clearance issues? I can cut it down a little bit more. I know I absolutely can, probably close to an inch. Um is it gonna make enough of a difference? And what does it take my FOC at that point? I don't really know. Is it gonna bump it up that much? Probably nothing crazy. Um, it's worth testing though. Cutting it down that much is going to make a difference. I just have to figure out how much of a difference is it gonna make and is it worth really even doing? I'm not sure yet. I will be doing some testing on all this and see. Path two is dropping to a lower GPI shaft. This makes the most sense to me, right? A lower grains per inch means a lighter shaft, obviously. Lower GPI grains per inch, the overall weight of the arrow is gonna be substantially less. So take the weight you save from the shaft and you can add that back up front to equal that same amount of weight that you're currently shooting. That's what more so what I would lean towards. So you can go with that heavier insert, heavier tip weight. Um for me, I could go from, you know, I'm running the FMJ Max with a stock insert with the collar. I could go to let's say an example of like a stay in the five mil category, go to a 5.0 where the GPI is substantially less than the FMJ Max. I could probably add 75 grain insert up front, the hit insert, which is how they did all this. They added all of their weight internally. There was no outserts, all weight to increase FOC was internally done, um, which is how the study controlled their FOC. I could add 75 grains and I could probably put a 125 grain point up front, going from a 100 and still be relatively close to that overall weight, and my FOC is substantially greater at that point, which is kind of more so where I'm thinking about going. But with that, you got to think there's trade-offs for everything. Everything, there's pros and cons to every single thing you do. The great thing about that FMJ Max or even an Access 5 mil, which is almost identical when we talk about GPI, one's just the uh aluminum out um aluminum coating on it versus the all carbon, is that is a more durable arrow than a lower GPI shaft. So you got to look at trade-offs durability-wise. Things to consider. You know, whenever we start lowering the GPI of a shaft, we start running into durability issues. I personally have not had one durability issue with the 5 0, but I could see adding a lot of FOC or point weight to it, causing it uh the issue when it comes to durability. But you know, if you can cut that. That shaft down short enough and really stiffen it up, you shouldn't technically have any issues. I don't know. I'm still on the fence about it, but I really like the idea of going that route. As much as I like that FMJ Max, it just performed exceptionally well. If I can have a better performing arrow, why not? Um if I can get close to the same total arrow weight, shift all that point weight up front, increase that higher FOC, keep the velocity roughly the same, or even maybe lower the the overall arrow weight just a little bit to get more speed out of the bow because, like the test showed, the high speed bows still were incredibly accurate. If I can get a little bit more speed, flatter trajectory while increasing the FOC, while lowering the overall weight of the shaft, that sounds like even more of a win to me. I don't know. There's a lot to take away from it, a lot to consider. There's a lot of testing that can be done. And this is something you're gonna have to test on your own. Um, but there's just a lot of options with all the different arrow shafts that are out there. So you got to start somewhere though. Don't overwhelm yourself with this. But it's just things to consider about if you're especially if you're somebody now that's starting fresh, that's looking to build an arrow for this hunting season. Like these are things to consider prior to making your purchases and buying any of this. And you know, if you need arrows, you can always hit the website extremoutfitters.com use the code ArcheryProject. We sell arrows individually so you can test before you commit to a full dozen. You could buy one, you could buy three, you could buy a dozen. That's what we do. I'm big on testing. I wanted to be able to pass that to our customers and allow you guys to be able to do that without having to go and commit to a full dozen. So if you need arrows, hit the website extremeoutfitters.com and get you some arrows. Do your own testing. We'll see. Path three, this is just another thing to consider is your vein choice, right? Am I running more vein than what I need for my broadhead? Me personally, I don't think I am. Uh, obviously, every grain of vein weight that I can eliminate is a grain I can add to the front. Um, me with I'm running that FMJ Max with the mechanicals, is there a lighter vein that still gives me the lift recovery I need? Maybe worth testing. I really like the max stealths from what I've experienced over the years. They just perform exceptionally well for me. They're still plenty quiet and um they steer really well. I mean, I've had incredible luck with the AAE max stealth. Now, there is that DCA super vein super saber, which performs incredibly well. It's probably one of the best performing veins, according to the study, for um lift recovery and drag and quietness. Um, also the boning heat vein. I mean, that's a little bit stiffer. So if I can get more speed out of my bow, I know I'm not going to get 310 feet per second. So it probably doesn't matter that much. But if you are somebody shooting those uh faster speeds, the boning heat vein was another good option because it's stiffer and it's still fairly quiet. So, again, all comes down to testing and what you're running. So, my honest assessment 11.9 FOC is probably leaving real broad head accuracy on the table. Um, I mean, the study says the improvement is measurable and significant. It's very obvious with the increase in accuracy with the increase in FOC. So I've got options. We've all got plenty of options. Uh, I may see about starting by shortening my arrow. Um, but you know, I'm honestly more so leaning towards changing my overall arrow itself, going to something that has a lower GPI shaft and increasing my FOC that way. It just seems to make more sense to me if I want to bump it up a little bit more significantly. Um, you know, but it's worth, I might do some testing against each other and see how they perform. I will probably report back to you guys in a future episode, or probably I'll post it on my personal um social media stuff with how they perform against each other, if I can tell a difference, right? We're introducing human error at that point. So I don't know how good it'll be. We'll see though. Definitely worth testing though. Now,

Stop Optimizing Parts In Isolation

Zakk Plocica 25:58

so here's the thing of the study that I think gets lost if you just scroll through the charts, right? Everything is connected with this. Every aspect of this testing is connected to each other, right? Your broad head choice affects how much vein you need, your vein choice affects how much weight you have available for your FOC. Your FOC affects the trajectory, your trajectory affects the your ranging forgiveness. You can't optimize, I think, one piece in isolation. You really have to think about this as a whole system, right? You need to consider each aspect. This is for the guys that are more into this. So if you're new to this, you just need to shoot your bow, get some stock arrows with the veins, shoot them, they're gonna perform well. But the guys that are in tune with this thing, that are really into building your own arrows and stuff, this is where you need to consider all the different aspects of it and think of it as a system and not just each piece in isolation. Uh, that's where you need to get the most performance and the most gain out of this based off the data that they're providing. Uh

A Step By Step Arrow Build Framework

Zakk Plocica 26:54

so here's the framework that I'd use uh if I were sitting down and building arrows from the scratch using the data from this study. So, first decide, I think, the speed and the trajectory priority, right? Are you hunting at variable distances, you know, where ranging error is a real risk, right? Those are your guys out west, the guys that are shooting those really far shots. Some guys triple digits, right? Uh, I think if that's you, then speed and flatness are critical, right? Keep total arrow weight uh reasonable and you want to minimize drag. Are you in the tighter timber, you know, thicker vegetation at close range where, you know, the penetration is the priority. Penetration is priority everywhere, but you know, where you're just dealing with those tighter shot windows. If you're somebody that's shooting those closer shots, you have more flexibility with overall weight, right? You can shoot those really heavy arrows. Second, choose your broadhead based off your hunting application and the noise and accuracy data from the study. So, right, so fixed blades, when we talk about fixed blades, the Tulude, the Iron Wheel solids, if you want the quieter options, tooth of the arrow, the four blade, if you're running a faster setup, right? Which was crazy to me how much better the tooth of the arrow performed as the speed of the bow got faster. Things to look at for mechanicals, the Sever family is phenomenal. Uh, I'm a big fan of them myself. Sever's got a new broadhead that just dropped, pretty slick. And you've got Evolution Outdoors, which has topped the charts over and over again, just a great performing broadhead. And then the Beast Titanium, all performed, perform exceptionally well. Uh, any of those are gonna give you give you quiet flight and excellent accuracy. Hard to beat them. Uh, third, choose your vein based on the broadhead. I think that's the order in which you need to consider this when building, right? So if you're shooting a fixed blade, that means you're gonna live somewhere in that talon or hybrid HP for the steering that you need. Now, mechanical means you can run those 360s, 300s, or those UV veins. They're quiet, low drag with still with offering enough recovery. And if you're somewhere in the middle, the super saber really bridges the gap, uh, those two worlds or bridges those two worlds better than anything else tested. I think that's why the super sabers have just performed so not just performed, but have just been such a hot seller for us these last this last year. And I anticipate it in continuing to increase based off the study. And then fourth, um, you know, you want to maximize your FOC within your trajectory limits, right? So cut the arrow shorter, drop the shaft GPI, uh, use lighter veins, direct the weight towards the front. So when testing, you need to make sure you retune um every time you make any kind of meaningful change to your FOC. The steady retune the bow for every single FOC category in the matrix. So it's not optional, man. We know a mistuned bow with great FOC is still a bow that's just not going to perform well. It's an untuned bow or a mistuned bow. You need to make sure your bow is tuned correctly. And fifth, again, gotta re-emphasize this. Tune the dang bow, man. I just can't stress it enough. The shooting machine in the study puts field points in essentially one hole at 70 yards when the bow is properly tuned and not torqued. The study controlled for tuning so they could isolate the component variables. In the real world, a well-tuned bow with a quote unquote mediocre setup will almost always outperform a poorly tuned bow with perfect components or perfect arrow build, right? Tuning the bow is critical. We can never overlook that. Make sure your bow is set up and tuned for what you are setting. Everything or shooting, excuse me, everything else is second to that. A properly set up, fitted, and tuned bow is critical for us to perform and shoot accurately and consistently, right? You need to make sure that bow is tuned. It's worth it. Uh I mean, you just can't overlook it. If your shop's not willing to help you out, you need to figure out how to do yourself or go find a shop that is willing to help you tune the bow because the bow needs to be set up and perform optimally. Because if it doesn't, you're just gonna have erratic arrow flight, you're gonna be inconsistent, you're not gonna be accurate, it's gonna be frustrating, and then you're gonna think it's you know, whatever issue, it's it's you. And when it comes down, it's actually the the bow, you know, the bow problem. I always assume it's the shooter when I'm talking about myself, but it you need to confirm that that bow is shooting well, and then any other issues are either within the arrow or you as a shooter. So that's why it's important to spend so much time behind your bow and be familiar with your equipment and proficient with your equipment. So

Shop Takeaways And Hard Tuning Truths

Zakk Plocica 31:38

shop perspective. I really want to close the study out um you know, with the the changes from me, you know, at the shop, because I think it's worth talking about. It kind of gets my my brain working a little bit different whenever we, as a shop owner, right, and my guys within the shop, uh, the the conversation is um, I think becoming more interesting here at Extreme Outfitters with us, with the guys here, whenever we're we're talking about and reviewing this the study, right? You know, before the study, the the FOC conversation was always kind of like it depends, you know, with some general guidelines. And now we have real meaningful good data. So when someone comes in asking about FOC, you know, we can have a real conversation about how to get them there as efficiently as possible, right? When we're talking about um, you know, different approaches to get there, whether it's short in the arrow, it's the you know, the shaft GPI, the way, the, the vein weight, um, you know, all of those considerations versus just add more point weight up front. And I think most of us and most guys understand that, but it just reiterates all of that and reconfirms it. And now we have good data and all these different steps we can take in order to get people there as efficiently as possible. And then the broadhead and vein recommendation conversation, I think, shifts as well. Um, I'm not just, or we're not just asking what broadhead, you know, they want to run anymore. You know, we're asking what broadhead, what vein are they planning to pair with it? Uh, because, you know, if you want a quiet setup for pressure deer, that's a system question. It's not two separate questions. So we need to factor in all of those different things and think again, going back to it, think of it as a system. And um, you know, I think honestly the biggest thing this study reinforces for me in the shop is the tuning conversation. I mean, it's basic, it's fundamental, but it's it just it reiterates it, right? The machine at the study shoots field tips into a hole at 70 yards when the bow is tuned properly, right? The bow is tuned properly, the bow absolutely pounds, right? It just doesn't miss. Um you know, we see craziness come in our shop, right? I see bows come in that can, you know, barely keep an arrow on paper, you know, whenever we start stepping back a little bit, or we get a, you know, the dude's like the bow shoots great, and then he shoots it through paper and we got a six-inch left hair. You know, so before we even talk about broadhead selection, before we talk about vein choice, before we get into FOC, you know, we've always got to revisit tuning. And I don't think that's changed, that's ever gonna change. It just brings it back to the forefront. You need to make sure that the bow that you're shooting is tuned and it's set up for what you are shooting. Critical, man. It's crazy the stuff you see when you have an archery shop. You know, it's it's wild and and it's no fault of anyone's, you know, own. I think a lot of people just are unaware and they just don't understand that. And that's what a good shop does, is we're able to educate them. And that's why we read these studies and we're able to take bits and pieces of it and apply it to our shop to stay up to speed on the latest and greatest and stay relevant. That's what's so important. I think if you own a shop, these things, you should read through them. And I don't ex, you know, no one can expect everyone to know everything, but you can take nuggets that you can apply personally and to your customers that come through the shop. And I think this is just they provide a great um, they've provided a great thing for shop owners to really become better at this. And then, you know, we have data to back what we're saying. It's not all opinion-based stuff anymore. There's good data, hard data to to back it that we can reference and that we can, you know, provide for the customers. And then obviously, anyone else listened to this can go check it out for themselves and see it. So if

Free Tools, Links, And Final Next Steps

Zakk Plocica 35:30

you want to go deep on the data yourself, go to precision uh cutarchery.com. All of the interactive plots are there. You can hover over every single dot. You can see the actual numbers, you can click on it, see the photos of the real arrow groups that are downrange that produced all the different data points. It's genuinely impressive. And guess what? It's free. So go use it. I'm gonna have links in the description for the podcast with, you know, for our FOC calculators, our kinetic energy calculators that we have built on our website, as well as James Yates website and precision cut archery website, where you can go and view all the data, the interactive data, to really help you make an informed decision on what arrow is gonna be best for you and where you should be FOC-wise and how you can get the most performance, the most consistency, and the most accuracy out of your setup. So that is it, my friends. That's a wrap. That's a 2026 Aeroballistic study, all of it. My interpretation. Uh, I hope it, you know, this was somewhat valuable for you guys. Uh, I wanted to kind of work through it with you guys because it was a lot, man. It was a lot for me to take in, and I'm gonna continue to read through it over and over again and um just take it all in and see where I can make changes for myself and then also for our customers coming through the door. So really, really good stuff. And uh yeah, all the data you could ever want. And I think it means um a lot, especially for bow hunters and when it comes to building arrows specific to your goal. So good stuff. My personal next step is addressing the 11.9% FOC on my FMJ Maxes. Uh I'm going to make some changes, I'm pretty sure. I'm gonna the more I talk about it, this the more I'm convinced I'm going to. And I think I'm gonna start by cutting the arrow down a little bit, if see how much I can cut it down to see what the actual shift in FOC is and you know, retune it, reshoot it, and whatnot. But I'm most likely gonna go to an overall lower GPI shaft. I just think it makes the most sense. You know, if I want to build, especially if I want to build one arrow to kind of do everything, you know, or a good hybrid arrow, which I'm considering. I want I want the arrow to be able to shoot out to some some good distance, uh, because uh one day I would like to be able to be uh go hunt out west. Like that's my ultimate goal. We'll get there one day. But I think that's the the where I'm gonna probably lean going towards. I want to think, I think I want to stay, keep the weight similar to where it's at now, but I think I want to be able to increase the FOC of the arrow based off this study. And the best way for me to do that is go to a lower GPI shaft. And I want to stay in that five mil category. I just love the five mil uh shafts. I think you just get more component options. Uh I just though as far as wind drift goes, they're fantastic for shooting out the distance. It's like the best of in between of all the different shaft diameters for me. I like the five mil uh personally. So I'll report back to you guys on future episodes, I'm sure, with you know, the actual results. Uh yeah, so that's the real test, right? Not just a theory, but it works. Uh, you know, how does it work on my setup with my bow the way the dietist says that it could? I've got to find out. And the only way to find out, do some testing. So go listen to Yates in the backcountry on YouTube. He's got, you know, his FOC deep dive videos, he's got his perfect arrow build videos already out. Uh, both are, I think, worth your time if you really want to go deeper on this. And that dude does a much better job at explaining than I can. Obviously, he's the leader at the forefront of all this, has all the data, and really understands it and has been able to interpret it better than anybody and then relay it to the public. So go check his stuff out. There'll be links below for you guys to go see. And like I said, if you need anything archery related, you need some arrows, you want to do your own testing, hit the website, extremoutfitters.com, use the code ArcheryProject. You can buy all the arrows you ever wanted individually. We sell all shafts on their own. You can buy one, you can buy dozens of them. It doesn't matter. So if you need to test a 300 versus 340, you can do that. We offer free cut and glue on all shafts as well. So if you just tell us what to cut them to, we will cut them and glue them for absolutely no cost for you. And then we'll ship them out. All order ships same day if you order before 2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Hit the website, extremoutfitters.com, get you any of your archery equipment that you could ever want and ever need. We serve archers across the nation, and we just appreciate each and every one of you guys that support us and this thing that we're building. It means a lot that you guys believe in our brand. So thanks for listening, guys. Drop some comments, give some feedback. Let me know your thoughts on this. Man, how does this change anything for you? Does it change anything for you? Or does it just reconfirm things you've already known? Let us know. Drop some comments. I enjoy reading them. Again, thanks for listening, guys. That is another episode of the Archery Project. We'll see you guys in the next episode.