Extreme foc heavy bolts

[longbow joe]

When l purchessed my micro years back l wasnt as crossbow savy as now..l was shooting 150 grain boltcutters and 92 grain inserts out of gold tips. I now use a 110 insert and a 100 or 125 grain tip with a zombie with great happiness. But l recall the much heavier bolts that l was shooting way back really flying awsome and grouping with the basically overkill foc l was shooting. l want to try the boltcutter (150grain) and 110 insert /zombie combo again just for the hell of it .lts been too cold to have a practice session here .l was wondering if anyone had any extreme foc imput about this. Basically l was thinking of using the combo on a bear hunt next year.l have harvested 2 bear already with the boltcutter so l have confidence in it. All shots are 30 yards so the drop issue is not a concern. Basically wondering if the extra weight is really worth the effort in gaining the penitration. Thanks joe .

[Jim M]

I have been using BEE's with a 110 gr insert and 125 gr Slick Tricks for several years. The 2 deer that I've shot with them were complete pass throughs and broken ribs. This year, after season I experimented with an additional 25 gr by screwing a socket head cap screw into thet back of the insert, which added another 25 gr. At 35 yds, it only made 2 in. difference in POI. It's hard to tell looking through a scope, but I thought
they flew better in the wind, as well as penetrating better. Not sure of FOC, but it has to be greater than 25%. Using a 3 blade Boltcutter, you should get outstanding penetration. All shooting was with an aluminum railed Ibex and a Cub.

[SEW]

FOC above the minimum needed does not hurt accuracy at all as long as the spine is adequate. Depending on speed, foc, arrow length, fletching, the arrow will start to drop quicker. I bear hunt with a 20” Zombie, 92g insert, 175 g broadhead, Lumenock, 486g. Out to 60 yards, the extreme FOC only causes a little more drop. However, beyond 60 yards the drop becomes quite noticeable. Yes, excess foc seems to help penetration. This is with a BD400 and a M405. With slower bows or shorter arrows or both, the much faster drop would be noticed at a shorter range.

[xcaliber]

I'm at 110 grains in the snout with 125 grain heads, pretty accurate in my opinion.

[XB I GO]

we're using Zombie Slayer's with 110 grain insert and 150 grain Sonic head. Weighs 470 something grains. Very accurate from my Axiom. The marks on the scope are 2 inches off at 30 yards and 7 inches low at 40 yards. Dad put a sticker on the stock with the information on it so we know, but we're not allowed to shoot past 30 yards anyway and in our ground blind on our property you can only see the 20 yard spot, there is a wall of trees there. I didn't like these bolts at first because for the first time ever we had some shots that were not pass through. But, after listening to people here and other places I am going to give them a chance. Our shots that didn't go through were pretty much into the shoulder. Bear hunting in May in Canada this year!

[nchunterkw]

I shoot 16" zombies with a 110gr insert and 125gr Ramcat and Igniter and 2" feathers, about 415gr. These are pretty devastating and seem to pass through anything with ease. Did a similar setup with GT NitroPro, 65gr insert, extra 50gr wt, Igniter, Blazers, 125gr Ramcat for my last bison. Right at 500gr. Complete pass through. Read Dr Ashby's articles on FOC etc. It definately helps with penetration as does a very stiff shaft. Both decrease arrow flexure at impact, thus creating less drag through the animal, thus...more penetraion. Add to that the flutes on the RamCat ferrule which help push open the wound channel and you get arrows that have great terminal performance. A 150gr head on the front of either doesn't change things too much. A little bit but once you adjust the scope for it youare good to go at hunting distances inside 40yds.

[nchunterkw]

we're using Zombie Slayer's with 110 grain insert and 150 grain Sonic head. Weighs 470 something grains. Very accurate from my Axiom. The marks on the scope are 2 inches off at 30 yards and 7 inches low at 40 yards. Dad put a sticker on the stock with the information on it so we know, but we're not allowed to shoot past 30 yards anyway and in our ground blind on our property you can only see the 20 yard spot, there is a wall of trees there. I didn't like these bolts at first because for the first time ever we had some shots that were not pass through. But, after listening to people here and other places I am going to give them a chance. Our shots that didn't go through were pretty much into the shoulder. Bear hunting in May in Canada this year!

I have found there is a tradeoff whe going real heavy. I had go penetration with a 525gr arrow and Montec on a bison my first time. The next time I went with the same arrow (Easton FMJ) and a 150gr 2 blade. Should have been better, but was a little less. These were all from my Vortex. When I switched to the Zombies and Ramcats out of my Micro (basically teh same ballistics) complete passthrough. 470 might be a bit high for the Axiom. Not sure, but you may want to play around some. I used to shoot teh small 100gr sonics and they penetrate like crazy. Hit a buck in the shoulder and the arrow deflected and broke in half inside the deer but teh front half continued on and was sticking out the other side.