Arrow Ballistics Study | 2026
Too Long; Didn't Read
May 13, 2026
Tristan Litke
Founder, Precision Cut Archery
Overview
This is the whole 2026 study compressed to a handful of charts: one summarizing every standard-speed vane build, one summarizing every standard-speed broadhead build, and the two headline findings from the front-of-center work. If you only read one page here, make it this one.
Vane Overview
Each dot is one of the 24 standard-speed vane builds in the test. Drag on Y, restorative lift on X, deer-weighted Lmax as color. Bottom-left is low drag and more restorative lift; yellow is quieter to a deer.
Said simply, the bottom-left yellow dots are the best performers.
Hover over the dots to see the details, and click on the dot to open the actual group photos.
Standard Speed Vanes | Vane Performance Overview
Aerodynamic drag, torque-induced broadhead drift from field point, and deer-weighted overall peak loudness for every vane build in this test. Dots that are yellower (quieter) and closer to the bottom-left corner are the best performers.
(louder = purple)
Broadhead Overview
Each dot is one of the standard-speed broadhead builds, plus a Gold Tip 100gr field point on the same arrow as a baseline reference. Drag on Y, mean radius on X, deer-weighted Lmax as color. Bottom-left is low drag and tight groups; yellow is quieter to a deer.
Hover over the dots to see the details, and click on the dot to open the actual group photos.
Standard Speed Broadheads | Mean Radius vs. Drag Constant (colored by Lmax (deer))
Per-build mean radius vs. aerodynamic drag, with deer-weighted overall peak loudness as color. Each point is one broadhead build; yellower (quieter) dots closer to the bottom-left corner are the best performers. The Gold Tip Field Point build is included as a same-arrow baseline reference.
(louder = purple)
Front-of-Center: Does More FoC Help?
What does extra weight up front actually do, on its own? We compared arrows of the same total weight but different FoC. Bumping FoC up by 5 points (say, from 12% to 17%) tightened broadhead groups at 70 yards by about 2 inches on a well-tuned bow, and about 1 inch on a torqued bow.
FoC | Isolated Front-of-Center Effect
Predicted change at +5 percentage points of front-of-center, in inches at 70 yards, with total arrow weight and the other build details held equal. Bars are 95% confidence intervals; lower (left of zero) is better. Solid dots are results we're confident about; hollow dots are ones where the bar still crosses zero (the data can't tell).
Front-of-Center: Stiffer Shaft vs. Lighter Point
There are two ways to give an arrow stiffer dynamic spine: a stiffer shaft, or a lighter point. We tested each one separately, with FoC already accounted for. Each move tightened broadhead groups on the tuned bow by about three-quarters of an inch.
FoC | Isolated Dynamic-Spine Effect
Predicted change for two stiffer-dynamic-spine moves: a static-spine step of +100 nominal spine units stiffer (e.g. a 300 shaft to a 200) and a 50-grain drop in total point weight. Front-of-center is already in the regression, so each row isolates the component on its own. Bars are 95% confidence intervals; lower (left of zero) is better. Solid dots are results we're confident about; hollow dots are ones where the bar still crosses zero (the data can't tell).
Written by
Tristan Litke
Founder, Precision Cut Archery
Tristan Litke is the founder of Precision Cut Archery, a bowhunter, and a software engineer. For the 2026 Arrow Ballistics Study, he and his team led experiment design, data collection, analysis, and development of the website you're reading right now.