Can anyone answer this?

[Mudslinger]

Johnny remember when you would go to a 3D shoot way back when and everyone was shooting the Spoiler at 80# (max for 3D's back then) and using a 1913 aluminum arrow with 125 grain NIBB points (had to shoot 125 grain points then too) and when they released an arrow it sounded like an '06 going off. The good ole days. Fingers, hands and shoulders suffered from the 80# bows back then, especially on us older folks.

[WooDoggies]

But how much harder is 2 - 3 ft. lbs. of KE, really? Would you expect to be able to even notice hitting a target with 2 -3 ft. lbs difference? I am not sure? Maybe it truly is as simple as that. The seemingly small difference (to me) in KE was enough to penetrate the target deeper and rock the target some what herder.

[Mudslinger]

I would not think that this little difference would be that noticeable, but evidently it was and you witnessed it. Stranger things have happened.

[JohnnyCrash]

Johnny remember when you would go to a 3D shoot way back when and everyone was shooting the Spoiler at 80# (max for 3D's back then) and using a 1913 aluminum arrow with 125 grain NIBB points (had to shoot 125 grain points then too) and when they released an arrow it sounded like an '06 going off. The good ole days. Fingers, hands and shoulders suffered from the 80# bows back then, especially on us older folks.

Brings back memories doesn't it, you and I both have seen several of them end up in pieces as well. Oh wait, one of those was mine! Good ole' Magnesium risers.... The switch to machined aluminum was one of the best things the industry changed back in the day.

[TX_Kevin]

One thing I haven't seen posted is that if the bow is slightly out of tune, then the arrow may look true to you, but it's moving side to side to some small degree on the way to the target.

The side to side, or up and down, as the case may be, causes the arrow to hit at a slight angle dissipating the energy instead of driving it straight into the target. Kind of a surface area thing. The force is spread out over a larger area and there is simply less penetration.

[Bonesplitter]

Probably wasnt tuned perfect and arrow had a little sideslap to it?

[keep]

I'll add this. While you were shooting the same arrow, was it same brand but different individual arrow that may have a different tip? Also maybe your shot with the Mathews was lower and the HC was higher in the target. Causing the HC to hit higher than the center of gravity making it rock more.