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How to choose the right arrow

How to choose the right arrow

The variety of arrows available on the market is huge. There are different brands and within them many different models, which in turn are divided into many spines. How could one manoeuvre into this vast world and choose the right arrow? Start by asking yourself what you want to do with your arrows. As the first rule there is no perfect arrow that fits all possible uses. If you want to dedicate yourself to indoor shooting, your choices can be oriented on an arrow with a larger diameter in order to ‘steal’ some line points. If you shoot outdoors at long distances (50 meters or more) you will want to go for a smaller diameter arrow to avoid interference with the wind. For 3D shooting, or in any case, at unknown distances your choice will more likely be on a particularly light arrow and perhaps of intermediate size. As you can see, the choices that can be made depending on how you plan to use your arrows are so many. Let's try to make it.


The arrow material

The arrows were originally made from wood and have remained so for most of human history until the introduction, in the last century, of increasingly evolved materials such as: aluminum, fiberglass, carbon on an aluminum core, and eventually carbon. Today the market sees wooden arrows linked only to some traditional archery disciplines (in particular with the longbow) and fiber arrows only for bows for children and beginners; aluminum arrows almost exclusively for indoor shooting while arrows in carbon and / or aluminum and carbon share most of the market in all other disciplines. For this reason our article will essentially focus on carbon arrows.

Arrow diameter

In recent years, different manufacturers have standardized the sizes of most of the carbon arrows available on the market. Carbon arrows are made by winding layers of carbon on a steel matrix, which is extracted after the production of the shaft itself. The diameter of this matrix determines the inside diameter of the resulting carbon shaft. The most common inside diameters for carbon arrows are: 3.2 mm born for target shooting at long distances, whereas a thin diameter avoids the negative influence of crosswind on the flight of the arrow; 4.2 which is now the most popular: we can say it covers about 70% of the European arrow market; the 5.2 mm which is an intermediate diameter used both for 3D (in particular for traditional bows) and partly for bow hunting; the 6.2 mm which is the standard for all hunting and 3D arrows and which, on the other hand, represents 70% of the arrows used in the American market and finally the 8 mm suitable for indoor shooting.

Which diameter to choose for your arrow? The diameter is directly related to the type of shooting you want to perform and although there are some overlaps of use, the choice of the diameter is quite easy.

Attention: the inside diameter of the arrow is almost never linked to the draw weight of the bow. In fact there are very small diameter arrows (such as 3.2 mm) that can also be used with very powerful bows. On the contrary, large diameters will be difficult to be used with very light bows.

Quality of arrows and tolerances

The quality of carbon arrows depends on both the type of carbon used and the production technology which, in turn, affects the tolerances. Carbon can be of various densities (normally identified as weight in tons e.g. 24, 30, 40 T, or more generally, as modulus: high modulus, etc.), the higher the quality,(and therefore the density of the carbon), the thinner the carbon layers wrapped on the matrix. A high modulus carbon (therefore 30 T or higher) will be suitable for obtaining very thin arrows for target shooting or very light arrows for shooting at unknown distances. The tolerances, on the other hand, are a result of the arrow manufacturing process and represent what can have the hightest influence on the gouping. There are tolerances of weight, straightness and spine (stiffness of the arrow) concentricity. All these factors affect the accuracy of the arrow. Arrows with tighter (and therefore better) tolerances will give more consistent results but, being a selection of the bulk production, they will have higher prices. The choice of tolerances is therefore purely personal and linked to the budget you want to put into play. The same arrow is often available in different price levels. Therefore it will be possible to approach a certain model of arrow in its cheapest version and then possibly progress with the more expensive and precise version or even buy both the most precise version and a cheaper one to have competition and training arrows available.

Choice of spine (stiffness) of the arrow

Once you have identified the model of the arrow you want to buy, chosen according to what is said above, the type of use and price range, you will need to choose the correct spine (stiffness) that is proportionate to the bow you are using and to your draw length. In this respect there are specific selection tablesheets to refer to.

We invite you to check the CrossX catalog, which shows a range of arrows and components without comparison, complete, of high quality and price competitive.

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