How to Choose the Correct Arrows for your bow

How to choose the correct arrows for your Asiatic bow.

Choosing the correct arrows to match your bow is essential, and, yes...quite technical.

The bow you choose, needs to match you, and the arrows you choose should match your bow.

Bows are precision implements that require the correct care and maintenance to ensure the bows longevity and efficiency.

Every archer needs to know four things about their bow:

  • Your draw length on that bow.
  • The maximum draw length of the bow.
  • The draw weight of the bow at YOUR draw length on that bow.
  • The minimum warrantied arrow weight for your bow.

The poundage that is usually written on the bow is a standard factory indication of the weight they were aiming for when they made the bow. Generally, a bows weight is indicated at 28". The actual weight of the bow should fall within 2-3 pounds of the marked number.

However, 28" is not necessarily your draw length. Depending on your bow's design, the draw weight increases by +-5% with every inch drawn beyond 28".

To choose the correct arrows for your bow, you need to weigh your bow at your draw length. This can usually be done with an inexpensive hand-held luggage scale. This number is expressed in pounds at inches:

Example: 35#@31"

Arrows have 4 important qualities that relate to your Asiatic bow:

  • Weight
  • Spine
  • Length
  • Fletchings

Weight.

The weight of your arrows should be appropriate for your bow. An arrow that is too heavy, will not fly as efficiently as it should. An arrow that is too light might be uncomfortable to shoot, will shorten the bow's lifespan, damage it, or can even destroy the bow in certain cases.

In asiatic archery, the weight of the arrow is much more important than the spine. Bowyers specify minimum warrantied arrow weights for their bows. This is the minimum arrow weight that should be fired from the bow. If you shoot a lighter arrow off your bow, you will have voided the manufacturers warranty.

This weight is specified in GPP (Grains Per Pound). It specifies the minimum that your arrow (in it's entirety) should weigh, per pound of draw weight, at your draw length.

You will need a grain scale to weigh your arrows to verify that they do not fall below the minimum arrow weight for your bow.

The formula is as follows: (Draw weight of your bow at your draw length)x(Minimum Warrantied GPP)= Minimum weight (in grains) your arrow should be to fall within the bow's warranty.

Example: 35# x 12 = 420 grains

Spine.

Spine refers to how bendy your arrow is. An arrow that is too soft or too stiff will not leave the bow in a straight line. For carbon arrows, spine is indicated as a fraction of an inch, simplified to a round number such as 600 or 450.  For example "0.0300" is usually marked as 300 on the arrow. The higher the number, the softer the arrow is. Arrows typically range from 700 to 200 spine. For thumb shooters, the thumb draw technique can accommodate a wide range of spine on the same bow. Asiatic bows, shot with the thumb release, also require stiffer arrows than those used for the mediterranean (three finger) release. So, generally spine calculators that you may find online won't really work for thumb release. Rule of thumb is to use 600 for low poundage bows, 400 for mid poundage, and 300 and stiffer for high poundage bows. For war bows, you will need a 200 or stiffer spine.

Draw Length.

The length of your arrow needs to match your draw length, and should not exceed the maximum draw length of the bow. This way, you wont accidentally overdraw the bow and damage it.

The draw length of an arrow is measured from the valley of the nock to behind the point (the end of the shaft)

Fletchings.

It's very important to use arrows with real feathers for fletchings on your Asiatic bow. You will be shooting the arrow off your bow hand, and the arrow will pass against your bow, or very close to it. If your arrows have plastic, rubber or other types of vanes, the arrow will bounce off your bow's arrow pass, and fly in a random direction. You're also likely to scratch or injure your bow hand as the vanes crash into your hand. Real feathers naturally fold back as the arrow basses the bow, without affecting arrow flight.

Straightness.

Unless you are an olympic style or professional level archer, I would not worry too much about straightness. You may notice some arrows come with markings indicating their straightness, usually +-0.0003, which is perfectly fine for most asiatic archery.

FOC.

FOC is "Front of Center" and refers to how far in front of the physical center of your arrow, the balance point, or center of mass is located. There is no such thing as too much FOC. The more forward the balance point is, the better.

Nocks.

It's a good idea to get nocks that match the thickness of your bow string correctly. Asiatic bows generally have slightly thicker strings than recurve or compound bows. Most nocks sold on this website are designed for Asiatic bows.