As a new bowhunter, there will be many things you will need to understand to get a feel for how all of your archery gear works. In this video, we’ll cover all the basics of an arrow and how to decide which arrow you’ll need to use. If you’re new to archery, you can usually buy pre-built arrows with all the components attached, but you can also buy everything separately and create a more custom arrow as you go.
We will first explain the different parts of an arrow and how it is divided. The shaft is what forms the body of the arrow. Arrow shafts can come in different types of materials. One of them is wood. Wooden arrows are commonly used with traditional bows like recurves and longbows. Another type of arrow is the aluminum one, but the most used for compound bows is the carbon one. Carbon and aluminum are also now offered, consisting of a carbon interior and an aluminum exterior.
The next component we will cover is the nock. This is located inside the shaft at the back, where your arrow will connect to your bowstring. The nock is designed to hook onto the string and hold the arrow as you draw the bow back. It’s important to make sure your punch doesn’t catch on the string too easily or be hard to catch. Both of these factors could affect the tuning of your bow. You want a nock that fits with the right amount of grip, so you may need to try a few different types at first.
Fletchings, also known as vanes, help control the flight of the arrow. These sit at the back of the shaft below the nock. There are many different styles of these. Some are low profile and short while others can be higher profile and longer. As you gain more experience with archery, you can try different styles to see what shoots the best with your bow.
The last part is the insert. This goes inside the shaft of the arrow at the front end. The insert is what has the thread to screw on the arrowhead. Depending on the diameter of the arrow shaft you shoot will determine what size insert you need. You really won’t have to worry about this, as most arrow companies provide the proper inserts with the shafts you buy.