How heavy should my hunting arrows be?

Nine to eleven grains per pound of your actual draw weight — roughly 450–550 grains from a 50 lb bow. Heavy arrows absorb more of the bow's energy, shoot quieter, and penetrate deeper; that trade is the entire strategy of a traditional setup.

What FOC should a hunting arrow have?

Eighteen to twenty-five percent for hunting. That range steers a fixed broadhead reliably and drives penetration at traditional speeds. Use the FOC calculator with your finished arrow rather than estimating.

Feathers or vanes for a recurve?

Feathers, always, on a bow shot off the shelf. Vanes are stiff and bounce the arrow off line as they pass the rest; natural feathers crush and rebound. Run 4–5 inch feathers with a helical or strong offset to steer a broadhead.

Archery gear · Arrows

The arrow is the weapon — the bow just launches it

At traditional speeds, penetration comes from mass, balance and sharpness, not velocity. Build the arrow accordingly.

A recurve or longbow produces a fraction of a compound's energy, so the arrow has to do the work. Nine to eleven grains of arrow per pound of draw weight, eighteen to twenty-five percent front-of-center, and a shaving-sharp cut-on-contact head is the formula that produces pass-throughs from moderate poundage.

Every component is a lever: point weight moves both tune and FOC, fletching steers the broadhead, and shaft material decides how much of your tuning effort survives the season.

Hunting weight: 9–11 gr/lb
FOC target: 18–25%
Fletching: 4–5" feathers
Heads: 2-blade, cut-on-contact

Shaft materials for hunting

Material	Spine consistency	Durability	Weight options	Best for
Carbon	Excellent	Very high	Wide, incl. heavy inserts	Most hunters
Aluminum	Very good when new	Bends permanently	Moderate	Budget practice
Cedar / fir	Hand-matched only	Breaks, warps	Light–moderate	Traditionalists, selfbows
Carbon-wood hybrid	Excellent	High	Heavy, high FOC	Maximum penetration builds

Build a hunting arrow in order

Sequence matters — each choice constrains the next. Do not buy components out of order.

1Calculate the spine your bow needs (draw weight, arrow length, point weight) with the spine calculator or chart.
2Choose shaft material and spine; leave one inch of clearance past the shelf at full draw.
3Pick point weight — 175–250 grains for high-FOC hunting builds — and match field points to broadheads exactly.
4Add brass inserts if you need more front weight to hit 18–25% FOC.
5Fletch with 4–5 inch feathers on a helical or strong offset, cock feather out.
6Bare-shaft tune at 15 yards before you fletch the full dozen.

Broadheads: sharp beats everything

At 150–180 feet per second, a mechanical head spends energy you do not have opening its blades. A fixed two-blade cut-on-contact head, sharpened until it shaves hair and re-stropped after every stalk, is what turns a marginal hit into a recovered animal. Weight forward and a single bevel add rotation and bone-splitting, but none of it matters if the edge is dull.

Questions

Frequently asked

How heavy should my hunting arrows be?: Nine to eleven grains per pound of your actual draw weight — roughly 450–550 grains from a 50 lb bow. Heavy arrows absorb more of the bow's energy, shoot quieter, and penetrate deeper; that trade is the entire strategy of a traditional setup.
What FOC should a hunting arrow have?: Eighteen to twenty-five percent for hunting. That range steers a fixed broadhead reliably and drives penetration at traditional speeds. Use the FOC calculator with your finished arrow rather than estimating.
Feathers or vanes for a recurve?: Feathers, always, on a bow shot off the shelf. Vanes are stiff and bounce the arrow off line as they pass the rest; natural feathers crush and rebound. Run 4–5 inch feathers with a helical or strong offset to steer a broadhead.