Arrows: What to Buy and How to Tune Them

Arrow Materials

Wood

Wood arrows are the oldest and most traditional option — and for many archers, the most satisfying to shoot. Cedar is the most common shaft material, prized for its straightness, consistency, and the way it feels in the hand. Shooting a cedar arrow from a longbow or recurve is about as connected to the roots of archery as you can get. The tradeoff is durability — wood arrows break, warp with humidity, and require more attention than modern materials. They also need to be sorted and matched by spine and weight more carefully than carbon or aluminum, because wood shafts vary more from shaft to shaft. For the archer who loves the tradition and doesn't mind the extra maintenance, wood arrows are deeply rewarding. For a hunter who needs reliable performance in varied weather conditions, they come with real limitations.

Aluminum

Aluminum arrows were the performance standard for decades before carbon took over. They are consistent, durable, and available in a wide range of spine ratings that make matching them to a traditional bow straightforward. Aluminum arrows are heavier than carbon, which produces a slower but harder-hitting arrow with good penetration — both of which matter to hunters. Unlike carbon, a damaged aluminum arrow makes itself known immediately — once an aluminum shaft bends it is done and should be retired. That visibility is a real safety advantage over carbon, where internal damage can hide from the naked eye.

Carbon

Carbon arrows dominate the modern archery market for good reason — they are light, fast, consistent, and nearly indestructible under normal use. For traditional archers, carbon shafts offer excellent spine consistency from arrow to arrow, which simplifies tuning. The tradeoff is that carbon arrows are lighter than wood or aluminum, which can work against the traditional archer who benefits from a heavier, slower arrow with better FOC. Carbon arrows also require careful inspection after impacts — unlike aluminum, a damaged carbon shaft can crack internally without showing visible damage on the outside, and shooting a cracked carbon arrow is genuinely dangerous. Always flex and inspect carbon arrows before shooting, every time.

Arrow Spine — Why It Matters and How to Find the Right One

What Spine Is

Spine is the measurement of an arrow shaft's stiffness — specifically, how much it bends under a given load. Every arrow flexes as it leaves the bow, bending around the riser in what's called the archer's paradox. A properly spined arrow flexes the right amount for your setup and recovers into straight flight quickly. An arrow that is too stiff or too weak will never fly cleanly no matter how good your form is.

Why It Matters More on a Traditional Bow

On a compound bow, a drop-away rest and a mechanical release remove most of the variables that affect spine sensitivity. On a traditional bow, the arrow launches off your finger and across the shelf or a simple arrow rest with no mechanical assistance. Every variable — draw weight, draw length, point weight, arrow length, and release quality — affects how the arrow flexes and recovers. Getting spine right on a traditional bow is more critical and more nuanced than on a compound.

How to Find the Right Spine

The practical starting point is a spine chart — most arrow manufacturers publish them, and they cross-reference your draw weight and arrow length to suggest a spine range. This is a useful starting point, not a final answer. Point weight plays a significant role — heavier points effectively weaken a shaft's spine, lighter points stiffen it. A longer arrow is effectively weaker than a shorter one of the same rated spine. Your draw length and the efficiency of your release also factor in. Start with the chart, then tune from there. And if you want to skip the guesswork entirely, call the experts at rmsgear.com — they can walk you through a proper spine recommendation based on your specific setup in a single phone call, something no chart can replicate.

Fletching — 3 vs 4, Shapes, Materials, and Lengths

3 Fletch vs 4 Fletch

Three fletch is the traditional standard — three vanes or feathers equally spaced at 120 degrees around the shaft. It is lighter, produces less drag, and is the most common configuration for traditional archers. Four fletch adds a fourth vane at 90 degree spacing, increasing drag and spin stabilization. Four fletch can be beneficial for heavy broadhead setups where extra stabilization helps keep the arrow on course, but for most traditional archers shooting field points or lighter broadheads, three fletch is the right choice.

Feathers vs Vanes

Feathers are the traditional fletching material and for good reason — they are forgiving off the shelf, compress easily on contact with the arrow rest, and self-correct faster out of the bow than plastic vanes. For traditional archers shooting off the shelf or a simple rest, feathers are strongly preferred. They are also lighter than vanes, which helps FOC. The downside is that feathers absorb moisture and require more care in wet conditions. Plastic vanes are more durable and weather resistant but less forgiving off a traditional rest — they can plane and steer erratically if they contact the shelf or riser on the way out. If you're shooting off the shelf, shoot feathers.

Fletching Shapes

Shield cut, parabolic, and banana cut are the most common feather profiles. Parabolic feathers have a smooth, rounded back edge and are the most popular for traditional archery — they stabilize well, are gentle off the rest, and handle well in wind. Shield cut feathers have a more angular back profile and produce slightly more drag and spin, which can be beneficial for broadhead stabilization. Banana cut feathers are longer and lower profile, offering a balance between stabilization and drag. For most newer traditional archers, a standard parabolic feather in 4 to 5 inches is the right starting point.

Fletching Length

Longer fletching stabilizes faster and is more forgiving of form errors — a benefit for newer archers still developing their release. Shorter fletching produces less drag and faster arrow speed but requires cleaner form and better spine matching to fly well. For a newer trad archer, 4 to 5 inch feathers are the practical sweet spot. As your form tightens and your tuning improves, you can experiment with shorter profiles.

Tuning Your Arrows

FOC — Front of Center

FOC stands for front of center — the percentage of the arrow's total weight that sits forward of the arrow's midpoint. A higher FOC means more weight toward the tip, which produces a more stable, nose-forward flight and better penetration on game. For traditional archers, a minimum of 10 to 15 percent FOC is a good target. Hunting setups with broadheads often benefit from 15 to 20 percent or higher. FOC is adjusted by changing point weight, arrow length, or fletching weight. Heavier points increase FOC. Lighter, shorter fletching increases it further. Understanding and intentionally setting your FOC is one of the most impactful tuning steps a traditional archer can take, and it is frequently overlooked by newer shooters who focus only on spine. Higher FOC will make an arrow's spine softer, and lower FOC on the same setup, would make an arrow's spine stiffer.

Bare Shaft Tuning

Bare shaft tuning is the most fundamental and useful tuning method for traditional archers. It involves shooting an unfletched shaft alongside fletched arrows and comparing where they hit. A bare shaft hitting left of the fletched arrows (for a right-handed archer) indicates the arrow is too stiff. A bare shaft hitting right indicates too weak. Hitting high indicates too stiff, hitting low indicates too weak. By adjusting point weight, arrow length, or bow setup until the bare shaft groups with the fletched arrows, you know your spine is properly matched to your setup. This is real-world tuning that no chart can replicate as accurately.

Paper Tuning

Paper tuning involves shooting an arrow through a sheet of paper at close range — typically six to eight feet — and reading the tear the arrow makes. A perfect bullet hole means the arrow is leaving the bow nock-end and point-end perfectly aligned. A tear that pulls left, right, up, or down tells you the arrow is flexing and recovering improperly. Paper tuning is a useful diagnostic tool but has limitations for traditional archers — it tells you what is happening at the point of launch, not downrange. Use it in combination with bare shaft tuning rather than as a standalone method.

Walk Back Tuning

Walk back tuning checks your arrow flight at multiple distances by shooting at a single vertical reference line from progressively farther distances — typically starting at 10 yards and walking back to 40 or 50. If your arrows drift left or right of the reference line as distance increases, your arrow rest or nocking point needs adjustment. Walk back tuning is particularly useful for dialing in arrow rest position and is a good final check after bare shaft and paper tuning have your spine and nock point in the right range. It confirms that what looked good up close is actually flying true at hunting distances.

The Bottom Line on Arrow Selection

Choosing and tuning arrows for a traditional bow is more involved than most newer archers expect — and more rewarding once you get it right. A properly matched and tuned arrow will fly in a way that makes you question whether you've been shooting the same bow all along. Start with a spine chart to get in the ballpark, shoot bare shafts to confirm your spine match, set your FOC intentionally, and paper tune and walk back tune to finish the job.

And if you want to skip the trial and error and get it right the first time, call the team at rmsgear.com. They know traditional arrow tuning at a level no chart comes close to matching, and a single phone call with them will tell you more about what your setup needs than months of guessing on your own. They also sell arrow tuning kits, with a few different spined arrows included for testing.