When choosing arrows for your recurve bow, you can’t just grab anything from your local archery shop. You need to match the arrows to your bow’s draw length and draw weight. Plus, you also have to choose an arrow weight, fletching, and arrow stiffness that best suits your archery style. 

In this article, I will explain the features and specifications that you should consider when selecting arrows for your recurve bow. 

But first, let’s understand why it’s important to pick the right arrow for your bow. 

Why should you buy arrows that match your recurve bow

Choosing the best arrows for your bow is important for improving your accuracy and performance. Properly matched arrows also help you prevent injuries like bruising and hand cuts. 

Let’s learn about these benefits in detail. 

Improved accuracy

Properly matched arrows with appropriate length, weight, and stiffness fly straighter, making it easier to hit the target. Mismatched arrows often fly unpredictably and can even cause a dry fire

More consistent shots

Well-matched arrows will travel straighter, giving you more consistent, predictable shots. They will group, forming a cluster, making it easier to evaluate your shots and see where you need to improve.       

Optimal performance 

Arrows that match the draw weight of the bow fly with optimum energy, which translates to better speed and power. This is important for outdoor shooting, specifically hunting. Too light or too heavy arrows won’t work well, affecting your bow’s performance. 

Protects the bow  

Recurve bows are more prone to damage than longbows. Dry firing and excessive vibration from heavier and stiffer arrows can easily damage their bowstring and limbs.      

Keeps the archer safe

Excessive vibrations could strain your muscles. If the impact is too high, the bow could break, shattering minute particles into the air, which could enter your eyes or mouth. Although rare, the fragments from carbon bows could penetrate the skin of the archer, causing severe injuries. 

As you can see in the image above, a sudden bow break can injure the archer and bystanders. That’s why you must never use mismatched arrows. 

Before I explain what arrows you should use with your recurve bow, let’s first understand the parts of an arrow. 

Parts of an arrow 

An arrow has a long shaft, a nock, a fletching, and a point or arrowhead.  

Shaft 

The long cylindrical shaft is the main part of an arrow’s body. Traditional arrows have wood shafts, but you can buy more durable and lightweight arrows made of carbon fiber and aluminum. I will go over their pros and cons shortly. 

Nock 

It is a small metal or plastic piece with a groove attached to the back of the arrow. The nock holds the arrow in place before you shoot.

Fletching 

These are plastic vanes or feathers attached to the back end of the shaft. Fletching creates drag, which is important to stabilize the arrows during flight.   

Point

Also known as an arrowhead, the point is the sharper front end of the arrow that penetrates the target. It’s usually made of metal, such as steel, aluminum or carbon fiber and connected to the shaft using an insert.  

As I just said, arrows can be made of carbon fiber, aluminum, and wood. Fiberglass and composite arrows are also gaining popularity these days. Each type of arrow has pros and cons you should know so you can choose the most suitable one.     

Types of arrows for a recurve bow

The table below will give you a quick idea about the pros and cons and the best uses for each type of arrow.   

Type Pros Cons Use
Wooden • Durable wood (cedar, spruce)
• Classic look
• Straighter shots
• Less durable than metal
• Not for hard surfaces
• Prone to warping/moisture damage
Traditional archery
Carbon • Lightweight, durable
• Faster, more accurate
• More expensive than aluminum
• Can break on hard surfaces
• Competitive archery
• Outdoor shooting
Aluminum • Affordable
• Easily repairable
• Heavier than carbon
• Limited outdoor range
Indoor archery

If you are looking for high-quality arrows suitable for your archery style, please check out our collection of wood and carbon arrows

Now that we have covered the basics of arrows, let’s understand what arrows you should use with a recurve bow.

Best Arrows For Recurve Bows

Below you’ll find some of our best arrow recommendations for recurve bows. And we’ll feature both wood and carbon arrows to make sure we fit your ideal choice.

Best Wood Arrows For Recurve Bows

Here are our top choices for wood arrows that work very well with recurve bows.

Best Carbon Arrows For Recurve Bows

We wouldn’t want the carbon arrow lovers to go without, so here are our top choices for carbon arrows for recurve bows.

How to buy the best arrows for your recurve bow

Here is a step-by-step guide to finding the best arrows for your recurve bow.

Find out the arrow length. 

If an arrow is too short for you, it might not release properly. It could hit the limb or riser, damaging your bow and injuring you. 

Longer arrows create excessive drag, which reduces their speed and power. They may wobble when shot, affecting your accuracy. 

Here’s a quick formula you can use to find your ideal arrow length. 

Length of an arrow = Draw length + 1-2 inches

If your draw length is 28″, you should buy 29″-30″ arrows. 

Don’t know your draw length? Just measure your wingspan and divide it by 2.5. For more details, please read my comprehensive guide on what’s the best size for your recurve bow

Determine the arrow weight. 

The weight of your arrows should match your bow’s draw weight. 

Draw weight is the amount of force you need to apply to draw the bow fully. This is usually mentioned on the bow. 

Ideally, the arrows should weigh about 5 to 6 grains per pound of draw weight.

A grain is a common unit of weight in archery.  

So, if your bow’s draw weight is 20 lbs, your arrows should be 100-120 grains.  You can choose heavier arrows if you are more experienced or if that suits your archery style.  

Arrow type Weight Pros Cons Best suited for
Lighter arrows 5-6 grains per pound of draw weight • Faster speed
• Flatter Trajectory
• Wind-sensitive
• May not be powerful enough for hunting
Target shooting
Heavier arrows 7-10 grains per pound of draw weight • Less affected by wind
• High penetration power for hunting
• Slower speed Hunting

Once you have finalized the weight, let’s figure out the best fletching for your arrows.  

Choose a suitable fletching. 

Vanes and feathers are the most common types of fletchings used in archery. 

Feather fletchings are lightweight and create less drag, allowing the arrows to travel farther. However, they are less durable and weather-resistant. 

Plastic vanes are more durable and heavier than the feather ones. Due to their heavy weight, they create more drag, which impacts the accuracy of long-distance shooting. 

I recommend feather fletchings for hunting and long-distance shooting. Plastic vanes work best for target practice.  

Understand spine stiffness and its usability. 

The stiffness of your arrow’s shaft should match your bow’s draw weight. 

  • Arrows that are too stiff may veer off course and may hurt bystanders. 
  • Arrows that are too flexible for the bow could break when released, causing injury to the archer. 
  • Light arrows often suffer from excessive oscillation, i.e., they bend and sway more during flight, giving you inconsistent shots.     

Spine stiffness, popularly known as arrow spine, is often quantified by deflection value, which can be anywhere between 300 and 600.

The higher the value, the more flexible the spine is

This means arrows with a 600 spine value are more flexible and suitable for bows with lighter draw weight. Bows that have higher draw weight need stiffer arrows with a spine value of around 300.  

Most manufacturers, including us, list the spine stiffness in product descriptions to eliminate guesswork. But if you still have any doubts, please get in touch with us. 

Determine the point weight ideal for you.

The weight of the point, i.e., arrowhead, can be anywhere between 75 grains to 400 grains (and even more). 

Here’s how point weight can affect your performance. 

  • Smaller, lighter arrowheads help the arrow travel in a flatter trajectory. 
  • Heavier ones drop too soon, but they have more penetrating power than the lighter ones. 
  • Typically, your arrowhead should weigh 5 to 10 grains per pound of your bow’s draw weight, depending on your experience and archery style.    
  • Lighter arrowheads are recommended for target practice, whereas heavier ones are good for hunting.   

Key Takeaways

Here are some key details you must keep in mind when choosing arrows for a recurve bow. 

  1. Always match the arrows to your draw length and the draw weight of the bow. 
  2. Arrows meant for hunting are different from those meant for target practice. Buy the ones that best suit your needs.    
  3. If you are not sure which arrows to buy, seek advice from an expert or bow manufacturer. 

Before you go, check out my other informative guides on how a recurve bow works and how to store a recurve bow. My guides are intended to help you understand how your bow functions and what you can do to improve your performance. 

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