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Step 1
Familiarize yourself with your bow. The kind of arrow you choose is highly dependent upon the bow you have. Knowing the weight and draw length of your bow will allow you to avoid buying arrows that will either damage or not work with your bow.
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Step 2
Choose either wooden or aluminum arrows. Aluminum is a popular and economical choice for both hunters and target archers. Wood, however is usually a good choice for target archers, especially those who shoot with historic reenactment societies.
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Step 3
Measure your draw length. If you are ever faced with the decision of purchasing arrows that are either slightly shorter or a few inches longer, always go long, because shooting longer arrows will have no impact on your shooting. However, a short arrow may fall off the sight rest.
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Step 4
Determine the spine that you will need for your bow. The spine is the rigidity of the shaft of the arrow. Heavier bows will need stiffer arrow spines, while lighter bows will need weaker spines.
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Step 5
Adjust your arrow selections depending on what kind of archery you practice. Archery with a recurve bow requires arrows of different measurements than archery with a compound bow, so be sure that you inform the sales assistant of precisely the kind of bow you're using.
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Step 6
Review the qualification requirements of the tournament you will be shooting in, if you are a tournament shooter. Some organizations require that certain specifications be met in order to qualify for the tournament. Primitive archers, for example, may only use wooden arrows with natural fletching.
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Step 7
Pick your fletching. For the most part, the fletching is based on personal preference, but there are advantages and disadvantages to each. For example, plastic is quieter, but feathers react less to any inadvertent interaction.
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Step 8
Express yourself! Range archers are especially encouraged to design unique arrows so they can easily be identified in a field of other archer's arrows. Hunters will want to pick bright colors that can easily be seen through foliage or brush.
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Step 9
Pick the appropriate tips for your arrows. Hunters will need to be very careful about getting the tip that is best for their particular quarries, because some tips can be too small to take down larger kills, while some larger tips may be too large to hunt smaller animals. Target archers will want to consider the range targets that they will be using most frequently, and select the tips that will pierce, but not penetrate, the targets.
