Different Types of Arrows and Arrowheads

Different Types of Arrows and Arrowheads

American Indians first made the earliest recorded arrowhead or projectile points in 500 A.D. In recent studies, scientists have found traces of arrowheads used by early modern humans as well as Neanderthals in Levallois.

Different Parts of an Arrow:

Before we delve further into arrows and arrowheads, let us familiarize ourselves with the essential parts of the arrow. Arrows are divided into four different sections or parts, which are as follows. 

Arrowhead:

Arrowhead
Arrowhead

In simple terms, the arrowhead is the head of the arrow that does the most important job of all that is penetrating into the target. There are a lot of different arrowheads in the world, each with different purposes and specialities.

For example, Pointy arrowheads are used to piercing through armour, and wide-bladed arrowheads are good for hunting games. 

Shaft:

Arrow Shaft
Arrow Shaft

The shaft is the main body of the arrow, usually made from wood or some light metal. The shaft is the main body part of the arrow as all the other parts are connected to one another through the shaft.

Usually, shafts are cylindrical in design.

Fletching:

Arrow Fletching
Arrow Fletching

Fletching works as the tail rotor, which helps in stabilizing the helicopter. Similar to that, fletching works like the stabilizer not only that it has a great impact on the accuracy of the arrow. 

Fletching is typically made of flexible material like tree bark or feathers. 

Nock:

Arrow Nock
Arrow Nock

The end of the arrow is held in hand and attached to the bowstring. A good nock is essential for having a proper grip on the arrow, which helps in drawing the arrow back. 


Types of Arrows:

As we said earlier, the most common material for fletching is wood bark and feathers; the shaft is wood. Bows and arrows were among the first weapons developed by ancient humans, and we find these historical artifacts sometimes buried in the ground.  

Though the only thing scientists find is the arrowheads, not the shaft, fletching, or nocks, as they are made from biodegradable material and are easily degraded, most arrow types are determined by the arrowhead and the material used in the shaft. 

Here is the list of arrows used today on the bases of the shaft. (we will discuss arrowhead types later in the article)

Wooden Arrows:

Wooden Arrow
Wooden Arrow

Wooden arrows are the most traditional and widely used arrows. Though these types of arrows are the easiest to break, they can be considered true arrows because of their history of being used for many centuries

Wooden shafts are made into a cylindrical shape and have a  lacquer finish. There are a number of arrowheads that you can attach with these shafts and usually have feathers for fletchings. You can easily find these arrows at any kind of shop that deals in selling bows and arrows. 

Unlike other types of arrows, these arrows can be bought for a lower price.

Aluminium Arrows:

Aluminum Arrow
Aluminum Arrow

Aluminium arrows are another popular option for arrows. These arrows have an aluminium shaft that is hollow inside, making them lightweight and durable if they get bent, you can easily bend them back into their original shape.

If you like to use a lightweight bow, then aluminium arrows are the perfect fit for you. These arrows are more expensive than wooden arrows and a little less expensive than carbon arrows.

Fiberglass Arrows:

Fiberglass Arrow
Fiberglass Arrow

Fiberglass arrows are a very popular choice as practice arrows. They work really well for practice shooting; they are well built and typically have glue on the tip. Fiberglass arrows are very rigid, and if they get bent, it is not easy to bend them back into place.

As we said, earlier fiberglass arrows are mostly used for practice and not for hunting or in professional games.  These arrows can easily be found at any bow and arrow shop and are not expensive at all.

Carbon Arrows:

Carbon Arrow
Carbon Arrow

When it comes to carbon arrows, they are the most expensive arrows, but their price is justified with premium performance. As the name suggests, carbon arrows are made from carbon and are made to have many types of spines.

Carbon arrows are very well built and are sturdy arrows that can handle abuse. We highly recommend you do not purposefully try to break these arrows as they are quite expensive, and once they break, it is impossible to fix them.

Unlike many other arrow types, carbon arrows are very hard to bend, and they break into a lot of pieces, so it is impossible to repair them. 

Above are a few different types of the arrow on the bases of the material used to make them. When choosing an arrow, keep in mind that your bow plays an important part. 

The size of the arrow and its weight are dictated by the bow you are using. Even after you get the perfect arrows, you still have to fine-tune them to improve accuracy. 


What Is an Arrowhead?

Arrowhead, the tip of the arrow, is usually sharp and pointy to do damage to the target. In the modern-day world, arrowheads are made from metal, but it was not always the case. The ancient humans used sharpened stones, bones, and even horns as arrowheads.

Typically arrowheads weigh about 15 grams and are about an inch in size. Arrows are among the first weapons developed by humans and are very important in human history and evolution. 


What Are the Different Types of Arrowheads?

When it comes to arrowheads, they are divided into three categories depending upon the purpose of use.

Throughout history, many different types of arrows and arrowheads have been used. In most cases, they were designed to be inserted into the shaft. In this article, we will discuss modern as well as ancient arrowheads. 

Broadhead Arrowhead:

Broad Arrowhead
Broad Arrowhead

Broadhead arrowhead is the most deadly arrowhead in the world. Usually, broadheads have three or more blades at the tip that are designed to cause a lot of damage and can cause lethal wounds to the small and big game alike. 

The design of the broadheads is special and is made to cause as much damage as possible in a single shot. They can easily penetrate through tough hides and can cause a lot more bleeding than other arrowheads.

The blades at the tip of the arrowhead are barbed to make sure that they stick into the flesh and are not removed easily. There are also mechanical broadheads arrows that have hidden barbs that open up once the arrow touches the target. 

Not only are mechanical broadheads no less dangerous than their counterparts, but they are also more accurate. The hidden barbs make them more aerodynamic, and they cut through the air much faster and more efficiently.

When it comes to kinetic energy, mechanical broadheads lose a bit of it to gain more powerful impact damage. The greater impact damage is also why mechanical broadheads are not recommended for target practice.

Broadheads are usually used for hunting, where a single shot determines the fate of your success. Broadhead does more damage and causes bleeding, which helps in finding the animal if it is not finished immediately.

Blunt Arrowhead:

Blunt Arrowhead
Blunt Arrowhead

One of the most intriguing facts about blunt arrowheads is that they come in many different sizes and shapes. As the name suggests, blunt arrows are not pointy at the end and therefore can not penetrate into the target.

Unlike other arrowheads, they cause shock damage instead of penetrating and blood loss. If you are hunting small game like birds and rabbits, the shock is enough to paralyze or even kill them. Blunt arrows are mostly used for practice as they do not have a sharper end and can be reused without maintenance.

Blunt arrowheads are used by people who do not like to inflict a painful death on an animal, and considering this; they are mostly made from hardened rubber. A type of blunt arrowhead that has been gaining a lot of attention is the judo point arrowhead.

It is very popular among outdoor enthusiasts and is designed with a spring wire sideways from the tip of the arrowhead. These types of arrowheads can either be sharp or blunt. The spring wire is there for the purpose of getting stuck in the vegetation if you miss the shot.

This prevents the arrowhead from getting lost as well as getting too deep in the vegetation. Judo arrowheads are a perfect choice for you if you want to hunt small game or your children are starting to learn the ways of archery.

These arrows are safe for children because they are made out of soft material and do not penetrate. Being safe for children does not mean that parents can neglect their duties and give them these arrows unsupervised. 

Even if the blunt arrows do not penetrate, they can cause serious injury to the head or any other area if struck with force. Make sure that your kids are monitored when playing with these or any other kind of arrows.  

Target Arrowhead:

Target Arrowhead
Target Arrowhead

As the name of these implies, these arrowheads are made for target practicing. Target arrowheads are very popular with people who just started archery and are outdoor enthusiasts. Unlike barbed broadhead arrows, these arrows do not have barbs, making them ideal for practicing as they do not get stuck in things. 

These arrowheads can easily be removed from the target, but do not forget just as they can be removed with ease and penetrate with ease. When using these arrowheads, make sure to take caution as you can easily get yourself injured. 

So unless it is the practice target, do not aim these arrows at anyone or anything. Target arrowheads are made in the form of short cones and have a pointed end. The short design makes them more aerodynamic than others allowing them to achieve greater speeds and penetrating power. 


What Are the Different Materials Used to Make Arrowheads?

Throughout the ages, man has used different kinds of hard and sharp material for arrowheads. It is very easy to find a sharpened stone to bones being used as arrowheads. Below we have listed some of the materials that were used and are being used to make arrowheads.

Horns and Bones:

Animal horns and bones are among the most ancient arrowheads that scientists have found over the years. Arrowheads made from bones and horns were common in plain areas where the suitable stone that could be sharpened into arrowheads was rare.  

Sharpened Stone:

Unlike horns and bones, sharpened stone arrowheads are very primitive. To put it simply, just put a sharpened stone on the end of a stick, and you are done. These were made by simply selecting the stone a bit so that it could be attached to a shat and then secured with bindings.

Bindings work as means to hold the stone in place as well as adding strength to the arrow. Flint (a type of stone) has been used as arrowheads as well as spearheads over the centuries. Stones like quartz and obsidian were also used, which could easily be flaked and carved into different shapes.

Different Metals:

Metal is one of the greatest discoveries of mankind and is the linchpin of today’s age. Metal is used for making a lot of tools, and they were the sign that man has now advanced from the stone age to the age of evolution and science.

Among the metals that were used to make arrowheads, copper was the first. It was easily melted and shaped at low temperatures and was abundant in nature. The first civilization to make copper arrowheads was Anatolia (Turkey) and soon spread to Egypt and the Middle east.

Copper arrowhead was just a start and soon led to bronze (an alloy of copper and tin) being used as arrowheads. These arrowheads were much stronger than their predecessor and were used for a long time after they were discovered. 

Once iron was discovered, it was used to make arrowheads, and bronze arrowheads faded into history. 

Chert:

Chert is a type of sedimentary rock with fine and hard grains and is made of quartz crystals. This sediment comes in a lot of colors, but these are the most common colors Greyish Brown, Brown, Grey, Light green, Rusted red.

Steel:

Steel is amongst the newly discovered metal (well, not really) and is considered the strongest metal. It is made from mixing carbon and iron and is used in almost every metal-related project. 

Arrowheads are also not an exception as steep has considerable strength and can easily be moulded into the desired shape. Arrowheads are made with steel that gives them a premium look as well as a performance.


Different Types of Arrow Points:

Different Arrow Points
Different Arrow Points

When it comes to arrowhead points, their design is dependent upon their use. Many different points have been seen over the years, Keeping the use of the arrow in mind, and they are listed below.

Bullet Point:

The bullet point is the classic point that is mostly used in practice but can also be used for hunting small game like birds and rabbits etc. They are made from steel so that you can be sure of their strength. 

These arrowhead points are easy to remove from the target as they have a curved profile.

Blunt Point:

Blunt points are made with many different materials like plastic, hardened rubber, and sometimes steel. Blunt arrowheads do not have sharp points as they are not made for penetrating and are generally used for hunting small game like birds and rabbits. 

Bodkin Point:

Bodkin point arrowheads have square-based or triangular pyramidal shapes. These types of arrowheads are made from unhardened steel or iron. These arrowhead points are cheaper than other arrowhead points.

Field Trip:

Field tip arrowheads are made much wider at the base and are narrower at the tip. These arrowhead points are usually used for practice and small game hunting. Their peculiar design is to make sure that they do not get stuck in the target.

These types of points offer more accuracy and penetration power.

Judo Points:

Judo’s arrowhead point is a unique point. When they are fired, the spring-like arms attached to the tip spring out. When you read about this particular arrowhead, it makes them sound like something out of a Sci-Fi movie.

Unlike their appearance, they are only used for stopping the arrow from getting lost as the springs get stuck in vegetation.

Bludgeon Point:

These arrowhead points are mostly known for using kinetic energy for penetration action, not relying on the cutting action because the kinetic energy transfer can deal serious damage to the target, especially to small games.

These tips also have flares so that you can easily find them in vegetation. These tips are very versatile and come in many different sizes and shapes

Combo Points:

As the name suggests, the combo tip is a combination of a field point and a bullet tip. The tip is unique and has a smaller radius at the tip, and gets wider as it moves onto the shoulders. These tips are very popular amongst 3D target hunters because they can easily be removed and have low flights than other tips.

Pin Tips:

Pin tips are made to have a straight angle on the tip, due to which they have high penetrating potential. These tips are perfect for hard targets as they can penetrate deep into the target and cause great damage. 

These are generally used in professional competitions.

Bulge Tip:

This type of arrowhead tip is wider at the centre than the shaft of the arrow. These tips are very good at dealing with large damage and a hole that suits the damage output. Bulge tips also come with their flaws, and once they penetrate the target, they are quite hard to remove. 


Frequently Asked Questions:

Does it take long to make an arrowhead?

Some special arrowheads like Clovis take a lot of time in preparing, not only that you have to have been skilled in making one as well. Making most of the arrowheads only takes about 30 minutes or so. 

What is the most expensive arrowhead?

The most expensive arrowhead was made from a rare stone called green obsidian, and it was dated back to the prehistoric era. The arrowhead was sold for a whopping 276000 dollars. 

What is the rarest and sought-after arrowhead?

Some of the rarest and sought-after arrowheads are the Clovis point arrowheads. Arrowheads that are made from unusual and rare material like jade or petrified wood are also very rare, especially if they are in Clovis point shape.

The rarest arrowheads are the Clovis-shaped arrowheads made with rare and unusual stones.


Conclusion:

Arrows might only be seen as some old-school projectile for hunting. In reality, arrows and arrowheads represent how our ancestors lived and things they used to protect themselves with and use for hunting. 

Even today, arrows are being used for hunting; the only thing that has changed is that the hunt is more of a sport than a necessity. Arrowheads show how humans evolved in their use of different materials for survival.

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