A heavier arrow, or one with the balance point further forward, drifts less in a crosswind

The summary today

The only results that separate mass from diameter are calculations, and they point the same way: at equal diameter, the heavier arrow drifts less. The first dates from 2011 and comes from an engineer studying compound arrows; in 2020 the same author puts figures on it, and at seventy metres in a three metre per second crosswind a recurve X10 drifts 261 mm with a 100-grain point and 245 with a 140, even though it leaves the bow a little slower. A 2025 fluid dynamics simulation widens the range: from 0.322 m for a 14.2 g arrow to 0.229 m for a 29.1 g one, and moving the balance point back by twenty centimetres adds almost three centimetres of drift. The same model shows where the advice stops being useful, since taking 3.2 g off a 29.1 g arrow costs just 1.3 cm. The only measurements in wind, in a tunnel and outdoors, do not isolate mass: the heaviest arrow tested was also the thickest and drifted most of all, and in the outdoor comparison the better arrow was heavier but above all thinner. Mass helps in the calculations; how much it is worth on its own, with diameter held fixed, nobody has measured.

Also phrased as: "heavy arrow in the wind"; "the wind moves heavy arrows less"; "forward balance point and wind"; "which arrow to use in a crosswind"; "arrow mass and wind drift"

Evidence

• 2011
  For Model Published later

  A calculation of wind drift for compound arrows, split into two parts: the displacement caused by the arrow aligning itself with the airflow, which in the model is roughly inversely proportional to the arrow's mass, and the displacement caused by the lateral component of drag. For the author the drift of different arrows is compared by looking at diameter and mass together, and at equal diameter the heavier arrow drifts less.

  Minimizing wind drift of an arrow · J L Park

• 2011
  Context Equipment tests Published later

  The measurements in the same paper do not separate mass from diameter. In the wind tunnel, over 10.3 m at 4.41 m/s, the X7 2512, the heaviest of the five arrows (29.35 g) but also the thickest (9.92 mm), drifts most of all, 18 mm, while the 27.16 g Axis FMJ and the 20.97 g LightSpeed, close in diameter (6.71 and 7.44 mm), both drift 13 mm. Outdoors at 70 m, with gusts of over 10 m/s and 36 machine shots per type, the Protour (23.52 g, 5.04 mm) has a lateral standard deviation of 44.6 mm against 58.6 for the LightSpeed: it is heavier, but above all much thinner.

  Minimizing wind drift of an arrow · J L Park

• 2011
  Context Model Published later

  In a paper on arrow drag the author notes that wind drift is roughly proportional to longitudinal drag, and infers that thin, heavy arrows, which also take more energy from the bow, should drift less than thick or light ones. It is an inference, with no measurement of drift.

  The aerodynamic drag and axial rotation of an arrow · J L Park

• 2013
  Context Model Published later

  A model of carbon shafts, with contours of equal drift at 70 m for a Hoyt Maxxis 35 compound at 87.3 m/s and a 23.6 g arrow: a stiffer carbon would allow thinner shafts, but lighter ones too, and drift would barely change, because what is gained in cross-section is lost in mass. It says mass and diameter have to be read together.

  The impact of material selection on arrow design and optimal selection for competition · James L Park

• 2018
  Context Model Published later

  A numerical simulation of the trajectory and attitude of a recurve arrow in a background wind: the authors show that the sideways deviation falls as launch speed rises, and in three metres per second of crosswind the radial deviation is 0.36 m against 0.10 in a head wind. Arrow mass never enters the calculation, so the work says that speed counts in the wind and leaves the question open.

  Trajectory and attitude of an archery arrow in free flight:: estimation of the influence of the background wind. · Julio Ortiz, Masato Ando, Takeshi Miyazaki

• 2020
  For Model Published later

  A model of drift in a 3 m/s crosswind for recurve X10 600 arrows at 70 m: with a 140-grain point (23.8 g, 55.7 m/s) drift is 245 mm, with a 120 (22.5 g, 56.8 m/s) 253, with a 100 (21.2 g, 58.2 m/s) 261. The heavier arrow leaves slower and still drifts less; the author concludes that at equal diameter greater mass reduces drift and that a heavier point is worth having. In the same model the drift caused by the lateral component of drag is about ten times the drift caused by alignment.

  The dynamic behaviour of an arrow in wind · James L Park

• 2025
  For Model Published later

  A fluid dynamics simulation of recurve arrows launched at 57 metres per second towards a target at 70 metres: with a one metre per second crosswind the 14.2 g arrow is pushed 0.12 m off line and the 29.1 g one 0.078 m; with three metres per second the displacements become 0.322 m and 0.229 m. No archers and no field measurement.

  Influences of an Arrow’s Aerodynamic Pressure Center on Recurve Bow Shooting · Wenfeng Shen, Liang Hu, Jing Hu, Yiming Xu, Xixia Xu, Jieqing Zheng

• 2025
  For Model Published later

  In the same model, with a three metre per second crosswind and zero initial angle of attack, the displacement is 0.116 m; moving the balance point back by twenty centimetres raises it by about 0.026 to 0.03 m. The direction is the one the claim states, a balance point further forward meaning less drift, but it is a result of calculation.

  Influences of an Arrow’s Aerodynamic Pressure Center on Recurve Bow Shooting · Wenfeng Shen, Liang Hu, Jing Hu, Yiming Xu, Xixia Xu, Jieqing Zheng

• 2025
  Context Model Published later

  The same model shows how much it is worth: with a three metre per second crosswind the drift is 0.322 m at 14.2 g, 0.274 m at 19.7 g and 0.229 m at 29.1 g, so the gain shrinks as the arrow gets heavier. Taking 3.2 g off a 29.1 g arrow raises the drift by 0.013 m in a three metre per second wind and by 0.006 m in a one metre per second wind.

  Influences of an Arrow’s Aerodynamic Pressure Center on Recurve Bow Shooting · Wenfeng Shen, Liang Hu, Jing Hu, Yiming Xu, Xixia Xu, Jieqing Zheng

Status history

1. 2011 Transferred The question enters the bibliography with an engineer studying the wind drift of compound arrows. In his calculation drift depends on diameter and mass, and at equal diameter the heavier arrow drifts less. The measurements in the same paper do not isolate mass, though: in the wind tunnel the heaviest of the five arrows, which was also the thickest, drifts most of all, and outdoors the arrow that moves less is both heavier and much thinner than the other. For now the effect of mass lives in the calculation.
2. 2018 Transferred Another calculation of the effect of wind follows a single arrow and shows that a higher launch speed reduces the sideways displacement, but it does not compare different masses. It adds nothing on mass, and the claim still leans on the 2011 calculation.
3. 2020 Transferred The same engineer returns to the question with a fuller model and puts figures on it: at seventy metres, in a three metre per second crosswind, a recurve X10 drifts 261 mm with a 100-grain point, 253 with a 120 and 245 with a 140, even though it leaves the bow a little slower. He concludes that at equal diameter the heavier arrow drifts less and that a heavier point is worth having. It is still a model, with no measurements in the wind.
4. 2025 Transferred A fluid dynamics simulation reaches the same direction over a much wider range of masses: at seventy metres in a three metre per second crosswind the drift falls from 0.322 m for a 14.2 g arrow to 0.229 m for a 29.1 g one, and moving the balance point back by twenty centimetres raises it by almost three centimetres. It also shows that the gain runs out on arrows that are already heavy. No field measurement and no archers: there are now three models and they agree, but the claim still rests on calculations.

Related

Related articles

• Which arrow drifts least in the windA thinner shaft or a heavier arrow for windy competitions? What the models say about diameter, mass, speed and a clean exit, and what is still unmeasured.
• Indoor vs outdoor archery: key differences and seasonal adaptationsIndoor vs outdoor archery: what changes between 18 and 70 metres, what the only study of the shot at both distances found, and what research says about moving between distances.

Research lines

• 12 studiesWind and heat in archery: research since 2011
• 32 studiesArrow aerodynamics: drag, boundary layer, vanes

Other claims in this domain

• CorroboratedAlong its flight the arrow loses an appreciable part of its launch speed12 studiesStatus since 2011
• CorroboratedAs it leaves the bow, the arrow flexes and snakes around the riser instead of leaving straight19 studies · 47 archers measuredStatus since 2012
• ReportedA camera-based scoring system misreads some arrows: the ones barely sticking out and the ones that shift the target face7 studies · 2 archers measuredStatus since 2017
• ReportedA chest band with fibre optic sensors measures breathing and mean heart rate with small errors, and an archer can wear it while shooting2 studiesStatus since 2019
• ReportedA compound bow stores between 70 and 100 joules and sheds about two thirds of the force at full draw4 studiesStatus since 2015

See all claims on equipment and tuning