From the same bow, a heavier arrow strikes lower

The summary today

Two tests with a shooting machine, from two different laboratories, point the same way. In 2016 a Korean group launches thirty-six hunting arrows of three models from a 51 lb bow at about 40 metres: the lightest model, about 15.5 grams, passes through the upper part of the plot and the heaviest, about 19 grams, through the lower part, but the heights are not reported and the heaviest model also has the largest diameter. In 2025 a French group shoots sixty X10s of spine 325 from a 52 lb recurve at 70 metres, over five indoor sessions: across the 59 arrows analysed, mass is the variable with the greatest weight on impact height (beta -0.525, p < 0.001), together with spine, and the heavier arrow lands lower, even though only 0.282 grams separate the lightest from the heaviest. The mechanism had already been partly measured: from the same bow a heavier arrow leaves more slowly, about 3 metres per second slower between 23 and 33 grams at 50 lb, and according to a ballistic calculation one metre per second less at 70 metres lowers the impact by about 13 centimetres. On size, though, theory goes beyond the measurement: for the 0.282 grams of the 2025 test the ballistic model the authors cite predicted more than 14 centimetres of vertical range, and the measurement gave 8.8. The direction is consistent across both tests, but both were run with a machine, with no archers shooting, and only the second separates weight from the arrow's other characteristics, on a single bow and a single shaft model.

Also phrased as: "a heavier arrow hits lower"; "arrow weight and point of impact"; "heavier points make the arrow drop"; "arrows of different weight in a group"; "weighing arrows"

Evidence

• 2013
  Context Equipment tests Published later

  A laminated Browning Wasp recurve mounted on a mechanical device with a mechanical release, shot at 40, 45 and 50 lb with three aluminium arrows identical except for an internal weight of 0, 5 and 10 grams, that is 23, 28 and 33 grams in all, speed taken by chronograph 20 metres from the bow: at every draw weight the heavier arrow is slower, by about 3 metres per second between 23 and 33 grams at 50 lb. It is the premise of the claim, but the point of impact is not measured.

  The Adoption of the Bow and Arrow: A Model Based on Experimental Performance Characteristics · Steve A. Tomka

• 2015
  Context Equipment tests Published later

  A compound and three arrows of different mass measured with a chronograph: the lighter ones leave faster, as a model predicts in which the bow has a virtual mass of about 5 grams. With a ballistic calculation checked against measurements on the same bow, at 70 metres one metre per second more launch speed raises the point of impact by about 13 centimetres. It links weight, speed and height, but the point of impact of arrows of different weight is not measured; it is a preprint without peer review, on a single bow.

  Applications of Physics to Archery · H. O. Meyer

• 2016
  For Equipment tests Published later

  Thirty-six hunting arrows of three models from the same maker, twelve per model, all 30 inches long, launched from a machine with a 51 lb bow at about 40 metres, three times per arrow with the nock turned 120 degrees each time, with their passage recorded by a laser frame one metre in front of the target: the lightest model, about 15.5 grams, passes through the upper part of the plot, the heaviest, about 19 grams, through the lower part, and the authors name weight as the factor that matters most for flight height. The heights are not tabulated, there is no test, the position of the middle model, about 17.2 grams, is not described, and the heaviest model also has the largest diameter.

  Position coordinate representation of flying arrow and analysis of its performance indicator · Yeongsang Jeong, Suryo Adhi Wibowo, Moonjae Song, Sungshin Kim

• 2019
  For Model Published later

  A ballistic calculation at constant bow energy, 45 J, with a 23.361 g reference arrow and no friction or shaft flexing: the heavier arrow leaves more slowly, and at 70 metres half a grain more, about 0.032 grams, lowers the impact by 0.87 cm, while half a grain less raises it by 0.94 cm. It is a model, with no speed or impact measurements, and in 2025 another ballistic model, cited by the same authors, predicted a larger effect than the one measured.

  A study of the influence of arrow mass on ballistics · A. Kuch, J.-F. Debril, J.-M. Tizzoni, P. Laguillaumie, T. Monnet

• 2025
  For Equipment tests Published later

  Sixty Easton X10 arrows of spine 325, characterised one by one for mass, diameter, straightness and stiffness around the shaft, shot in random order from a 52 lb recurve mounted on a machine with three mechanical fingers, over five indoor sessions at 70 metres; one was damaged and the analysis covers 59. In the model of mean vertical position, mass is the strongest predictor (beta -0.525, p < 0.001), together with mean spine (beta 0.248, p = 0.032): the heavier arrow, and the stiffer one, lands lower, and the model accounts for 46.7 per cent of the vertical variability. A single bow and a single shaft model.

  Improving the arrow selection process in archery: the stiffness variation pattern matters · A. Kuch, P. Laguillaumie, F. Durand, J.-F. Debril, T. Monnet

• 2025
  Context Equipment tests Published later

  The same study measures how large the effect is: 0.282 grams separate the lightest arrow from the heaviest, and the ballistic model the authors cite predicted more than 14 centimetres of vertical range at 70 metres, while the measured range was 8.8 centimetres, an overestimate of about 60 per cent. The direction holds, the calculated size does not; the authors also note that 8.8 centimetres fits inside the 10 ring, which is 12.2 centimetres across.

  Improving the arrow selection process in archery: the stiffness variation pattern matters · A. Kuch, P. Laguillaumie, F. Durand, J.-F. Debril, T. Monnet

Status history

1. 2013 Not studied The first measurement close to the question concerns speed alone: a recurve mounted on a mechanical device shoots three aluminium arrows identical except for an internal weight, at 23, 28 and 33 grams, and at every draw weight the heaviest is the slowest, about 3 metres per second between the lightest and the heaviest at 50 lb. It is the premise of the claim, but where the arrows land on the target has not yet been measured: not studied.
2. 2015 Not studied The other half of the mechanism arrives, again on a single bow. With a compound, three arrows of different mass confirm that the lighter ones leave faster, and a ballistic calculation checked against measurements on the same bow says that at 70 metres one metre per second more launch speed raises the point of impact by about 13 centimetres. Weight, speed and height are thus linked on paper, but the point of impact of arrows of different weight is not measured, and the status stays not studied.
3. 2016 Reported A Korean group launches thirty-six hunting arrows of three models from a machine with a 51 lb bow at about forty metres and records where they pass with a laser frame set one metre in front of the target. The lightest model, about 15.5 grams, passes through the upper part of the plot, the heaviest, about 19 grams, through the lower part. The heights are not tabulated, there is no test and the heaviest model also has the largest diameter: a single equipment test, descriptive, which for a claim about equipment counts as direct evidence. Reported.
4. 2019 Reported A French group puts a figure on the mechanism with a ballistic calculation at constant bow energy: with a reference arrow of about 23.4 grams, at 70 metres half a grain more, about 0.032 grams, lowers the impact by 0.87 centimetres, and half a grain less raises it by 0.94. It is a model with no impact measurements and does not add to the 2016 test: the status stays reported.
5. 2025 Reported The same French group runs the test on the target: sixty X10s of spine 325, characterised one by one, shot from a 52 lb recurve on a machine over five indoor sessions at 70 metres. Across the 59 arrows analysed, mass is the strongest predictor of impact height (beta -0.525, p < 0.001) and the heavier arrow lands lower, with only 0.282 grams between the lightest and the heaviest; the ballistic model the authors cite, however, overstates the effect, more than 14 centimetres predicted against 8.8 measured. There are now two direct tests and they agree, but the first is a plot without figures in which weight is tangled up with diameter, and the second uses a single bow and a single shaft: the status stays reported.

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