Editing Bow and arrow (section)

===Arrows===
{{Main|Arrow}}
[[Image:arrow.svg|thumb|Schematic of an arrow showing its parts.]]

An arrow usually consists of a shaft with an arrowhead attached to the front end, with fletchings and a nock at the other.<ref name=Paterson18/> Modern arrows are usually made from carbon fibre, aluminum, fiberglass, and wood shafts. Carbon shafts have the advantage that they do not bend or warp, but they can often be too light weight to shoot from some bows and are expensive. Aluminum shafts are less expensive than carbon shafts, but they can bend and warp from use. Wood shafts are the least expensive option but often will not be identical in weight and size to each other and break more often than the other types of shafts.<ref name=Trad21>Sorrells ''Beginner's Guide'' pp. 21–22</ref> Arrow sizes vary greatly across cultures and range from very short ones that require the use of special equipment to be shot to ones in use in the [[Amazon River]] jungles that are {{convert|8.5|ft|m|abbr=in|order=flip}} long. Most modern arrows are {{convert|22|to|30|in|cm|abbr=in|order=flip|round=5}} in length.<ref name=Paterson18>Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' pp. 18–19</ref>

Arrows come in many types, among which are breasted, bob-tailed, barreled, clout, and target.<ref name=Paterson18/> A breasted arrow is thickest at the area right behind the fletchings, and tapers towards the (nock) and head.<ref name=Paterson32>Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 32</ref> A bob-tailed arrow is thickest right behind the head, and tapers to the nock.<ref name=Paterson25/> A barrelled arrow is thickest in the centre of the arrow.<ref name=Paterson24>Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 24</ref> Target arrows are those arrows used for target shooting rather than warfare or hunting, and usually have simple arrowheads.<ref name=Paterson103>Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 103</ref>

For safety reasons, a bow should never be shot without an arrow nocked; without an arrow, the energy that is normally transferred into the projectile is instead directed back into the bow itself, which will cause damage to the bow's limbs.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schuh |first=Dwight R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NckTL7jbz3YC&dq=dry+firing+bow&pg=PA87 |title=Fundamentals of Bowhunting |publisher=Stackpole Books |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-8117-3034-1 |pages=87 |language=en |access-date=2022-07-29 |archive-date=2022-07-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220729031759/https://books.google.com/books?id=NckTL7jbz3YC&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA87&dq=dry+firing+bow&hl=en |url-status=live }}</ref>