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All things being equal a lighter arrow will travel faster when shot from a bow. A faster arrow tends to drop less over a given distance. Both will have similar kinetic energy over a short distanc...
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Source: https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/q/17835 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#1: Initial revision
<p>All things being equal a lighter arrow will travel faster when shot from a bow. A faster arrow tends to drop less over a given distance. Both will have similar kinetic energy over a short distance. </p> <p>A longbow or a compound bow requires an arrow long enough to span the draw length. A crossbow arrow <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossbow_bolt" rel="nofollow noreferrer">(<em>quarrel or bolt</em>)</a> is supported by the barrel of the crossbow so can made lighter just by making it shorter. Different materials and options (i.e. arrow tips) can also result in lighter weights.</p> <p>What is the lightest arrow/bolt practical for target practice? </p> <p>If I am not worried about penetration (killing power) is there any arrow weight that is to low? i.e. is overly susceptible to cross winds or travels so fast that it creates safety issue?</p>