Bolts & Arrows
Bolts & Arrows — The Right Ammunition Makes Every Shot Count
There's a version of this where you buy whatever's cheapest and hope for the best. Most people try that approach once. After a session of inconsistent groupings and one bolt that came back bent, they start paying attention to what they're actually shooting.
The ammunition matters. Not as much as the bow or crossbow itself, but more than most beginners expect — and getting it right is one of the easier wins available to you.
Bolts and arrows aren't the same thing
They might look similar at a glance, but they're built for entirely different purposes. Crossbow bolts are shorter, heavier, and engineered to handle the sudden, intense force a crossbow string produces at the moment of release. Archery arrows are longer, designed to flex in a controlled way as they leave the bow, and come in a much wider range of spine ratings to suit different draw weights and shooting styles.
Using the wrong one for your setup doesn't just hurt accuracy — it can stress your equipment in ways that cause real damage over time. If you're not certain which category you need, the question is simple: are you shooting a bow or a crossbow?
Matching to your setup
For crossbow bolts, length and weight need to match your crossbow's specifications. Most manufacturers are clear about what their crossbows are designed to shoot — sticking to those parameters protects both your accuracy and your equipment.
For archery arrows, spine rating is the critical variable. Spine describes how stiff the shaft is, and it has to correspond to your draw weight. Too flexible and the arrow fishtails in flight; too stiff and it won't stabilise correctly off the rest. Material plays a role too — carbon shafts for speed and durability, aluminium for consistent flight at target distances, wooden arrows for traditional setups where feel and authenticity matter.
The individual category pages go into more detail on each — worth a look if you're not sure which specific bolt or arrow is right for your equipment.
Shop bolts and arrows at Buy Archery
We stock a solid range of crossbow bolts and archery arrows from EK Archery — matched to the bows and crossbows we sell and chosen for reliability at their price points. Free UK shipping on orders over £100.
Browse by type below and find what your setup needs.