You can build an ultra-heavy or ultra-light arrow or go somewhere between. Avoid headaches and anxiety and be more accurate and kill more big-game by staying between heavy and light.
by Jace Bauserman
Projectile discussions are less about arrow brand and more about weight, speed, and insert and fletch type. No, I’m not suggesting that the arrow factors mentioned above aren’t necessary and things to consider. However, there comes a time when you make one or two arrow build choices and move on.
It’s the middle of September, and I’m still reading lengthy posts and articles and watching videos about the final arrow builds for the year. Again, I’m not criticizing. I tinker and experiment with arrow builds as much as anyone. However, that work is accomplished during the spring and summer. Once I load my quiver with a finished product, the tinkering stops.
My main reason for writing this article was to answer the many questions I’ve received via email and direct messaging on social media. Bowhunters, especially those new to the stick-and-string world, are driving themselves bonkers about arrows, and not in a good way. Several mentioned losing sleep over arrow choice, investing too much money, and having a sub-par practice session only to strip their arrows down, add heavier or lighter inserts, new vanes, and start over.
Here are three arrow choices and finished arrow builds you can’t go wrong with. When I was teaching fifth grade, my mentor teacher told me, “Jace, if you see something another teacher is doing that’s working, steal it.”
I don’t have a PHD in arrow building. I’m just a bowhunter and a gear junkie with lots of experience. Over the past three years, I’ve had excellent success with these three arrow builds. Feel free to steal any of them, or all of them.
Easton 4mm Axis Long Range
After a season of shooting Easton’s 4mm Axis Long Range, I vowed I’d never shoot another arrow again. That was a lie. Who was I kidding? It’s my job to test new arrows, and I knew I was bound to discover more models that made worthy quiver fillers. However, I love Easton’s 4mm Axis Long Range. I still shoot the shaft and consider it one of Easton’s best-ever projectile builds.
Easton doesn’t do standard. A 4mm diameter arrow is considered a micro-diameter, which allows these arrows to reduce side-to-side wind drift and cut through heavy head winds. An arrow less affected by environmental factors will be more accurate than a standard-diameter arrow, especially at longer ranges.
The reduced surface area of the 4mm Axis Long Range gives the wind less area to press against when shooting in crosswinds. The reduced surface area helps the arrow maintain velocity when shooting into a headwind. Because 4mm diameter shafts increase accuracy, especially at longer ranges, archers develop shooting confidence at a higher rate.
Engineered with specialized carbon fiber to increase arrow velocity, 4mm Axis Long Range arrows are available in Standard and Match Grade in spine sizes 250, 300, 340, and 400.
The intel I provided you is no secret, and it doesn’t take rocket science to see the benefit of shooting a 4mm arrow. The problems and headaches arise when it comes time to build your 4mm Axis Long Range arrows. Easton offers Match Grade Half-Outs in 55-grain Aluminum/Aluminum, 75-grain Aluminum/Steel, 100-grain Titanium/Steel, and 150-grain Steel/Steel. You can also add a 4MM Nock Collar, a 4MM Deep Six 20-grain Steel HIT Insert, and the list goes on. Then, there is fletching and nock choice. This is where bowhunters get hung up, and headaches and anxiety peak.
Again, it’s good to test, tinker, and play. But if you’ve tested, tinkered, and played and are still feeling overwhelmed, heed the to-come advice. I must preface that I pull 70 pounds and have a 28-3/4-inch draw length. This is a standard draw length and a draw weight favored by many bowhunters. However, don’t click off this page if you don’t fall into or around my specs. I got you covered!
What I’ve killed is not important. This article is meant to help you find the right arrow to use this fall. However, to gain your trust, I will tell you that I have killed Rocky Mountain big horn sheep, bears, pronghorn, mule deer, white-tailed deer, turkeys, and more with the to-come setup.
Based on my draw weight and draw length, I can shoot a 300, 340, or 400 spine Axis Long Range arrows. I’m a tweener. I don’t want an arrow that’s too heavy or too light. For this reason, I shoot a 340 spine arrow with standard Easton 55-grain Aluminum/Aluminum Half-Outs. I shoot Easton’s 6-grain 4mm Microlite Nock or LIT’s .166 16-grain lighted nocks. My vane of choice is Flex-Fletch’s Pro 2.5s in a three or four-fletch with each vane set at a 1.5-degree right helical. I also like AAE’s Hybrid 23 vanes. My total arrow weight is between 418 and 434 grains, depending on how many vanes I attach to my arrow’s backend and whether I use a lighted nock.
Concerning kinetic energy, which every bowhunter needs to pay attention to, my arrow KE is above 80-foot-pounds. That is more than enough to crush any species of North American big game. Yes, I could make my arrow 500 or 600 grains, but why? I don’t care if you’re shooting 80 pounds and you put a 650-grain arrow into the point of a bull elk’s shoulder. If you do that, the arrow won’crush the shoulder bone or get into the lungs. The arrow will hammer through the scapula, shatter ribs, etc., but so will a 418-434-grain arrow.
To Read More About Easton’s Axis 4mm Long Range, CLICK HERE!
Also, with a tweener-weight arrow like one between 418 and 434 grains, you aren’t killing your bow’s ability to drive that arrow at a higher rate of speed. This means closer gaps between your pins and a more extended sight tape. Most bowhunters understand the idea behind double-distance practice. If you decide your furthest killing distance is 60 yards, you should practice regularly at 120 yards. If you build an arrow that is too heavy, not only could you experience some tuning issues, but you will also widen the gaps between your pins and have a sight tape that allows you to shoot a maximum distance somewhere between 70 and 80 yards.
Easton 4mm X10 Parallel Pro
I’ve kicked off a heck of a 2025 fall season. It’s the first season since 2023 that Easton’s 4mm X10 Parallel Pro arrows aren’t in my quiver. We will get into why here in a moment, but you need to know that I still consider the X10 Parallel Pro Easton’s ultimate hunting arrow.
Like the 4mm Axis Long Range, the X10 Parallel Pro is a 4mm micro-diameter arrow. However, X10 Parallel Pro arrows are crafted from carbon fiber bonded to a 7075 alloy core. This carbon over aluminum build boosts strength, and while finished weight ranges mirror those of my finished 4mm Axis Long Range arrows, I brand the X10 Parallel Pros as emore accurate at longer ranges. The arrows, with broadheads, tune like a dream, and I’ve blown through a pile of big-game animals with them.
While I build all of my arrows from bare shafts, I highly recommend saving yourself the headache and going with Easton’s built-from-the-factory X10 Parallel Pros. Finished with 4mm Microlite Nocks, three AAE Hybrid 26 helical fletch vanes, and 55-grain Aluminum/Aluminum Half-Outs, these arrows come to your door promising remarkable accuracy and exceptional downrange penetration.
To Read The Full X10 Parallel Pro Review, CLICK HERE!
Something to remember about any micro-diameter arrow is that it boosts penetration. The reduced surface area of the arrow tracks directly behind the cutting swath of a broadhead. Because less of the shaft contacts flesh, organs, bone, etc., velocity through the animal is better maintained. This results in deeper penetration and, in many cases, a complete pass through.
Easton 5.0
I have dubbed the Easton 5.0 the “Arrow of the Year” and fully stand behind that statement. So far, I’ve fired three Easton 5.0s at big-game animals in 2025: one bull elk, one buck whitetail, and one buck pronghorn. All three animals died. The pronghorn and the whitetail traveled a HuntStand line measuring tool distance of 164 yards. The bull elk went .75-miles. Ya, I figured that distance would get your attention. Here’s the thing, though: I shot that bull at 47.8 yards with a 396.1-grain Easton 5.0. The arrow was moving at 308 feet per second and hit with 83.46 pounds of kinetic energy. That’s remarkable. It was lowlight, and the fixed .7-inch bleeder blade of my SEVR Ti 1.5 4-Blade Hybrid nicked a cedar limb, kicking the arrow to the left.
Not only did my arrows hit way further back than I wanted, but because of the contact with the limb, the broadhead was angling back into the slightly quartering-away bull instead of forward. I can blame the limb all I want. However, I was responsible for letting that arrow go.
With Easton’s 5.0, I get remarkable arrow speed and deep penetration. The arrow nicked the back of the bull’s liver and drove directly into the guts and still poked out the other side. If I were shooting a 500-grain arrow, would I have had 6 inches sticking out of the bull instead of the tip of my broadhead? Probably. Would that have made any difference concerning how far the bull traveled? No!
My kinetic energy rating is insane. My finished arrow weight is under 400 grains. I can practice with my 5.0s to 130 yards, and like so many of Easton’s arrow offerings, the additional components allow me to tailor the shaft to my liking.
Final Thoughts
Do yourself a favor and stop stressing about your final arrow build. Regardless of your draw length or draw weight, shoot a tweener arrow. A tweener arrow is one that is not too light and not too heavy. Do your research and find the heavy spectrum of arrow weights you can build in your draw length and draw weight, and do the same for the lightweight spectrum. Build an arrow in the middle of those two, and you be more accurate and kill more game.
