The Golden Rule of Arrow Building
Leigh Hauck on April 28, 2025
If you’ve followed my content for any length of time, chances are you’ve heard me talk about something I call The Golden Rule of Arrow Building. It’s not just a catchy phrase—it’s the foundation behind every arrow I build, and believe me, I build a lot of them. So, what is it? Here it is, plain and simple:
Shoot the heaviest arrow you can while maintaining a speed between 270 and 280 feet per second.
Forget chasing extreme FOC numbers. Don’t get caught up trying to hit 300 fps for bragging rights. Just build the heaviest arrow you can that lands in that optimal speed range—and you’ll have a setup that’s more forgiving, more accurate, and more lethal in the bush.
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Why 270–280 FPS?
All projectiles—bullets, darts, even paper airplanes—have a “sweet spot” in terms of speed.
Reloaders understand this well. They’ll increase powder charges to find the point where velocity improves until accuracy starts to fall off. That’s how they dial in the optimal velocity for their bullet and barrel combination. Same with darts—there’s a reason you don’t see pro players hurling darts at the board like javelins. A controlled lob, with a predictable arc, lands more consistently. The list goes on, every projectile has its favourite speed.
Arrows are no different. Especially when you’re shooting broadheads, that 270–280 fps range is the sweet spot. You get enough velocity for a flat trajectory, tight pin gaps, and avoidance of string jumping, but not so much that you introduce planing or instability. You will also naturally have an adequately heavy arrow with a good FOC that guarantees good penetration on animals, but I don’t even worry about the numbers. I haven’t calculated FOC in probably 5 or 6 years, I just follow the Golden Rule and it does its job!
The Problem with Chasing Speed
Too many archers fall into the “speed trap.” They crank up draw weight, shoots super low GPI shafts, and obsess over chrono readings—only to end up with poor broadhead flight and often poor penetration.
When your arrow is moving too fast, broadheads can start to plane even if your arrows are spine matched and your broadheads are square. You are just pushing them faster than they want to fly. Minor tuning issues get amplified.
Arrow groups open up. And suddenly that fast setup doesn’t look so good at 40 yards with a crosswind, or when your deer jumps the string and your arrow only goes a few inches into the shoulder. Ouch.
On the other end, some hunters go all-in on mass and slow their arrows down so much that they run into new problems—string jumping, steep trajectory curves, and severely limited range.
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This Rule Balances It All
Here’s the beauty of the Golden Rule: when you build the heaviest arrow your setup can handle while still maintaining 270–280 fps, everything else falls into place. Arrow stability is at its peak, broadhead tuning is a non-issue (as long as your arrows are well built), penetration is more than adequate, and FOC lands where it should all by itself.
That last point is important. Obsessing over FOC is unnecessary when you follow this rule. Focus on total arrow mass and speed first. Get those right, and you’ll end up with a solid, high-performing arrow without having to chase a specific front-of-center percentage.
Final Thoughts
If there’s one thing I’ve learned after working on hundreds of bows and building a few hundred dozens of arrows, it’s this: simplify where you can.
The Golden Rule strips it all down to one question: How heavy can I go while staying in that 270–280 fps window?
Get that right, ignore the noise, and start putting more time and attention into your form and what you contribute personally to your shooting. Arrows aren’t complicated, don’t make them be!
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If you have any questions or would like to discuss the topic further, please feel free to reach out to us at sales@toothofthearrowbroadheads.com
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