This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase through a link, we may earn a commission - at no additional cost to you. This includes links to Amazon.
Hunting arrows are the most important part of bowhunting: without them, you can’t harvest anything!
But not all hunting arrows are them same.
Every bowhunter out there has asked themselves at some point, “What are the best hunting arrows?”
I asked myself this same question as I was gearing up for the season. And who would know better than Professional Archers who shoot competition year-round and also hunt each season!? So I looked to see what they’re all using.
Here’s the short list (and who is using them):
- Easton Archery (Brady Ellison, Chris Bee, Josh & Sarah Bowmar of Bowmar Bowhunting)
- Black Eagle Arrows (Paige Pearce, Charles Dillard of the Tine Reaper team
- Gold Tip Arrows (Katie Bordwell)
- Carbon Express (John Demer)
Let’s look more closely at the specific arrows these Pros are using.
1. Easton Arrows
Easton Archery has been around for almost a century! Doug Easton began the company in 1922, starting out of his garage in California, hand-crafting high-quality wood arrows.
His claim to fame came in 1940 when he started producing perfectly straight aluminum arrows. The next big leap forward was in the 1980s when Easton pioneered the carbon arrow.
Today, bowhunters shoot Easton Arrows than more than any other brand of arrow.
Brady Ellison
Brady Ellison has been shooting a bow since age 7 and harvested his first animal (a bear) when he was 11. Today, he has 14 World Championship medals under his belt, including 8 gold medals, and 3 Olympic medals.
He is married to Toja Ellison (Cerne), also a professional archer, and together they run the world….not really, but you can find them over at bradyellison.com.
In competition he shoots a recurve bow. But for hunting, he shoots compound.
Brady continues to be an avid outdoorsman and gets out there every chance he gets. With all the travel for competition, that’s not very often. But here’s him in 2017 with a great buck he downed.
And his arrow of choice?
Easton 4mm Carbon Injexion Deep Six FMJ
The benefit you can expect from using these arrows is higher penetration. Bowhunting is all about the arrow having enough kinetic energy to drive the broadhead through muscle, tissue, and even bone, in order to bring down your game.
Kinetic energy means you need enough mass in your arrow. Easton Deep Six FMJs are constructed with a high strength carbon core wrapped in an aluminum jacket (hence, “Full Metal Jacket”). This combination results in superior bending resistance but also higher weights for a skinnier arrow shaft.
The Deep Six FMJ arrows are 4 mm micro-diameter and that gives them superior performance in windy conditions over a fatter arrow. They also come standard with steel Deep Six inserts and Deep Six nocks. Ready to get yours? Get yours from Amazon here.
In my article Is a 40 lb bow REALLY enough for Bowhunting, I talked about how a 500 grain arrow would get the job done with a 40 lb recurve bow. At 400 spine and 31.5 inch length, you could use a 200 grain broadhead, like this one, and you’re ready to go!
For a compound bow, you wouldn’t need near as heavy a broadhead since the speeds are much higher.
Chris Bee
Chris Bee is a 3-time U.S. Archery Champion and 5-time National Champion, among many other achievements.
He got his start in archery through the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP for short)with he was in 6th grade.
He’s a year-round shooter who competes in Indoor, 3D, and FITA. In the off-season, he’s “super big into hunting”!
You can find him on YouTube making videos about his bowhunting adventures.
The hunting arrows he uses are the Easton Axis with Rage broadheads and his own BeeReal Blazer vanes.
Easton Axis
These are one of Easton’s top arrows. They are constructed from high-strength carbon composite fibres with weight and straightness tolerances of +/- 0.003.
With the 5 mm diameter, the Axis is thinner than many other carbon arrows but it does not sacrifice penetration ability. There are literally millions of successful hunts that prove the effectiveness of the Easton Axis.
And since it’s stocked at nearly everywhere archery gear is sold, you should have no problem getting your hands on some. You can get yours from Amazon here.
Josh & Sarah Bowmar
Josh and Sarah Bowmar are all about bowhunting. In fact, you can check out their YouTube channel, Bowmar Bowhunting to watch all of their bowhunting adventures.
So OBVIOUSLY they know a thing or two about bowhunting!
Their arrow of choice?
Easton Axis Match Grade
The difference between the Match Grade and the regular Easton Axis arrows is in the straightness. Normal Easton Axis arrows are made to a tolerance of +/- 0.003.
The Match Grade Axis is constructed to a straightness tolerance of +/- 0.001. You get ALL the benefits of the normal Easton Axis with the additional guaranteed straightness.
So if you have any doubts whatsoever about accuracy, you can rest assured that these arrows will find their mark. Get yours from Amazon here.
2. Black Eagle Arrows
Black Eagle Arrows is all about carbon arrows. But not just that: highest quality control are superior customer service what sets them apart.
A family owned and operated business, Black Eagle Arrows relies on the expertise of world-class competition archers and professional bowhunters to fine tune their superb carbon arrows.
Paige Pearce
Paige Pearce is both a World-Class competition archer AND a seasoned professional bowhunter. She has been shooting a bow all her life and broke her first state record when she was only 10 years old. She’s gone on to break 110 other state, national, and world records.
Paige has 5 gold medals in the World Archery Championship as well as many other medals from the Archery World Cup and Pan American Championships.
When she’s not competing, she’s bowhunting.
Black Eagle Deep Impact Arrows
The Black Eagle Deep Impact Arrows deliver exactly what the name says: hard-hitting impact and deeper penetration. This is achieved by the heavier anodized aluminum outsert that also gives a higher F.O.C. for more stable arrow flight.
The nano-diameter at 0.240″ helps buck the wind for those long shots on the 3D course.
With typically higher weights than other arrows, you’ll see for yourself why the Black Eagle Deep Impact arrows are fast becoming one of the most popular bowhunting and 3D arrows out there.
You can get yours from Amazon here.
Charles Dillard
Charles Dillard is a member of the central Kentuky based Tine Reaper team.
These guys are a group of bowhunters that share an enthusiasm for hunting whitetail deer.
Charles recently harvested a great buck this passed October using his Black Eagle Zombie Slayer arrows.
Zombie Slayer
The Black Eagle Zombie Slayers are the next most popular hunting arrows produced by them. They have been designed to deliver speed and kinetic energy to your target, zombie or deer….or zombie deer!
With Black Eagle’s +/-0.001 or +/-0.003 tolerance standard, you can be confident these will get the job done. They’re available from Amazon here.
3. Gold Tip Arrows
Gold Tip Arrows are the secret arrows that everyone knows about. For me personally, they were the first set of arrows I purchased when getting back into archery after 20 years: Gold Tip Traditional XT.
Gold Tip Arrows are part of a whole host of brands that are owned by Vista Outdoor. These guys are responsible for other such glorious brands as CCI, BeeStinger stabilisers, Federal Primium, and many more.
With such a huge line up of well known outdoor gear it’s no wonder many professional archers trust Gold Tip to deliver stellar performance.
Katie Bordwell
One such archer is Katie Bordwell. She made a little bit of history when she was the only woman to shoot the Known Pro class at the 2019 ASA Classic.
When she’s not shooting archery, she helps out with her family’s archery pro shop and hunting dog breeding business: Mountains Fury Kennel.
Obviously she love to bowhunt as well. Here’ she is with a great doe harvest with her Gold Tip Arrows.
Gold Tip Kinetic Kaos Arrows
The Kinetic series of arrows by Gold Tip are some of their most advanced hunting arrows. They are made using Gold Tip’s Smart Carbon® Technology and that is what makes them so incredibly strong and straight.
Don’t believe me?
Check this out, from ATA 2019!!
Gold Tip Kinetic Kaos arrows make a great choice for bowhunters looking for a durable, hard-hitting, small diameter shaft that delivers the deepest penetration. You can get yours from Bass Pro Shops here.
4. Carbon Express
Carbon Express arrows are extremely easy to come by and that’s what makes them so popular: you can find them literally everywhere! Also, part of what makes them so popular as a hunting arrow is the technology that goes into them.
Backbone technology is basically what they do by weaving strands of Kevlar in with the carbon fibres. This gives the arrows consistent spine all around.
The Tri-Spine/Red Zone technology makes it so that there effectively 3 different zones on the arrow with slightly different spines. The combination of these spines is optimized for PERFECT broadhead flight.
And the Pros have taken notice!
John Demmer
John Demmer III is a renowned Barebow archer. His flashy shorts and characteristic Superman T-Shirt make him totally recognizable at any Traditional Archery event.
These days he shoots a Hoyt Satori paired with Carbon Express Maxima XRZ arrows for bowhunting.
John Demmer competes in all kinds of barebow events including Indoor, Field Archery, and even Clout! He currently holds the US Archery Record for Mens Seniors Indoor 18m Round Barebow with a score of 1133. He obtained that score at the 46th National Indoor Championship.
Here’s John shooting for the Gold Medal at the 2019 U.S. Open in Barebow:
Conclusion
The world of hunting arrows is super competitive and there are plenty of decent options. Hopefully what I’ve done here is show you what arrows the best of the best choose to shoot when they go out to hunt.
At the end of the day, the “Best Arrow” is the one that works best for you. But these Top 4 Best Hunting Arrows Used by the Pros should get your started.
Happy hunting!
I live in Alberta, Canada where I enjoy indoor and 3D archery with traditional bows and compound bows. On this site, I share everything I’ve learned about archery along the way.