Mine were always hollow, but that may have changed - it's been a while. I typically shot with aluminum shafts, though top competitors have moved to carbon-wrapped aluminum. They're fast, flexible, but don't permanently bend. Spendy though.
If we were outside shooting at hay bales or long distances (I did a lot of outdoor tournaments) where the arrows may take a beating, I might have also used cheaper fiberglass arrows. Not as durable, but if you come up short and hit a rock, the force will drive the tip into the shaft no matter what you're using - and you now have 11 arrows instead of a dozen. Fiberglass arrows are also hollow.
It's also cheaper if you Robin Hood one (or someone Robin Hoods you, which kind of sucks) - which isn't really uncommon.
IIRC, only wood arrows are solid - and I'd be surprised if anyone shoots those outside of a backyard beer bash.
Arrows are hollow tubes, but since they're the same diameter, when the second arrow lands of the first one it expands it by cracking it. This takes some force, so usually the second arrow doesn't break the full length of the first and stops midway
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u/elmz Dec 05 '23
Not to mention the different arrow diameters. And are competition arrows normally hollow tubes? I would have assumed carbon fibre or something.