Compound Bow Arrow Spine Chart & Selection Guide

Choosing an arrow for a compound bow follows five steps: (1) Confirm your peak draw weight and draw length using the Bow Draw Length Calculator. (2) Identify your cam type — single, binary, hybrid, or cam-and-a-half — because aggressive cams weaken dynamic spine by 0.5–1 grade. (3) Pick a starting static spine from the compound bow spine chart above using your draw weight and cut arrow length. (4) Decide point weight (100 gr for target / small game, 100–125 gr for deer, 125–150 gr for elk) and add it to the dynamic spine correction in the dashboard above. (5) Paper-tune a single test arrow before committing to a full dozen — a 1-inch tear at 6 feet tells you whether to step up or down a spine. Never buy a dozen arrows without paper-tuning one first.

The compound bow spine chart above is indexed by peak draw weight and cut arrow length, and returns a static spine number (300, 340, 400, 500, or 600). It is compound-specific in two ways: (1) the draw-weight bands go up to 80 lb to cover high-performance compounds, whereas recurve charts cap at 60–65 lb; and (2) the chart assumes aggressive cam dynamics — for a single-cam 70 lb compound, the chart recommends a stiffer spine (340) than a 70 lb recurve would (400), because the cam's faster acceleration makes the same shaft behave softer. For vertical recurve shooters, use the generic Arrow Spine Chart instead; for compound, use this chart plus the dynamic-spine dashboard above.

For deer and black bear on a 60–70 lb compound, the Easton Axis 5mm (7.3–9.5 GPI, 340 spine), Gold Tip Hunter XT (7.3–8.9 GPI, 340 spine), and Carbon Express Maxima RED (7.3–8.9 GPI, 350 spine) are the top three picks. The Axis is small-diameter carbon for bone penetration; the Hunter XT is the affordable all-rounder; the Maxima RED uses managed-spine technology to reduce broadhead wander. For elk on a 70–75 lb compound, step to the Easton FMJ 6mm (10.2–12.3 GPI, 340 spine) or Victory RIP-Taper — both add 50+ grains of forward mass for shoulder-bone penetration. The compound bow arrow chart above lists GPI, spine range, and best-use case for every recommended shaft model.

At 70 lb peak draw weight with a 28–29″ cut arrow length and an aggressive cam, the compound bow spine chart recommends a 340 spine. If you shoot a 27″ arrow (shorter = stiffer), step up to 400 spine. If you shoot a 30″ arrow (longer = softer), step down to 300 spine. Add 25 gr of point weight above 100 gr and step down another half grade. The compound bow spine chart above covers 30–80 lb draw weight across 27–30″ cut lengths — run the dashboard to see live dynamic-spine corrections applied to your specific build.

Static spine is the manufacturer's deflection number printed on the box (e.g. 400 means the shaft deflects 0.400″ under a 1.94 lb load on a 26″ span). Dynamic spine is how the arrow actually flexes in flight — and on a compound bow, dynamic spine is driven by cam aggressiveness, point weight, arrow length, draw weight, and insert weight. A 400-static-spine shaft can behave like a 340 dynamic spine (weaker, more flex) on a 75 lb aggressive-cam compound with a 125 gr point and a 30″ cut length — or it can behave like a 450 dynamic spine (stiffer, less flex) on a 55 lb binary-cam bow with a 100 gr point and a 27″ cut. The dashboard above applies every dynamic correction to your static starting spine.

Both are defensible. The compound bow spine chart recommends 400 spine at 65 lb with a 29″ cut arrow and 100 gr point — but a 340 spine is the safer pick if you plan to (a) tune with a 125 gr broadhead for hunting, (b) add a 50 gr brass insert for FOC, or (c) shoot a single-cam bow with aggressive cam dynamics. Each of those three factors weakens dynamic spine by half a grade, so combined they push a 400 spine into borderline-weak territory. The compound bow arrow chart on this page lists both spine options for each shaft model — pick the 340 if any of those three factors apply, the 400 if you run a 100 gr point and aluminum insert on a moderate cam.

Too stiff (e.g. 300 spine at 55 lb): the arrow leaves the rest pointing right for a right-handed shooter, broadheads plane off-line to the right, and groups open at 30+ yards. Paper-tune shows a tear pointing right (or down-right). Fix by stepping up one spine grade (300 → 340) or by adding 25 gr of point weight to weaken dynamic spine. Too weak (e.g. 500 spine at 75 lb): the arrow leaves the rest pointing left, broadheads plane left, and the shaft may slap the rest hard enough to damage vanes. Paper-tune shows a left-pointing tear. Fix by stepping down one spine grade (500 → 400) or by cutting the shaft 1″ shorter to stiffen dynamic spine.

Usually yes. Target arrows favor a stiffer static spine (one grade stiffer than hunting) because they shoot lighter 100 gr points and prioritize forgiveness and flat trajectory over penetration. Hunting arrows favor a softer spine (one grade softer) because they shoot heavier 100–150 gr broadheads and brass inserts for FOC and momentum. A 65 lb compound might shoot 400-spine target arrows with 100 gr points and aluminum inserts, and 340-spine hunting arrows with 125 gr broadheads and 50 gr brass inserts — both end up with similar dynamic spine despite the static spine difference. The compound bow arrow chart above lists both target-biased (Gold Tip Velocity, Black Eagle X-Impact) and hunting-biased (Easton Axis, FMJ, Carbon Express PileDriver) shafts.