An arrow is a unicellular solid bullet that is fired by a bow, usually consisting of a short straight shaft with many stabilizer rods attached at the end, a weighty (but usually blunt and not sharp) arrowhead on the front end, and a hefty (but usually blunt and not sharp) arrowshaft attached at the back end. Arrows are particularly used in archery. They are shot from the hips using a pendulum-type action, which results in much less jerky movement during the pull of the string than when pulling back with a conventional bow. In the case of an arrow, a release mechanism is present to allow the arrow to fly freely. An arrow can be fired from nearly any kind of bow: longbows, recurves, longbows with feathers, crossbows, even crossbows with an automatic release!
Most arrows used in archery are hard, but there are some soft types. Arrowheads, or leaching, are the most distinguishable piece of an arrow. Fletching is the area on the fletchings between the arrow head and the shaft. It varies in thickness depending on what kind of arrow it is, but can vary from thin and insubstantial, all the way to heavy and solid. Arrowheads can be made from a variety of materials, but the most common ones are made from steel, carbon fiber, aluminum, magnesium and fiberglass.
There are two main categories of arrowheads. The first category, known as "fletched arrowheads," have arrowheads that are completely encased in a fiberglass or other flexible material, with the fletching protruding only through a small slit at the bottom of the arrowhead. The second main category, known as "non-fletched arrowheads," have a solid head of hard material with a flat bottom and an arrowhead protruding through a hole in the fletching. Both of these types are good for hunting, since they do not cause injury if the animal is shot. The choice is yours!