V9: Arrows & Bolts

This page is part of the Official Amtgard V9 Alpha-Playtest Rulebook.

• The Amtwiki is the official home and primary source for Amtgard V9 Rules as of February 25, 2023.
• These rules are currently in Open Alpha Playtest. See the Playtest Disclaimer for more details.
• To learn more about Amtgard V9 Development, please visit Amtgard.com.
• To view the current Amtgard V8 ruleset, please see the Amtgard V8 Rulebook.

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Arrows & Bolts

• Arrows and Bolts are Stabbing Projectiles. They must be built to be fired from a bow or crossbow and should be safe to strike other players with the tip.

Danger Warning

Poorly constructed, poorly repaired, or outright broken arrows and bolts can never be used as they can pose a serious safety hazard. Before building your first arrows or bolts, take the time to learn from an experienced player or study an online construction tutorial.

Shafts

The shaft of the arrow or bolt is the stick portion to which the head is affixed.

1. Must be carbon or fiberglass. May not be aluminum or wood.
2. Must have any real arrow head or tip removed.
3. Shafts longer than 28” must have a draw-stop around the shaft to physically prevent drawing the arrow past 28".
   
4. Any vanes/fletching and nock must be in good repair.
   1. Arrows must have at least 2 vanes or fletchings.
   2. Bolts are not required to have any vanes or fletching but if they are present there must be at least 2.
5. The tip of shafts must be built up to at least 0.75” in diameter in a solid manner and then securely capped with a circular, impact-resistant disc at least 0.75” in diameter.
   1. If a metal disc is used, it must be at least 1/16” steel or aluminum.
   2. Discs of any other material must be durable, impact-resistant, and at least 1/4” thick.
6. The tip of the shaft must then be further built up to at least 2” in diameter to support the arrow head. It does not need to be as solid as the inner 0.75” build-up” but it must ensure the head is not able to move easily in relation to the shaft. This includes but is not limited to: twisting without return, plunging up and down, wobbling from side to side, etc.

Arrow Heads

The arrow head is the Strike-Legal surface at the end of an arrow or bolt.

1. Must have at least 2” of foam depth directly in front of the shaft.
2. The first 1” of foam immediately after the end of the shaft must have a circular cross-section of at least 2.5” in diameter.
3. Foam must be composed as follows:
   1. The Base: The arrow head must have at least 0.5” of approved closed cell foam immediately after the capped tip of the shaft. This foam must not be able to deform around the arrow shaft on impact.
   2. The Face: The actual striking surface of the arrowhead must be made of at least 1” thick uncompressed approved open-cell foam. The face itself must either be flat with a circular cross section at least 2.5” in diameter, or a full hemisphere that is at least 2.5” in diameter where it meets the rest of the head.
   3. The Space: If built exactly to minimum requirements, the ‘Base’ and the ‘Face’ will take up 1.5” of the required 2” of foam, leaving 0.5” to be filled in between them. Not all foams have the same density and firmness so this space should be filled with approved closed-cell or approved open-cell foam as appropriate to offset any unwanted firmness or softness of the other components and make the arrow as safe and comfortable to be shot with as possible.

Arrow Head Cover

Arrow heads must be covered in a durable, opaque cloth. Cloth tape may not be used.

1. Regular Arrows must be Color Code Blue or a combination of contrasting colors that cannot be reasonably mistaken as a Color Code.

   Developer Note: Subject to Change

2. Specialty Arrows must adhere to the Color Code.

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