Crossbow bolt

Although their lengths vary, bolts are typically shorter and heavier than traditional arrows shot with longbows.

They stabilize the trajectory of the bolt via three different means: resisting pitching and yawing of the shaft by acting like a stabilizer fin (fin-stabilization); reducing deviation from the longitudinal axis by creating a back-pulling center of pressure behind the bolt's center of mass (drag-stabilization); and in some particular cases, creating a rotation around the longitudinal axis (spin-stabilization) by having the fletchings mounted at a slight angle of attack.

A nock is a small notched piece that is attached to the rear end of the shaft, for engaging and receiving the propulsive push from the string during shooting.

A more massive bolt, e.g. at least 400 grains, will have better downrange energy and offer better penetration but will travel more slowly and thus drop more due to gravity during its flight.

A lighter bolt will fly quicker and give the shooter a longer range, but might not have the desired penetration.