How to make a Bow in Minecraft

This Minecraft tutorial explains how to craft a bow with screenshots and step-by-step instructions.

In Minecraft, a bow is one of the many weapons that you can make. You use your bow to shoot arrows in Minecraft.

bow

Let's explore how to make a bow.

Supported Platforms

A bow is available in the following versions of Minecraft:

PlatformSupported (Version*)
Java Edition (PC/Mac) Java Edition (PC/Mac)Yes
Pocket Edition (PE) Pocket Edition (PE)Yes
Xbox 360 Xbox 360Yes
Xbox One Xbox OneYes
PS3 PS3Yes
PS4 PS4Yes
Wii U Wii UYes
Nintendo Switch Nintendo SwitchYes
Windows 10 Edition Windows 10 EditionYes
Education Edition Education EditionYes

* The version that it was added or removed, if applicable.
NOTE: Pocket Edition (PE), Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and Windows 10 Edition are now called Bedrock Edition. We will continue to show them individually for version history.

Where to find a Bow in Creative Mode

Required Materials to make a Bow

In Minecraft, these are the materials you can use to craft a bow:

How to craft a Bow in Survival Mode

1. Open the Crafting Menu

First, open your crafting table so that you have the 3x3 crafting grid that looks like this:

3x3 crafting area

2. Add Items to make a Bow

In the crafting menu, you should see a crafting area that is made up of a 3x3 crafting grid. To make a bow, place 3 strings and 3 sticks in the 3x3 crafting grid.

When making a bow, it is important that the strings and the sticks are placed in the exact pattern as the image below. In the first row, there should be 1 stick in the second box and 1 string in the third box. In the second row, there should be 1 stick in the first box and 1 string in the third box. In the third row, there should be 1 stick in the second box and 1 string in the third box. This is the Minecraft crafting recipe for a bow.

Crafting recipe for bow

Now that you have filled the crafting area with the correct pattern, the bow will appear in the box to the right.

bow

3. Move the Bow to Inventory

Once you have crafted a bow, you need to move the new item to your inventory.

Completed bow

Congratulations, you have made a bow in Minecraft!

Item ID and Name

Give Command for Bow

Attack Damage and Durability

Attack damage is the amount of damage the item will deal when attacking a mob.

Durability represents how long the item will last. For tools, weapons and transportation, durability is the number of useful actions before the item is destroyed. For armor items, durability is the number of hits (that can be blocked by armor) before the item is destroyed. So the higher the durability number, the longer the item will last.

The following table shows the attack damage and durability for each weapon in Minecraft:

Name Attack Damage Durability
Netherite Sword 8 2031
Diamond Sword 7 1561
Bow <varies> 384
Crossbow <varies> 326
Iron Sword 6 250
Trident 9 250
Stone Sword 5 131
Wooden Sword 4 59
Golden Sword 4 32

Enchantments for Bow

In Minecraft, you can enchant a bow with the following enchantments:

Enchantment Description
Curse of Vanishing Cursed item will disappear after player dies
Flame Turns arrows into flaming arrows
Infinity Shoots an infinite amount of arrows
Mending Uses xp to mend your tools, weapons and armor
Power Increases damage dealt by bow
Punch Increases knockback dealt (enemies repel backwards)
Unbreaking Increases durability of item, in effect, by decreasing the chance of the tool, weapon, or armor taking durability damage when used

See a complete list of Minecraft Enchantments that is interactive and searchable.

Things to Make with Bows

You can use bows to make items in Minecraft such as:

Things to Do with Bows

Here are some activities that you can do with bows in Minecraft: