Of course they're not necessary. People have hunted for eons without it. That being said, I just made a bunch for shooting on our Field and Hunter course. When you hit the 4x4 target stands sometimes the arrows break right behind the head, sometime you break the arrows right behind the head trying to pull them out of the wood. I'm thinking that maybe a little steel rod up the center a couple of inches may prevent or at least lessen the breakage. And, yeah, I know you're not supposed to hit the 4x4's, but at 80 yds, I'm kind of happy to be that close! At least I don't have to look for the arrow.