How many sticks and string do you need for a bow?

Three sticks and three string. The string fills one column of the crafting grid and the sticks form a curve in the top-middle, middle-left and bottom-middle slots.

Why won't my bow shoot in Minecraft?

You need at least one arrow in your inventory (unless the bow has Infinity, which still needs one arrow). Creative mode is the exception and fires without ammunition.

Can a bow have both Infinity and Mending?

No, the two enchantments are mutually exclusive. Most players pick Infinity for unlimited arrows and replace the bow when it wears out.

How do you repair a bow without losing enchantments?

Combine it with another bow on an anvil, which preserves enchantments for an XP cost. A crafting grid or grindstone repair is free but strips all enchantments.

How to Make a Bow in Minecraft

Swords require you to stand next to the thing trying to kill you. A bow removes that requirement, and it stays useful from your first skeleton fight to the dragon herself. The recipe is cheap, the ammunition is everywhere, and a fully drawn shot is one of the strongest basic attacks in the game.

What You Need

3 sticks, crafted from two planks stacked vertically
3 string
A crafting table

String is the only ingredient that asks anything of you. Spiders drop up to two pieces when killed and spawn in any dark area at night, which makes them the standard source. Cobwebs in mineshafts and strongholds can be harvested for string with a sword, and cats, fishing and temple loot all contribute smaller amounts.

The Bow Recipe

Open the crafting table's 3x3 grid.
Fill the entire right-hand column with the three string.
Place one stick in the top-middle slot.
Place one stick in the middle-left slot.
Place the last stick in the bottom-middle slot.

The sticks form the bow's curve around the string line, and the finished bow appears in the output. Mirror-image layouts work too, so if your sticks lean left and your string runs down the left column instead, you still get a bow.

Getting a Bow Without Crafting

Skeletons and strays drop their bow about 8.5% of the time, rising to 11.5% with Looting III, though it usually arrives nearly broken.
Fletcher villagers sell a plain bow for just 2 emeralds at apprentice level, and enchanted bows for 7 to 21 emeralds at expert level.
Fishing can reel in a bow as treasure, sometimes already enchanted.

How Shooting Works

You need at least one arrow in your inventory. Hold the use button to draw: the view zooms slightly, the bow shakes at full draw, and your movement slows to a crawl while aiming. A fully charged shot deals up to about five and a half hearts on a critical hit, while a panicked snap shot manages barely half a heart, so the discipline of waiting for the full draw is most of archery. Arrows fly in an arc and drop over distance, which takes practice at long range. Tipped arrows add potion effects to the hit for specialized work.

Repairing and Enchanting

Combine two worn bows in a crafting grid or grindstone and you get one bow with their durability added together plus a 5% bonus, but any enchantments are wiped. Enchanted bows must be repaired on an anvil instead, merging them at an XP cost while keeping the magic.

That leads to the classic bow dilemma: Infinity lets you fire forever from a single arrow, while Mending repairs the bow with XP, and the two cannot coexist on one bow. Most players choose Infinity and simply craft a replacement when the bow wears down, keeping Power V and Flame on it in the meantime. Whichever side you pick, a good bow plus a stack of arrows is the most reliable ranged setup in the game.