Have you ever been to a 3D archery shoot and realized you forgot to bring a pen? Or maybe you were in the middle of the woods when it started to rain and you wished that you’d brought your umbrella.

When it comes to archery, there are so many different situations that come up – whether you’re shooting indoors or out. To keep you from having one of those “I wish I brought my umbrella” type moments, I’ve compiled the ultimate list of 3D archery “must haves”.

So grab a pen and paper and get ready to add these little lifesavers to your own archery bag.

Extra Arrows

It probably goes without saying that you need arrows to shoot, but are you bringing enough of them? It’s not a bad idea to bring plenty of extra arrows. Bullet points can fall off, arrows can break and get lost, and any number of other things could happen.

Take a minimum of at least six arrows to any shoot, but it’s better to bring a full dozen.

Binoculars

A high quality pair of binoculars are definitely a must have for every 3D archer. You can check out this post all about how to pick a great pair of binoculars specifically for 3D archery.

If there’s one thing you should spend good money on besides your bow and arrows, it’s a quality pair or binoculars. And while you’re at it – be sure that you also bring lens cleaning spray and a cleaning cloth or rag. If you really want to get serious you could even pick up one of these.

Allen wrenches

If you’re using a bow sight, it’s probably a good idea to keep a small set of Allen wrenches in your archery bag. If your sight came with any other special pieces of equipment that you need to adjust your sight or your pins – always have them available. I would recommend this all-in-one Allen wrench set.

Extra Nocks

Keep a handful of spare nocks in a zip sealing sandwich bag in one of the compartments of your archery bag, they’re cheap to get and you never know when you might need them.

Extra Points and Superglue

By the same logic, a few extra points and some super glue are a great thing to keep with you. Even if your arrows are threaded and you screw in your arrow points, the super glue can be useful if you find yourself needing to re-attach a vane or feather on the fly.

D Loop Materials and an Extra Release

I’m not a compound bow archer, but for those of you who are, having extra D loop materials and a lighter could come in handy if you have to redo your setup unexpectedly. An extra release is a good idea too, if you can afford to buy a second quality release.

Fold Up Chair or Hunting Stool

I know of a newer, inexperienced archer who went to his first 3D tournament and laughed at all the old guys who were using their fold out chairs. “What is this, a picnic?!”

He thought it was pretty funny that those guys couldn’t get through a day’s shoot without sitting down. He thought that way until a few hours into the shoot – when he finally admitted that he wanted to sit down too.

A small, lightweight folding chair will be one of those things you can’t do without for any long 3D shoot. If you want to use what the pros use, you could grab one of these.

They’ll keep your lunch cool, hold your accessories and some of them will allow you to attach three or more arrow tubes.

Umbrella

You’ll be thanking me at some point if you put a small, folding umbrella in your archery bag right now. You can sometimes find the perfect sized umbrellas for this at your local dollar store, if you have one in your area.

Rain Poncho

Again, another small fold up emergency style rain poncho is not only a great idea – they also easily fit in a spare pocket in your archery bag. They’ll also help to cover your bow, arrows and binoculars in case of any surprise rain showers.

Arrow Puller

An arrow puller is a small little tool that’ll help you retrieve your arrows from some of the more stubborn 3D targets that just don’t want to let them go. They’re small an cheap (usually around ten dollars or so), so get yourself one today if you don’t already have one. This is my favorite arrow puller – a real life saver on 3D shoots.

Arrow Lube

Another thing that will help you more easily remove arrows from those stubborn 3D targets is arrow lube. Just apply it at the beginning of your next shoot and check to see if you need to add more as the day goes on.

Some archers simply use bar soap for this, so it’s an option if you’re in a pinch or don’t want to buy arrow lube. But arrow lube is specifically made for this purpose, so it’s much better if you can find some that you like at a reasonable price.

Bow Stand

You’re not going to want to be standing around holding your bow all day, especially at the longer tournament shoots.

While you could just lean your bow on something nearby – you’ll never get over it if something breaks it. People could accidentally knock it over, trip over it or even sit on it if they’re not paying attention. I’ve seen all sorts of things at tournaments.

So it’s not a bad idea to be sure that it’s protected and held up safely, especially when it’ll only cost you thirty or forty bucks. Just get one. This is the one I keep in my backyard, year round.

Bow Wax

Keeping your bow string waxed is important, and it’s not a bad idea to have some wax with you at any tournament or 3D shoot.

Small Sharpie Marker and a Hole Punch

Depending upon how your local tournaments and 3D shoots are scored, you may end up needing these while you’re out shooting. It’s good to keep one of each with you, just in case you end up needing them. Besides, these are both small and cheap to get a hold of anyway.

Pens

If you’ve never been to a 3D archery tournament, know this: If you pull out a pen – everyone’s going to want to “borrow” it. People are always forgetting to bring them to shoots, losing them or running out of ink.

So get yourself a handful of cheap disposable pens that you won’t mind losing, in case people conveniently forget to give them back to you.

Another option that I’ve seen some archers use is to buy a good pen that’s attached to a chain that either clips onto their quiver or their shooting chair. Similar to those pens they have at the bank, these can be picked up online for pretty cheap.

Arrow Placement Cards

Both of the main two manufacturers of 3D archery targets, Rinehart and Delta McKenzie make and sell arrow placement cards showing the exact layout of the scoring rings for all of their various 3D target models.

While you may think that no one would need these because you should be able to see the scoring rings clearly – especially with a good pair of binoculars as mentioned above, that isn’t always the case. It may be true in the majority of shooting situations, but it’s not always that way.

Low light and those annoying light and dark situations when you’re looking through your bow sight can totally obscure your view of the scoring rings. Having the proper arrow placement card can be quite useful in those situations.

Towel

Having a small, hand drying sized towel in your archery bag is a good idea. It will come in handy at some point: mud, tree sap, spilled coffee and a host of other things will at some point make it so that you’ll need one, so put one in your archery bag today.

Camel Pack

You’re going to need water or something else to drink at some point, especially at those all day tournaments. Instead of having to lug around a bottle of water all day, you could use a camel pack.

Camel packs are a neat invention that solves that problem perfectly. They store plenty of your drink of choice, and even keep it cold for hours. They’re also a back pack with plenty of storage room for your gear.

Camel packs are great for walking through the woods as you shoot an outdoor 3D archery course. Currently, this one is the best seller on Amazon and it offers great quality at a really great price.

Snacks

While you’re at it, why not bring a snack along to your next tournament or local 3D shoot. Protein bars, trail mix, nuts, raisins and sunflower seeds are just a few of your many options of bring along snacks.

If you have a hunting stool as mentioned above, you can even pack a lunch that it will keep cool for you. Unless you’re using one of those, you should probably stick to snacks that don’t require any refrigeration.

Bug Spray

I’m only going to say this once: Always bring bug spray! Or at least some mosquito repellent lotion or a wearable bug repellent. Not only will you find yourself using these a lot at outdoor 3D shoots, they’re just great to keep in your car – trust me on this one.

Sunscreen

Sunscreen is yet another great thing to keep with your archery gear. You should be using it everyday anyway – even days that are cloudy or not very sunny. You’ll really want to use sunscreen on those three or four hour outdoor tournaments.

Oh, and you could throw in a small tube or container of chap stick or lip balm too.

Swiss Army Knife or Multi-Tool

One thing that is not only great for your archery bag, but great to have on you at all times is a multi-tool. Swiss army knives in particular are great because of their small size, you could carry one in your pocket everyday and not even notice it.

Either way, multi-tools are a good idea for archery shoots. The knife is useful for a variety of things, as are the pliers too. Some even contain a full set of mini Allen wrenches – perfect for adjusting most bow sights on the fly.

Small First Aid Kit

More archers should be bringing some type of mini first aid kit with them to shoots. And that doesn’t mean leaving one in the car. When your shooting a walking 3D course through the woods, you might need a first aid kit right then and there – not one that’s left back in your car.

There are plenty of low priced first aid kits available online these days, just be sure you’re getting a quality kit. A cheap price doesn’t usually mean quality, but there are some good quality kits out there for not much money. Just be sure to do your homework before you buy.

You’ll also want to throw at least a few aspirin (or other painkiller) into your archery bag, you never know when you’ll need them.

So there you have it, my personal list of must haves for 3D shoots and tournaments. If you didn’t do it yet, get a pen and paper and make a note of what things are missing from your own archery bag.

You can pick them up the next time you’re at the store, or order them online.

I hope that this list has helped you to improve your own 3D shooting backpack, and that it will prevent you from being out there wishing that you had only brought a pair of pliers, a rain poncho – or anything else that you might need while you’re out in the field.

Besides, most of these things are not only cheap, they’re easy to get a hold of too. You probably already have some spare bug spray, sunscreen, pens or the like laying around your house anyway – so throw them in your archery bag today.

Now get out there and get shooting!