Are you interested in 3D archery, but you’ve never been to a shoot or a tournament? If you’re looking to know what to expect and how exactly 3d archery shoots work, we’ll cover everything you need to show up knowledgeable, well equipped and ready to shoot.

And best of all – you won’t look like a total noob! So let’s get started:

3D shoots are lots of fun – whether you’re trying to practice your shot for hunting, improve your ability to range targets by sight alone or just looking to have a great day of shooting with your buddies. And if you show up well informed as to how everything runs, not only will everyone there appreciate it, but it will speed things along too.

One of the things that will help you along the most is knowing the basics of 3D archery, so here’s a quick primer on the sport…

What is 3D archery?

When you’re shooting traditional target archery, you’re just just aiming and shooting at stationary circle targets. In traditional target archery you might be indoors or out, but either way you’re almost always shooting in a straight, unobscured line at a target that’s on your level and directly ahead of you.

While there are indoor 3d archery shoots, the vast majority of 3D shoots take place outdoors. And instead of standing still and shooting directly ahead – you’ll be walking courses through wooded areas, up and down hills and valleys. You’ll be shooting at life size, realistic targets of lots of different animals:

Caribou, deer, moose, coyotes, bear, sheep, wolverines, wolf, elk, boar and turkey – just to name a few. These days there’s a 3D archery target of almost any animal you can think of – even dinosaurs!

You’ll be aiming at 3D targets both uphill and downhill from you, with brush and trees partially obscuring your view and dealing with the elements at the same time. The wind, rain and fog all become just another part of the challenge.

There are two main associations in 3D archery: The ASA (Archery Shooters Association) and the IBO (International Bowhunting Organization). There are lots of smaller local clubs and organizations across the country, but the ASA and the IBO are the two big ones. Most 3D tournaments and shoots base their rules on one or the other.

It varies by different 3D clubs and organizations, but on most 3D archery shoots you’ll be put in a group of three or four people. You’ll then walk to your first target, every person takes a shot (in some shoots everyone gets two shots per person), then you’ll move on to the next target.

Scores are kept by a third party and totaled once everyone competing has completed the course (you may be in one of the first starting groups and have to wait for everyone to finish the course).

If you’re brand new to tournaments, it wouldn’t hurt to read this, and you could also pick up one of these to help you get up to speed with how tournaments are scored.

Finally, winners are announced and prizes (if there are any) are awarded. Most 3D shoots tend to last between two to three hours or so, but expect to make a day of it if you attend a 3D shoot or tournament.

The Targets

Modern 3D targets have been around for several years now, but are still primarily made by one of two companies: Rinehart and Delta McKenzie. The ASA tournaments shoot Delta McKenzie targets, while the IBO shoot Rinehart targets, respectively.

The ASA announce each year which individual targets (which animals) will be used for the tournament season. They tend to rotate targets each year, with some being added to the list and some removed.

How does a 3D Archery shoot work?

As your walking from target to target, you’ll walk up to a stake in the ground, the point from where you’ll take your shot at the target. There are different colors of stakes for the different classes of shooters. Normally, most tournaments are divided in classes of men, women and youth.

On average you’ll be shooting at targets with ranges of 25 to 50 yards. There are two main types of tournaments – known distance and unknown distance.

Most tournaments don’t tell you the actual distance of the targets – trying to guess the distance of a target and take your shot accordingly is part of the challenge.

There are however some tournaments where the actual distance of the target is disclosed, these are called “known distance” tournaments or shoots. The ASA started holding known distance options for shooters – although this is usually just for newer, inexperienced archers. If this is your first shoot you may want to take advantage of this to “get your feet wet” in 3D archery.

Depending on who’s holding the tournament, there may be any number of targets. The ASA lists 22 as it’s current number of tournament targets this year, while there are tournaments that shoot 28 targets, 40 targets and so on. And with smaller, local clubs there could be any number of targets.

In fact, don’t write off your local clubs – many of them have smaller (easier to compete in) competitions, and your local shoots tend to be a lot more casual and laid back. Whereas the ASA and IBO tournaments have some serious shooters, a local shoot can be more relaxed and a lot more fun.

Don’t think I’m knocking either the ASA or the IBO though, they’re both great organizations! If you’re very new to 3D archery, you may just feel less pressure and more room to learn a bit at a more laid back, local shoot. Most of your local archers will be more than happy to help you out and answer any questions that you may have.

The ASA and the IBO tournaments could be your next stop after learning a bit a few local shoots. You should just avoid the ‘qualifier’ tournaments if you’re new, as those are the more serious tournaments that the pro archers tend to hit.

If you’re wondering which tournaments are which just check each organization’s web site, these days they have all of the details listed online.

How are 3D Tournaments Scored?

Both the ASA and the IBO have different rules for scoring their 3D tournaments, and local clubs will normally follow one or the other – and may throw in a few of their own “house rules” as well.

The “scoring rings” are the individual circles on the vital area (target area) of each target. The different scoring rings all have different point values for hitting them.

In the ASA rules, a hit anywhere in the vital area (the removable part of the target) is worth 8 points, a hit within the large circle area is worth 10 points, and each of the two smaller circles within are worth 12 points.

The small circle that’s up and off center is mainly used for tiebreakers and is worth 14 points, when it’s in play. A hit anywhere else on the body (except for the horns) is worth 5 points, and a miss is worth 0 points. A hit in a targets horns (like a deer or an elk) counts as a miss and doesn’t award any points.

Where the IBO rules differ is that there are no small 12 or 14 rings, while the center most small ring is worth 11 points. So 5 points for anywhere on the target, 8 points for the vital area and 10 points for the ’10 ring’ – the large circle area. You would just ignore the small 12 rings and count one large 12 ring instead. You would also ignore the off center 14 ring.

When an arrow hits directly on the line of one of the circles, it’s counted as the same value as hitting with that circle itself. So for example, if your arrow hits right on the line of the large circle (the 10 ring), it would be worth 10 points.

What Types of Bows Are Used?

Most bows are fine to use in tournaments, whether they’re run by the ASA or the IBO. Recurve bows and compound bows are allowed, in fact – they’re the bread and butter of tournaments. You’ll probably see most of the people there using recurves and compound bows.

Normally, traditional wooden bows and longbows are allowed, but you may want to check the organization’s web site ahead of time if you’re unsure if they’re legal for that tournament.

Crossbows, however are the exception. Crossbows are almost never allowed in tournaments, certainly not the larger ones. You may or may not have trouble trying to find local shoots that will let you use a crossbow with their targets – crossbows do a lot of damage to different types of targets and 3D targets aren’t cheap!

There are some crossbow 3D archery classes in some tournaments, but not all that many. If you’re a crossbow archer you’ll have to check ahead with the organization running the tournament to see if there’s a special class or shoot for crossbows.

Rules on sights varies from organization to organization, but fixed pin sights are generally allowed – while laser sights are definitely not allowed in any current tournaments. Binoculars are legal to use as well, but not rangefinders.

There are some clubs and smaller tournaments that are creating a separate class for archers who like to use rangefinders, but there aren’t many at the present time. Most 3d archers think that using rangefinders is essentially cheating, as guessing the range of the target is part of the sport itself.

If you’ve got an expensive pair of rangefinder binoculars and you want to use them (without range-finding) in a tournament: Some people take out the battery and cover the rangefinder sensor over – so people can clearly see that you’re not using it’s range-finding capabilities.

If you do this you should talk to some of the people running the tournament first, and let them know what you want to do – just to make sure that it’s OK with them.

Also, some people do use their rangefinders at 3D tournaments, but they:

Check with those running the tournament first, getting permission to do so.

And they don’t hand in their score cards. Meaning they pay the fee for the tournament, go through and shoot – but they are not eligible to receive any prizes, they’re just playing for fun.

Oh, and leave your broad head arrows at home, too.

What else do I need for a shoot?

Your bow and some arrows (not more than 5 or 6) – depending on what tournament or shoot that you’re attending you won’t ever shoot more than one or two at any target. Some people leave a few extra arrows locked in their car, in case they end up needing them later for some reason.

Your quiver and your shooting gear: a wrist guard and / or shooting glove if you’re using one. The same thing goes for arrow releases, if you use one. Don’t forget to bring your binoculars along with their hard case or carrying bag (in case of rough weather).

If it’s an outdoor shoot be sure to throw some sunblock and bug spray in your archery bag, and bring some sunglasses too. And you’ll want to pick up one of these for 3D tournaments, it’ll make your life a lot easier – trust me.

It’s usually a good idea to bring an extra bag with random things like a snack, bottled water or juice, a multi-tool, a towel and be sure to have some cash on hand for any registration and entry fees that you need to sign up.

If you have kids, consider signing up for a tournament that has a youth class. While you’re checking out tournaments online, see if there are youth entry spots and prizes. 3D archery shoots are a great way to teach the kids archery, sportsmanship and to get them off all of those ipads, phones and devices and get them to play outside!

I really hope this has helped all of you to understand how archery shoots and tournaments work, you really shouldn’t be intimidated when your going into your first shoot. Most 3D archers just plain love our hobby and are friendly people, don’t be shy or hesitate to ask us for help. Besides, you should feel a lot more confident going into your first shoot – as you now know more then most new archers do when they hit up their first tournament.