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3D archery scoring in plain English
3D archery scoring sounds complicated when people start quoting organization acronyms at the stake. On the ground it is simpler: one foam animal at a time, a ring you can argue about, and a walk to the next target.
This is plain English for club days and practice loops. It is not an official IBO or ASA rulebook. Use your event’s rules on the course. Use this to keep the *card* from turning into a parking-lot rewrite. The site reference page is the 3D scoring guide.
What a 3D round is
You walk a course. Each target is a 3D animal with scoring rings painted or stickered on. Yardage is often unmarked. You pick a number, you shoot, you walk up, you call the ring, you pull, you go to the next animal.
Club shoots might be 20, 30, or 40 targets. A practice loop in the woods might be 8. When you start a 3D round here you set how many targets that day. The card is that long — no more, no less.
What the numbers mean (without the fog)
Different orgs print different rings. Broadly you will see high scores in the vital area and lower scores as you move out, down to a miss at 0. On this site a target score lands in a 0 through 12 range so common club cards fit without forcing one org’s labels onto every shoot.
Your job on the walk-up is not to recite a rulebook from memory. It is to agree what ring the arrow is in before anyone pulls it — and to photograph it on a hosted shoot.
- High rings — vitals / upper scores (labels depend on the org)
- Lower rings — body / non-vital
- 0 — miss / non-scoring
If two people in your group grew up on different org cards, agree on *tonight’s* card before animal one. Do not discover the disagreement at animal fourteen.
Unmarked yardage honesty
Half of 3D is guessing distance. That is the sport. The scorecard’s job is not to grade your rangefinding — it is to record what you called after you walked up.
If your group uses a tournament rule about who may range and when, follow that on the stake. Then log the ring you agreed on at the animal.
For personal practice, label the session honestly in your own notes. A known-yardage loop and an unknown-yardage loop teach different skills. Mixing them in one round object without saying so only confuses your later self.
One animal at a time (why locking matters)
3D arguments love to time-travel: “on target 7 I actually had a better ring.” No.
You call target 7 while the arrow is still in the foam. On a hosted shoot you photograph it. Then target 7 is done. Target 8 is a new conversation.
That is why hosted cards on this site lock a target before the next one opens. Past targets stay locked. There is no bulk paste from the truck.
Walking the stake
Most 3D drama starts at the stake, not at the foam. Who shoots first, who may range, whether you get a second arrow after a pass-through — those are event rules. Agree before the first animal. Then use the phone only for what happened at the target.
If your group includes new shooters, say the plan out loud: “We call together, we photo, we pull, we move.” New shooters should not learn the process during a protest.
Pass-throughs, bounce-outs, and “I can’t find it”
Foam fails. Arrows disappear. Clubs have local customs for bounce-outs and pass-throughs. Follow the day’s rule. Then write the score you were awarded — not the score you wish you had in soft foam last month.
If the event allows a witness arrow or a re-shoot, do that before you lock the target on a hosted card.
Building a practice 3D loop
You do not need forty animals to practice process. Eight targets with honest photos will teach more than forty targets of “we’ll remember.”
Set the target count to what you walked. Stop when you are done. The point of practice is repetition of the call-and-proof habit, not a fake tournament total.
Weather, mud, and skipped photos
Phones get wet. Fingers get cold. That is when people skip photos. On a hosted shoot, do not.
Keep a microfiber cloth in your pocket. Cup the phone against rain. If the photo is ugly but readable, it still beats a clean lie. More on that in the photo-proof guide.
Ties and group pace
Ties get settled by your event’s rule, not by whoever talks loudest at the picnic table. Record the rings you agreed on. Let the director apply tiebreakers.
Pace matters. A group that photos and moves will finish kinder than a group that debates every animal twice. Assign a phone person. Rotate between targets if you want fairness — after the lock, not during the argument.
How this site fits
Start a 3D round, set the target count, shoot, call, optional or required photo depending on personal vs hosted, lock, next animal. That is the whole loop.
I built the product this way because paper cards get wet and phone notes get edited. More on that on About.
FAQ
Is this IBO or ASA official?
No. Use your event’s rules. This site stores a per-target sequence with optional proof.
How many targets should I pick?
Match the course you are walking.
Do I need photos on practice?
No. On hosted shoots, yes — that is the honest card for standings.
What if we disagree about a ring?
Call it with a witness while the arrow is still in. Photo it. Then pull. Do not invent a better ring in the truck.
Where is the shorter reference page?
3D scoring guide.
Keep going
If you are new to 3D, learn your club’s card first, then worry about org acronyms. One animal, one call, one photo when it matters, then move. That habit beats a perfect memory every time.