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 (up to 60). The card is that long — no more, no less.
What the numbers mean (plain language)
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 (org-dependent labels)
- Lower rings — body / non-vital
- 0 — miss / non-scoring
Unmarked yardage
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.
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 8 unlocks. That sequence is how you keep a course honest when twenty people are tired and muddy.
How this site records 3D
Start a 3D round and set the target count. For each animal, enter the score for that target, add a photo if the shoot is hosted, then lock and move on. Personal practice can skip photos. Hosted leagues and tournaments cannot — see photo proof.
Group shooting tips that save friendships
- Decide who taps the phone before the first stake.
- Call the ring out loud with the arrow still in the target.
- If it is hosted, take the picture before anyone pulls.
- Do not “fix it later” in the truck. That is how standings die.
Common mistakes
- Pulling before you agree — now you are arguing about a hole.
- Mixing org scoring slang without agreeing which card you are on.
- Changing target 4 after target 12 because memory got generous.
- Skipping photos on a hosted course and expecting a clean leaderboard.
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 and mud
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.
Yardage honesty
Some days you may range. Some days you may not. The scorecard does not encode that rule — your event does. What the site needs is the number you were awarded after the group agreed. If someone ranged when they should not have, that is a rules problem for the shoot director, not a reason to invent a different ring value on the phone.
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.
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 not invent extra targets to pad a card.
What if we skip a target on the course?
Follow event rules for skips and mirrors. Log what your group actually scored.
Can friends see my 3D card?
Finished cards can be shared with friends when you choose — see
for friends.