What you are shooting
Forty-five arrows. Three at a time. You score those three, then the next three. Distance is often 18 meters (or 20 yards in a lot of US clubs). The face is usually a three-spot (three small 10-rings) or a single 40 cm spot. On a 3-spot you put one arrow per spot — you do not park two arrows in the same ten.
Some leagues shoot ten ends (a “Vegas 300”). This site’s Vegas format is the full 15-end / 450 card. If your club only shoots 10 ends, follow their card for competition; you can still use practice rounds here to log what you actually shot.
What the rings are worth
Vegas uses 1 through 10 (and often an inner 10 / X depending on the face and the club). Higher is better. A miss is 0. This is not Indoor 300’s 0–5-plus-X scale. If you tap a “5” thinking you are on a 5-spot American 300, you are on the wrong format.
Call what is on the paper in front of you. If your club treats the inner 10 as an X for tiebreak only, record it the way your card expects — and be consistent for the whole night.
- 10 — high ring (inner 10 / X rules vary by face and club)
- 9–1 — stepping outward
- 0 — miss
Vegas 450 vs Indoor 300
People mix these up constantly. Short version:
- Indoor 300: 12 ends × 5 arrows, values 0–5 plus X, max 300.
- Vegas 450: 15 ends × 3 arrows, 10-ring values, max 450.
Different rhythm, different math, different faces. Pick the format your club hung on the bale. Guides: Indoor 300 · this page for Vegas.
How a Vegas line feels
Three arrows is a shorter conversation at the target. That is nice until someone wants to renegotiate a 9 after the arrows are pulled. Same rule as 300: call it, photograph it if the shoot is hosted, lock it, move. The site will not open end 8 until end 7 is finished.
On a 3-spot, lane etiquette matters. Do not shoot two arrows into the same spot “because the other one looked open.” Your club’s face rules win. This site records three values per end; it does not argue lane politics for you.
How this site records Vegas 450
Start a Vegas round (personal or hosted). For each end, enter three scores, then lock. Past ends stay locked. Personal practice can skip photos. Hosted tournaments and leagues require a photo before the next end unlocks — see photo proof.
First-night checklist
- Confirm 10-end vs 15-end with the line captain.
- Confirm 3-spot vs single spot.
- Do not use Indoor 300 values on a Vegas face.
- If hosted, take the photo before you pull.
Common mistakes
- Using 300 scoring on a Vegas face (or the reverse).
- Stacking two arrows in one spot on a 3-spot.
- Thinking a “Vegas 300” (10 ends) is the same card as a 450 — count your ends.
- Skipping photos on a hosted night and expecting the standings to hold up.
Calling arrows on a 10-ring face
Vegas faces are busy. From twenty yards a 9 and a 10 can look the same until you walk up. The fix is boring: walk up, get your eye over the arrow, call it with a partner, then touch the phone. Do not call from the shooting line unless your club explicitly allows it and you are both sure.
If the arrow is cutting a line, use your club’s line rule (shaft touching vs color break). Put that rule in words before end one. The worst Vegas nights are the ones where people invent the line rule on end twelve.
Pacing 15 ends
Fifteen ends of three is a different cardio than twelve ends of five. You will finish faster if the group stays honest and moves. You will finish slower if every end becomes a committee. Assign roles: one person shoots last and holds the phone, one person calls, one person pulls after the photo. Rotate if you want — but do not rotate mid-end.
Take water. Indoor heat plus Vegas adrenaline makes people sloppy on end 13. Sloppy is how a 10 becomes a 9 in the wrong direction.
Practice plans using Vegas cards
If you are training for a Vegas-style event, log full 15-end cards when you can. If you only have twenty minutes, shoot five ends and stop — but label it mentally as partial practice so you do not compare it to a full 450. This site is happiest when one round object equals one real card. Do not stitch three partials into a fantasy 450.
Equipment and face notes (non-rules)
Barebow, Olympic recurve, and compound all show up on Vegas nights depending on the club. The card does not care what you shoot. It cares that the values match the face. If your division uses a different face or a handicap, that is club paperwork. Keep it off the score sequence unless your hosted event is set up for it.
FAQ
Is Vegas always 18 meters?
Often, not always. Shoot the distance your club set.
Does an inner 10 count as more than 10 points?
Usually no — it is still 10 points, used for ties. Follow your club card.
Can I log a 10-end Vegas night here?
Follow your club for official results. For practice, log what you shot and keep notes if the format is short.
Official rules?
This is not your governing body’s rulebook. Use theirs on the line; use this site to keep sequence and proof.