Field archery is the format of archery that takes place on a multi-target course set out over all kinds of terrain including fields, woods, and forests.
What is field archery?
Field archery is not shot over flat land but includes up and down and cross-slopes, unmarked distance targets, and challenges of light, dark, and shadow. It is by far the most enjoyable form of archery.
World Archery (WA inc AGB) uses a mix of WA field faces or 3D animals. WA holds European and world 3D champs each year. Archers are shooting at 3D targets at different ranges up to 60m. There are different scoring rules depending on the country the event is held in.
In the case of NFAS, (National Field Archery Association) of which are one of our affiliations, targets are predominantly 3D or paper animal faces and are shot over varying distances, usually between 5 and 60 yards, with normally 36 targets to shoot.
The main purpose of field archery is to simulate hunting, as hunting with a bow and arrow is illegal in the UK, this is a close as it gets. But it’s mostly about enjoying the sport and having fun, whilst at the same time as competing against other archers and yourself.
Field archery under Archery GB guidelines will use paper target faces rather than 3D animals. These faces are normally circular targets (WA Field Face) but can also be paper animal faces.
Targets can be lifelike 3D foam targets, 2D animal-shaped targets or paper faces with photos of animals. Plus anything that can be made into a target for fun.
What are you aiming to hit on a 3D target?
On each animal target, there are scoring zones. These are the wound area, the kill zone, and the inner kill zone. Points are awarded based on the part of the animal you hit and in the case of NFAS scoring, depending on which part you hit with which arrow. Click on the target below for more information.
The majority of the animal counts as a wound
This is the outer kill area
This is the inner kill area
Types of bow used in field archery?
You can shoot pretty much any type of bow at our club, here are a few examples. They are: Longbow, Horsebow, Flatbow, One Piece Field Bow, Take Down Field Bow (also called Traditional Recurve), Modern Take Down Field Bow, Olympic Style Recurve, Compound Bow.
Discover more about scoring an archery round.
See the full scoring system and download a score card
