Beginners guide - Essential overview to different archery shooting types

For new archers wondering what different shooting types there are, I have drawn up a helpful outline below. 

Want to read about some of the more unusual shooting types? Take a look at Poppinjay

Target

Target archery is as simple as the name implies, it is shooting your arrows at a target. Target archery is the only category to be included as an Olympic sport. All bow types can be shot at a target; this includes recurve, compound and longbow.    

The target is circular with two rings of gold, red, blue, black and white emanating from the centre. Arrows shot closer to the centre are highest scoring, but the size of the target face varies at different distances and rounds and scoring imperial rounds differs to that of metric rounds. There is a multitude of target rounds (which I will outline in another blog) and these are different in their distances, target face size and number of arrows.

The max-required distance for female archers is 80 yards, but is 100 yards for men. Target archery can be shot throughout the year utilising both indoor and outdoor ranges. Tournaments are held regularly and there are often dress regulations (no camouflage or jeans for example). There are various medals to be one including the traditional gold, silver and bronze medals along with prizes for hitting particular colours at certain marked positions. Men and women compete separately as do the different bow types and juniors (under 12, under 14, under 16 and under 18).

 Field

Field archery is often shot with a wooded area (rather than a field!) and is considered a greater challenge compared to target archery. Field archery can also be exciting as the shoots are varied and there is a great challenge in not knowing exactly what to expect.

Targets are put at a maximum of 80 yards (often much closer) and the targets can be marked (with their distance) or unmarked. Target faces vary and often animal face targets are used and scoring can include both target hits and hits to a particular zone on a target. Targets can vary in size and some even 3D!

Field archery is considered difficult due to the archers need to judge the target distance within uneven ground, which is often dark due to tree tops blocking out sun light.

Field shoots are tightly regulated and controlled due to the dangers involved (compared to target archery). It can also be expensive due to the loss and damage of arrows as it can be difficult to hit the target.

Equipment used can be slightly different to target archery. For example, shorter stabilisers will make manoeuvring easier in heavily overgrown forests

Clout

Clout was initially introduced as a training aid and is now often shot for fun, that is not to say that it isn’t taken seriously! A Clout shoot is where the archers shoot their arrows at a flag and the closer the arrow to the flag the higher the score. Scoring is achieved using a bit of string attached to the flag that is divided into colours. The different colour sections denote the scoring group.

Two-way clout is where archers shoot at the flag and then shoot back to the starting flag. One-way is where archers shoot at just one flag.   

Although longbow, recurve and compound can all compete at tournaments in clout, compound archers have to take care to shoot down, rather than up in the air, at the flag for safety reasons.

Future blogs will concentrate further upon each shooting style. In these blogs  I aim to give an overview of scoring, tournaments, bow types and the attractions of each style.