Types of Archery Targets

The earliest archery tournament was the The Antient Silver Arrow contest, which was first held in 1673. This tournament still takes place today, making it not just the oldest archery tournament in the world, but the longest-established sporting event of any kind. Target archery is no longer a matter of life-and-death, as it was in the seventeenth century, but the skills of today's best archers may rival all the real Robin Hoods who pulled back the string of a bow when this sport was first invented.

  1. Olympic Round

    • The familiar bull's-eye target is known as the Olympic Round. The outer white circles are worth up to two points, the black circles are worth 3 to 4 points, the blue circles are worth 5 to 6 points, the red circles are worth 7 to 8 points and the outer gold circle is worth 9 points. The inner gold circle is the bull's-eye and it is worth 10 points. If an arrow touches a line separating two different point areas, the score is rounded up to the higher value. No extra points are officially awarded for splitting the shaft of a previously-landed arrow, but you do get to brag about having achieved a “Robin Hood.”

    Suspended Rubber Ball

    • “Basic Illustrated Archery,” a Falcon guide to the sport, suggests a fun target practice involving a suspended soft rubber ball. Pushing the ball creates a pendulum effect, allowing archers to test their abilities at hitting a moving target. You can manipulate this game's degree of difficulty by changing the size of the ball.

    Archery Golf Circle

    • The Falcon guide also mentions archery golf as a good way to sharpen skills while moving away from the standard bull's-eye target. Archery golf is exactly what it sounds like, except instead of aiming a small dimpled ball into a hole, you try to land your arrow into a circle that is typically four feet in diameter.

    Indoor Targets

    • Indoor target archery adds a few alternatives to the Olympic Round. The Vegas Target consists of three separate round targets that are positioned in a triangular shape, with two on the bottom and one on top. Vegas Targets only include the center gold circle, red middle circle and blue outer circle. Another example of an indoor target is the 5 Spot Target, which features five smaller targets arranged in the shape of an "X." Archers shoot one arrow at each target.

    Straw Bales

    • Straw bales are the oldest practice targets in the sport. One of the reasons for the continued popularity of straw bale targets is that they can withstand a very high number of hits. Straw bales also withstand most kinds of weather conditions and do not rust or decay like other targets.