Why shoot 3D Archery?
Growing up, I would always find things to shoot my bow at. Whether it was old hay bales, old pool mats, or even a box with a few blankets in it, I loved taping or gluing a paper plate to them and ripping a few arrows at them. But then one day, my dad purchased his first 3D archery target for us to shoot at.
It was your typical whitetail deer standing broadside with a replaceable vitals insert but thought it was the best thing in the world. It was just like shooting at a real animal and I was hooked ever since.
To us as hunters, paper targets are a thing of the past. And while portraits of animals on paper are an option to shoot in your backyard hay bail shooting, that flat piece of paper won’t do you any justice when shooting at the real thing.
That's one of the great things about shooting at a 3D target over a standard paper target. 3D targets give a shooter the ability to practice real-world hunting scenarios while aiming at lifelike targets. While paper targets are still used in archery competitions for providing identical scoring targets for the archers to shoot at, they fail in the area we recently discussed last week...shot angles.
In the real world, your shot on an animal isn't going to be perfect, and you’ll need to know where to place your shot. If you're a hunter practicing for your upcoming season, be sure to take time and analyze the animal's vitals beforehand.
Find a picture online and learn where the heart, lungs, and other vitals are located. Most of the time they are in the same general area, but knowing where they are can help you determine your shot placement the best and most ethical shot.
If you're shooting 3D targets for a competition, then you’ll probably want to think about your shot placement a little differently.
Competition & Scoring
There are two primary organizations of competitive 3D shooting scoring.
Archery Shooters Association (ASA)
International Bowhunting Organization (IBO).
Each entity has their own tournaments, and while there are some similarities between the two, each has its own scoring system. Archers try to shoot the targets in the heart-lung areas – just like bowhunters would do on real animals, but the scoring rings on these areas are what set each other apart.
This picture shows the layouts. Inside the large vitals area, there will be smaller circles of varying sizes all worth different points. One of the smallest circles will sit dead center and two others will be positioned around it. Only IBO uses the dead-center circle, while ASA uses the two circles around it.
While this might be difficult to remember at first, after a few rounds you’ll get the hang of the scoring, just dont shoot for the wrong circle.
3D Competitions also have two different divisions: “Known” or “Unknown” distance. In the Known Division, the distance for each target is marked. In the unknown division, rangefinders are not allowed and archers have to judge the distance for themselves. With targets often ranging from 10 to 80 yards, this adds an extra level of difficulty to the event.
But what if you want to just go and shoot a 3D course for fun?
Recreational
One of the great benefits of shooting 3D archery recreationally is it keeps you and equipment well-tuned. Strings can start stretching, sights can get bumped, and rests can malfunction. No one wants to start their season with their bow in the shop, so don't be that person waiting until a week or two before the season to start shooting.
3D shooting is also a great way to sharpen your skills in the offseason. A Lot of people compare it to golf in a sense that shooters begin on one target, make their shots, get their scores, and continue onto the next. It's fun, it's challenging, and you have to practice to become better.
It also gives you a great opportunity to get outdoors with friends! Last year we put on a 3D Archery shoot a few weeks before opening day of the Michigan Whitetail Archery season at the West Michigan Archery Center along with Huntwise App and The Michigan Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers.
It was a lot of fun and we had a great turnout of shooters looking to get ready for the season. We had giveaways and even a friendly competition with us at one of the targets.
If you are interested in getting into 3D archery, there are schools, sportsmen’s clubs and archery dealers to help in the areas of 3-D, indoor target, and outdoor target archery.
3D courses are a great way to be in tune with your equipment, and by the time hunting season arrives, both you and your equipment should be at the top of your game!