3D Archery

3D archery is a subset of field archery focusing on shooting at life-size models of game and is popular with hunters. It is most common to see unmarked distances in 3D archery, as the goal is to accurately recreate a hunting environment for competition.
Though the goal is hunting practice, hunting broadheads are not used, as they would tear up the foam targets too much. Normal target or field tips, of the same weight as the intended broadhead, are used instead.
In the past 10 years 3D archery has taken new light with a competitive edge. There is a whole new group of competitions that are no longer considered hunting practice. Competitions are held in many provinces and states. Some competitors will travel thousands of miles a year to compete to try and claim the world title in 3D archery.
The York County Bowmen host a fun 3D marked distance shoot every May and a competitive 3D tournament in July.  See our events page for details.

 The Guessing Game

Imagine you are walking in a forest with your friends and you see a cougar in the distance; you pull out your bow and fire an arrow at the cougar but it flies over the animal’s head, the cougar then starts charging your way. Welcome to the world of 3D archery - a numbers game, which requires both distance judging and imagination.
Now of course the animals/targets you are shooting at are not real and can’t hurt you, but that’s where your imagination kicks in. The power of ones imagination is a remarkable thing, so when it comes to 3D archery, your imagination can help carry you to a far away place in the wilderness, when you’re only a mere 5 minutes from civilization. What many archers do is imagine that the animals are live and could attack them if they don’t kill the animal; the imagination is a big part of scoring well and keeping the round exciting.

As soon as you begin your stroll in the woods, your imagination begin transporting you to another place, you literally feel like you are in the middle of nowhere and that animals could pop out in front of you at any point in your journey. 3D archery is a branch of archery that is becoming more and more popular every year.
 “Olympic” style archery requires the shooter to shoot at the same targets over and over. There is no adjustment in size, color or positioning. But when you engage in 3D archery there is something new and different each time you come out to shoot; new animals, new trails, and obstacles like trees and water that must be avoided when shooting at the targets.

But the most exciting and challenging part of 3D archery is guessing the distance between you and your target. Unlike “Olympic” style archery, where the distances are known, for 3D archers the distances are not known and can change each time you shoot. The aspect of the distances being unknown, adds an exciting new challenge to your task; not only do you have to shoot the animals in the kill zone (vitals, inner organs that would kill the animal) you now have to determine how far away the animal is from were you are standing. Knowing whether the animal is 15 or 30 yards away can make all the difference in determining how well you shoot.  

Though you feel at a disadvantage by not having the distances laid out for you, it helps add a sense of adventure and an air of mystery to the 3D round. Though it may be difficult, it adds a sense of fun and creativity to the shooting, it can get boring always-shooting arrows at a fixed distance.  It is always more fun, when you travel out with a group of friends, and have a friendly competition to see who can guess the most distances correctly, you know it can give you a nice reputation and soon anyone and everyone will want you to be their guide in the woods. 3D archery is perfect for anyone who is up for a challenge and a little fun.

Even if you find the challenge of guessing the distances to difficult, there is still much upside to shooting 3D targets; you get a nice walk out in the woods during all seasons, you get to have a great time talking with friends and most importantly you get to shoot arrows at things what could be more fun?

So let’s get back to the cougar; you have one last chance to shoot and kill this deadly animal. You’ve practiced your shooting and gotten familiar with your distances, you recognize what distance the cougar is from you, you draw back the arrow and fire, it hits the cougar and the danger is solved.

“An article by junior member CC”