Rounds

We shoot a variety of different rounds at the club. Each week, a suggested round is proposed in advance, but this can be changed on the day if weather conditions, or attending members, dictate otherwise! The current intended rounds for this year can be seen on our Current Rounds page.

In general, the longer distance rounds are shot in the summer months, with winter months encouraging the shorter distance and fewer arrows rounds.

A round is defined by four things:

  • The distance to the target. This may be in metres (metric) or yards (imperial) and generally range from about 10 to 80. Some rounds use multiple distance, with the longer distance shot first, then, after a specified number of arrows have been shot, the target is moved to a closer distance for the next set of arrows to be shot.
  • The size of the target face. This is generally defined as a cm diameter. The largest used is 122cm, the smallest is 40cm. For some rounds, different bows may shoot at different sized targets (in general Compound bows may aim at a smaller target – or a target without the outer numbers present)
  • The scoring system used. This is either 10-zone scoring (the two sections within each colour are scored separately, with 10 being the score for the inner gold, 9 for the outer gold, 8 for inner red, 7 for outer red etc, all the way to 1 for the outer white circle) or 5-zone scoring (each colour is scored separately, with gold scoring 9 points, red 7, blue 5, black 3 and white 1). In general 10-zone scoring is used for metric rounds, and 5-zone used for imperial rounds.
  • The number of arrows shot at each distance. This is expressed as a number of dozen arrows. We generally shoot “ends” of 6 arrows before scoring and collecting the arrows.

Prior to shooting a competitive (scoring) round, an end of (usually 6) “sighter” arrows are shot – these are not scored. A summary of the different rounds we shoot is provided below. The suggested rounds for the year are detailed on the Current Rounds page.

In addition to the standard rounds which are tabled below (Archery GB and World Archery), the club shoots other rounds too – either contributing towards one of our trophies, or towards a badge, or just for fun! Some of these are detailed here:

252 Round

A 252 round is an attempt to score 252 (recurve bow 252; barebow 189; compound bow 280; longbow 164) using 3 dozen arrows over a specific, imperial, distance with 5-zone scoring. Some other rounds may also accept the first 3 dozen arrows shot as contributing towards achieving your 252 at that distance. The distances that could earn you a badge for achieving this score are 20yds (white badge), 30yds (black badge), 40yds (blue badge), 50yds (red badge), 60yds (gold badge), 80yds (green badge), 100yds (purple badge). (Longbow and Barebow have lower score requirements at the 80yds and 100yds distances – see the Classifications & Badges page for more detail).

In our club you can gain your badge when you achieve a 252 score in a single, recorded attempt.

Bitefrost Round

The Bitefrost round is a variant on the standard “Frostbite” round (see below), but with the scoring reversed which adds an interesting variant to the tactics! The white zones score 10 points (outer white ring) or 9 points (inner white ring), and the scoring decreases as you get closer to the centre, with the inner gold ring scoring a single point. The club even has a specific Trophy using this round shot in the winter months.

Standard Rounds – Archery GB

The two tables below can be downloaded and printed off for ease (single page, A5) here.

Outdoor

These traditional British rounds use 5 zone scoring (9,7,5,3,1) on a 122cm target face, at imperial distances and are governed by the Archery GB Rules of Shooting. Most people find these more relaxed and are often the first competitions that archers enter. These rounds fall into ‘families’, which are a group of different rounds that take place on the same field, at the same time, and have the same number of arrows, however with different distances. This means that you can choose the round that best suits your ability. The name of the round generally originates from the place where it was first shot (e.g. “Bristol”, “Windsor” etc).

The number of dozen arrows shot at each distance is listed. Where multiple distances are shot, the furthest distance is shot first.

ROUND NAME100yds80yds60yds50yds40yds30yds20yds10ydsMax Score
York6421296
Hereford/Bristol I6421296
Bristol II6421296
Bristol III6421296
Bristol IV6421296
Bristol V6421296
St.George333972
Albion333972
Windsor333972
Windsor 50333972
Windsor 40333972
Windsor 30333972
New Western44864
Long Western44864
Western44864
Western 5044864
Western 4044864
Western 3044864
American2.52.52.5810
St. Nicholas43756
New National42648
Long National42648
National42648
National 5042648
National 4042648
National 3042648
New Warwick22432
Long Warwick22432
Warwick22432
Warwick 5022432
Warwick 4022432
Warwick 3022432
Indoor

These traditional British rounds generally use 10 zone scoring (10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1) on a smaller faces than the outdoor rounds. Although these are traditionally shot on an indoor range (and thus have shorter distances and smaller target faces), we still shoot these outdoors, especially during the winter months.

NameDistanceTarget SizeDoz. ArrowsMax Score
Portsmouth20yds60cm5600
Bray I20yds40cm2.5300
Bray II25yds60cm2.5300
Worcester20yds16in (5,4,3,2,1 scoring)5 (5 arrows per end)600
Vegas18m40cm (3 spot)5600
Stafford30m80cm6720

Standard Rounds – World Archery

The table below can be downloaded and printed off for ease (single page, A5) here.

These are rounds shot using the World Archery Rules of Shooting, and use 10 zone scoring. These rounds are shot all over the world and some are used at the Olympics and World Championships.

Round \
Face size@Distance
122cm @
90m
122cm @
70m
122cm @
60m
122cm @
50m
122cm @
40m
122cm @
30m
122cm @
20m
122cm @
10m
80cm @
50m
80cm @
40m
80cm @
30m
80cm @
20m
80cm @
15m
80cm @
10m
Max Score
WA1440 (gents)33331440
WA1440 (ladies)33331440
Half WA1440 (gents)1.51.51.51.5720
Half WA1440 (ladies)1.51.51.51.5720
Metric I33331440
Metric II33331440
Metric III33331440
Metric IV33331440
Half Metric II1.51.51.51.5720
Half Metric III1.51.51.51.5720
Half Metric IV1.51.51.51.5720
Half Metric V1.51.51.51.5720
Long Metric (gents)33720
Long Metric (ladies)33720
Long Metric II33720
Long Metric III33720
Long Metric IV33720
Long Metric V33720
Short Metric33720
Short Metric II33720
Short Metric III33720
Short Metric IV33720
Short Metric V33720
WA 9002.52.52.5900
WA 70m6720
WA 60m6720
WA 50m6720
WA Standard Bow33720
Frostbite3360