CHARLIE RAY February – There are two different types of tournaments in NASP® archery. Both of them are really important yet some people do not know what these tournaments are and why they are important. These are Bullseye and 3D. The differences between these events include how you practice to prepare for the tournament as well as the style of target you shoot at.
In a Bullseye tournament, archers shoot at a standard target. The yellow is in the middle of the target, which gives you the most points. Then the color around the yellow is red, followed by blue, black, then white. Archers shoot at the target from two different distances, 10 and 15 meters. The scoring is the same at each distance. You also get a practice round at the beginning of each distance. Both distances have 3 scored ends.
In 3D tournaments you are shooting at foam animals. You have to aim at different points at each animal, because the location of the bullseye changes from one animal to another. In addition, each animal is set at distances that vary between 10 and 15 meters. The smaller animals are at the shortest distances, and the largest are at the furthest.
In 3D, you only shoot one practice end and that occurs on whatever animal you start with. You shoot six rounds and rotate through the six different animal targets. Unlike a standard target which allows the archer to score anywhere from 0-10 points per arrow, the 3D tournament offers the shooter the opportunity to only earn a 0, 7, 8, 9, or 10 points per arrow. On each target there is a different ring where the 10, 9, 8, and 7 are located.
Each of these tournaments helps you with something in archery. A 3D tournament will help you practice your aim point. You change your aim point at each different target you shoot at. This skill requires an archer to control where their arrow lands. A Bullseye tournament helps an archer focus on mechanics and is better for new archers. Since a traditional target is bigger than a 3D target, it helps create a more consistent aim point.
In conclusion, both of these tournaments are good to shoot at and one is not better than the other. They each bring something to the table of archery. It is good to practice both of these if you want to be a good archer. Whe I shoot, I have a lot of fun at each tournament. I like shooting at the 3D targets because it is very different from a regular target. I love shooting at Bullseye tournaments because they help you focus on mechanics and that consistency will aid in improving my archery skills.