How to score archery: rings, Xs, and ends

Start with the target and the round

Before you shoot for score, identify the target face and the round. Read the zones on the face, then check the round for the distance, arrow count, and end size. A colorful target alone cannot tell you the maximum score for the session.

For a practice session, write down the distance, face size, arrow count, and scoring system before the first arrow. Those details make the result useful later. A score on a large face at a short distance cannot be compared directly with the same total on a smaller face farther away.

At a tournament, use the rules named by the organizer and the instructions for your division. Indoor compound scoring can use a smaller 10-ring than recurve scoring on a similar-looking face. A local league can also use its own format. Ask the scorer to identify the active 10-ring before practice ends.

Read the rings from the center outward

The standard World Archery full face has ten scoring zones in five colors. Each color contains two values. Gold is 10 and 9, red is 8 and 7, blue is 6 and 5, black is 4 and 3, and white is 2 and 1. The outer white scoring ring counts; the blank paper beyond it does not.

An arrow outside the scoring area is a miss, worth zero. On many target scorecards you write M for that arrow. If the card uses a zero box, follow that format. A miss still takes an arrow position on the card and remains part of the round. Leaving its box empty can make it look as though you forgot to record an arrow.

The full 10-ring target guide explains the colors and face sizes. Reduced faces remove some outer scoring zones, so an arrow that would earn a low score on a full face may score zero on a reduced face.

What does X mean?

On a standard outdoor World Archery target, X marks the inner 10. It earns 10 points and is recorded separately so the event can use the X count in its tie-breaking procedure. An X does not add an eleventh point. Three arrows marked X, 10, and 9 add up to 29.

Keep the point total and the X count in separate columns. If an end has X, X, and 8, enter 28 points and two Xs. When a scorecard asks for 10+X, both plain 10s and Xs belong in that count. Read the column label before copying the number.

The letter is not a universal scoring value across archery. NFAA indoor Xs are worth 5, while NASP treats the inner mark as an ordinary 10. Competition shoot-offs may have special center-ring rules. Apply the format for the round you are shooting.

Judge a line cutter without moving the arrow

Under World Archery target rules, a shaft touching the line between two scoring zones receives the higher value. An arrow mostly in the 8 that touches the 9-ring line scores 9. The same principle applies at the outside boundary: a shaft touching the outer 1-ring line is a scoring hit.

Look at the shaft where it enters the face. A tear reaching the next ring does not by itself earn the higher score, and the apparent position of the nock is irrelevant. An angled shaft can look safely inside a ring from behind the nock yet enter the paper outside it.

Do not touch the arrow, straighten the paper, or lean on the target while deciding. Ask for the event's designated official if the group cannot resolve the call. Keep every arrow in place until the decision and recording are complete. Pulling a nearby arrow can move the paper around the arrow in question.

Score one end at a time

An end is the batch of arrows you shoot before walking forward to score and retrieve. Its size comes from the round. Three-arrow and six-arrow ends are common in target archery, while NASP and NFAA indoor rounds use five. Do not assume the archer beside you is shooting the same number.

1. Wait for the range signal that allows everyone to go forward.
2. Identify your arrows and count them before calling values.
3. Call the values in descending order, usually starting with X and then 10, 9, and lower scores.
4. Have the scorer record each arrow, the end total, and any required counts. Check the entries while the arrows remain in place.
5. Resolve disputed calls and follow any arrow-hole marking procedure before pulling.

Tournament scoring duties vary. A target group may have a caller, scorekeepers, and a target captain; a youth event may have students score their partners under official supervision. The caller identifies values aloud. The scorer writes them down. You still need to verify the entries for your own arrows.

Work through a scorecard example

This example finishes at 71 out of a possible 90, with one X. The running total adds each new end to everything before it: 28, then 54, then 71. The miss contributes zero, but all nine arrows remain in the calculation of the possible score.

You can check an end by counting points dropped. In the first end, the X and 10 drop no points and the 8 drops two, so the end is 30 minus 2, or 28. Use that as a second check after adding normally. It is particularly useful when most arrows are near the middle.

Count the arrow boxes as well as the points. A correct sum can still belong to the wrong row. If the card has two copies or a paper and electronic record, compare them before the arrows come out. Follow the official correction procedure for an entry made in error.

Choose the guide for your face

• The 6-ring face keeps the 5 through 10 zones. Arrows beyond its outer blue scoring boundary miss.
• Vegas 3-spot scoring uses three centers with 6 through 10 zones and division-specific rules about multiple arrows in a spot.
• The NFAA 5-spot has white centers on blue spots and a maximum of 5 points per arrow.
• NASP scoring uses a full 80cm face, two distances, and five-arrow ends for school competition.
• 3D archery scoring uses zones on foam animals. ASA and IBO assign different values to their bonus rings.
• Field archery scoring follows a course of targets across terrain, with different systems for NFAA and World Archery.

Check the lowest printed scoring value when changing faces. A blue outside zone might be worth 5, 6, or 4 depending on the target. Carrying a familiar color value onto a different face is an easy way to miscount an entire end.

Handle unusual arrows before totaling the round

A bounce-out, pass-through, extra arrow, or hit on the wrong target needs the event procedure. Tell the official what happened while the evidence is still available. Do not shoot a replacement arrow on your own or decide that the best arrows should count.

For personal practice, label any session with an interrupted end or replacement arrows so you know what the total represents. If you want a comparable round score, keep the declared arrow count and record misses honestly. A practice total is more useful when it includes the shots you would rather forget.

Before signing a tournament card, check the final sum, arrow count, X or 10 columns, and your identifying details. Resolve discrepancies with the scorer or official at that point. Once the card is submitted, a memory of an arrow in the gold is poor evidence for changing its recorded value.

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