?'s about Competitive archery

[thebig1]

first off, what are the different classes and their meanings?

for instance, if i were to shoot anything like 3-D shoots i would like to just shoot with my regular hunting setup. thats just me and what i like to shoot. but of course i would like to shoot against other people who are shooting the same thing. no scopes or magnifiers and that junk. (no offense if you shoot with that stuff, just not my cup of tea)

and then secondly, what do you do, just go and sign up and shoot at these things or what?

are there certain ones that are for true competition or are they all connected in some way for you to advance further?

i'm sure i have other questions about it but i can't think of them right now.

thanks in advance for any help guys. i might want to try 3-D shoots out this year. I already shoot year round, might as well go have some fun with it.

[MCH]

big1....first off on most 3-D tourneys, all you have to do is show up and pay a small fee to shoot. You will rarely find a shoot that is by invitation only or for past winners only.

At all the IBO shoots I go to, the classes determine what distances you shoot at. At every target station there will be four to five different color stakes. What stake you shoot at, depends upon your class.

Classes are sometimes vary at different shoots. But basically you'll have:

1. Traditional--for recurves and longbows only; no releases or sights.

2. Bowhunter(Men's Bowhunter Release)--just your basic bowhunting set-up; stabilizers usually have a minimum length; no scope.

3. Unlimited--any size stabilizer; mostly target bows; scopes are the norm.

Now, you will have other classes for youth, women, and even senior classes. And some shoots even split up the bowhunter class into seperate classes. For instance, at my Paris shoot, there is 30 targets and the bowhunter class is broken up into -250.....250-275....275+. If you enter the -250 class and shoot a 270, the next shoot they ask you to shoot the 250-275 shoot.

There will be regional differences.


If I had time I would go into the different types of tourneys, like ASA, IBO, NFAA and even Qualifiers, Sectionals, etc.

But all you need to do is find a shoot sponsored by your local 3-D club and attend it. They'll be glad to help you.

[Tony]

Kevin covered it pretty good..

i will say that just go to any 3D and tell them your shooting your bowhunting setup and they will usually put you in the correct class...
the IBO and ASA have so many differant forms of classes its not funny...they also have many differant rules and speeds for there differant classes ..

if you plan on shooting these kind then amke sure you get with someone before you shoot to make sure your equipment is correct...

around here there are the Traditional class , Open which is bowhunter gear and Unlimited which is scopes and long stabilizers... then you have the Limited classes which is for the finger shooters..

right now im gearing up for a big indoor tourny The Nationals in Louisville Kentucky.. the last of the yaer for me.. then after this upcoming weekend i will be hard into 3D....

[thebig1]

thanks alot guys. i'm sure theres so much to tell that would just fill up alot of space on here and take alot of time. i guess alot of it you just learn as you go. but thanks for all the info. i do understand it and hopefully i'll be entering a few 3-D shoots this year.

[RJK]

Big,

I started shooting 3D competitions this year and did a little research, but mostly I just showed up at the shoot asked questions and started having fun. I learned so much from my first shoot just by asking questions and watching what was going on. It has been my experience that 99% of the veterans at these events are more than willing to help out a new guy. If the shoot has pre-registration, pre-register.