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| What is Field Archery? |
Archers that have not had the pleasure of shooting a field round often think of it as standing at a stake in an open field and shooting at a yonder target. Not so! A field round is a challenging course, generally placed in a woods, in varying terrain, at different distances from target to target. It is a proven fact that a proficient field archer is also a proficient 3-D and target archer. In LaCrosse we have the opportunity to shoot 2 variations of Field Archery; National Field Archery Association (NFAA) and West Central Field Archery League (WCFAL). The NFAA of course is nationally recognized, has much more defined rules and regulations and has longer shooting distances. The WCFAL is the oldest field archery league in the state and is coordinated by Coulee Archers, Winona Archers, the Tomah Warren’s Sportsman’s Alliance, and Blackhawk Archers of LaCrosse.
By now I'm sure that you're thinking, "Hey I'm a hunter and can't shoot long distances!" Relax, field archers are categorized based on sex, age, and type of equipment that they shoot. This keeps the playing field even.
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There are a few basic differences between field archery and most 3-D courses. Most notably, that field courses have marked yardages. As a field archer so aptly put it: "Field archery is a game of shooting - not yardage estimation". The basic field round is made up of 28 targets consisting of two 14 target halves. You shoot four arrows at each target, so you shoot a total of 112 arrows per field and hunter rounds. Some of the shooting positions let you shoot all four arrows from one marked stake; some shooting positions have stakes at four different positions where you walk toward the target on each shot. The distances vary according to the round you are shooting. The standard NFAA field round has distances that vary from 20 feet to 240 feet. The West Central Field Archery League has distances slightly less only going out to 180 feet. There are four different size faces, the further the target, the bigger the target. "Hey," you say, "I don't shoot at deer that are 80 yards away." No, neither do the rest of us. The idea is that it teaches you to aim at a spot and will make a better all around archer out of you. Now the younger folks get a break. If you're young under the age of 12 your distances do not exceed 30 yards. Targets are round, black and white faces. There is a possible 20 points per target and a perfect round is 560.
The animal round is much like the 3-D round but the targets are 2-D, that is, an animal printed on a sheet of paper that is usually pasted to cardboard. Scoring differs between NFAA and our local West Central Leagues but both give higher points to shots in vitals as opposed to the rest of the animal. |
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