Target archery- The most mainstream type, used for formal competitions and the Olympic Games. Archers shoot at familiar colour zoned targets from a shooting line on an open range. Target sizes and distances are dictated by choosing particular rounds suited to a competitor’s age and ability.
Field archery- This is shot following a course set over various terrain. Targets are placed up and down slopes, in woodlands, across water, and the like, set at random distances which may or may not be marked at the shooting point. This is the nearest we come to the bow hunting experience in this country, which is illegal. Scoring zone target faces are used, however, a form called “3-D” archery uses life sized polystyrene models of game animals with kill zones marked on them.
Clout shooting- Archers shoot from a set distance, at a zoned scoring area marked on the ground. In days gone by this would have been a large cloth or “clout”, in old English, laid on the ground. A lot of clubs use this as a break from target shooting and is a popular form of competition.
Flight shooting- Flight Archery can only take place where space permits usually in a protected area such as an aerodrome, subject to approval and access, since archers compete by shooting for maximum distances. Flight Archers shoot in various classes and weights and shoot six arrows at each "end" and then search for all of them marking the one which has been shot the furthest parallel to the datum line then marking this furthest one with an identifiable marker, the arrows can then be drawn from their landing sites. Alternative bows may be shot on subsequent "ends" and also marked as above with their bow types and weights. Only four ends are usual in one shoot (as per UK rules - in the US only one end is permitted).
There are many bow classes and bow weights that one can shoot in. The archer who shoots the furthest in their class is the winner. Flight archery relies on the finest in performance equipment and the search for better flight archery equipment has led to many developments in archery equipment in general, such as the development of carbon arrows.
At the end of the shoot, archers stand or sit by their furthest arrows while judges and their assistants measure the distances they were shot.
As archery is such an old discipline, you will find many and varied ways to challenge the archers ability have been devised, mainly as an exercise to develop combat skills in times gone by. A lot of books on archery describe these in greater detail.
