North Downs Archery Club is a friendly and inclusive club. Members shoot on an informal basis, competing for a number of club trophies every season (See our Trophies page for more details).
Target Archery
The club predominantly shoots target archery which involves shooting a fixed number of arrows at a target of a defined size at a specific distance. Competition rounds shot vary from 2 1/2 dozen arrows to 12 dozen arrows shot over distances of 20yds to 100yds (Imperial rounds) or 18m to 90m (Metric Rounds). Various sizes of target faces are used, depending on the round. We shoot standard World Archery and GB Archery rounds, as well as some of our own design! See our Rounds page for more detailed information on the competition rounds we shoot.
A handicap system is used in some internal competitions to allow experts and novices to compete on an equal basis.
In addition to club trophies, members’ scores are recorded for each standard round shot and classification status is noted to enable badges to be awarded (eg, 3rd class, 2nd class, 1st class or Bowman). We also award a range of other achievement badges, as described in more detail on our Badges and Classification page.
Members are also encouraged, if they wish, to enter local, regional, and national competitions held at various locations around the country. Details of these are regularly sent to the club each year and they offer the opportunity to meet and compete against members from other clubs. Some club members regularly compete, but others prefer to simply shoot with friends and family.
We shoot a variety of target rounds throughout the year, focussing on shorter distances during the winter months and longer distances in the summer months.
The current list of suggested rounds for this year can be found on our Current Rounds page. Anyone wanting to shoot a different round, or just practice at a particular distance can be accommodated at the meet. When setting out the targets, people are asked what distances they would like to shoot, and the bosses are set out to enable everybody to shoot the distances they are comfortable with.
Clout Archery
A couple of times a year we shoot a clout round. This involves shooting at a flag placed in the ground at a predetermined distance. Due to limitations on the length of our range, the maximum distance we can shoot is 100 yards (the “official” clout distances go up to 180 yards). A second flag is placed at 60 yards for those who prefer to shoot a shorter distance.
Arrows are shot higher into the air than for target archery, and land in the ground, hopefully near to the flag. Scoring is 5-zone and is measured from the flag position outwards – within 1.5 feet of the flag scores 5 points, out to 3 feet of the flag scores 4 points, to 6 feet scores 3 points, 9 feet scores 2 points and 12 feet scores 1 point. Any arrows landing further than 12 feet from the flag do not score.
A standard clout round is 3 dozen arrows shot in ends of 6 arrows. In competitions, a double-clout round (6 dozen arrows) may be shot.
Field Archery
At NDAC we do not shoot field archery but it is practised at some other clubs. It is a form of archery that more closely mimics traditional hunting.
Field archery consists of a course containing 3D models of animals, specifically created for archery. As an archer progresses around the course, they will shoot at the 3D animal models, trying to hit them in the specified target spots. The distances to the model is not known, so the archer must estimate the distance when setting up the shot.
This form of archery is more popular in the USA and elsewhere, where hunting animals with bows is legal and popular, hence field archery is used as a training exercise for hunting. Field archery is often practised with compound bows and horse bows, which are short and easier to carry around in a hunting scenario.