The sport of 3D Archery is a form of Target Archery. It is also known as a very addicting and fun Archery sport. 3D Archery can be participated by anyone at any skill level.
3D Archery can be set in the woods, fields and sometime even indoor ranges. The goal of 3D Archery is having the ability to guess how far away the target is and know where to shoot to achieve the highest possible score. 

In Golf you generally need to know of far the hole is to choose the right club. In 3D you have to guess the distance and shoot to get the highest score. As in golf if you guess the distance wrong you will probably not score as well. In golf the lowest score wins, in 3D the highest score wins.

There are two types of archery events, marked yardage and unmarked yardage. The majority of the shoots are unmarked yardage. This means you stand at your designated stake and try to guess how far the target is. You then take your shot trying to score the highest possible points. In Marked 3D Archery, they will tell you at each stake, how far the target is. Some clubs will even put a small dot on the highest scoring ring. Your object is to hit the highest scoring ring.

Each 3D Target will have a set of scoring rings on it. The scoring is normally Club dependant or association dependant. Many Archery Clubs use the following scoring. The smallest circle scores and 11 or 12 points, the next ring is the heart, 10 points, the lung is 8 points, the body is 5 points. The hoof or antlers on deer score a zero.

Generally, the 3D Archery will shoot at various animal shaped targets. These are close to life sized animals. The types of animals will vary depending on the club. You may see everything from Antelope, Deer, Sheep, Snakes, Beaver, Skunk, Moose, Elk, Cougar, Bobcat and much more.

3D Archery has many classes for different skill levels and equipment. Even beginners and children can have a lot of fun in this sport. The Archery equipment you use, is the deciding factor on how far away your targets will be. An example for bowhunter class it 35 yards and under.

Each club will have their own requirements so please check with them. However, here are some general classes. The closest stake to the target is for the Cub Class (usually under 11 yrs). The next will be the Youth stake (16 and under) followed by the traditional archers stake and then bowhunter, open and competition stakes. Competition and Open classes are generally 45 or 50 yards as a maximum distance. This does not mean they are all that far.

Guessing the distance is probably the number one skill in 3D Archery. In unmarked 3D Archery, you must guess how far the target is in order to make a high scoring shot.