Archery Score Sheet

This score sheet covers a standard 36-arrow outdoor round with 6 ends of 6 arrows each. It records individual arrow scores, end totals, and running totals across the full round. The format works for World Archery target rounds, club shoots, and informal practice sessions where you want a complete record of every arrow. Columns for X count and golds (9s and 10s) at the bottom help with classification tracking and tiebreaker situations.

How to Use This Sheet

• Before shooting: Write your name, bow type (recurve, compound, barebow), the round format, distance, and date. If you're at a tournament, note your target number.
• Each end: After collecting your arrows, record each arrow's score from highest to lowest (left to right). Add the six values to get the end total. Add the end total to the previous running total.
• After the round: Tally X count (arrows in the exact center ring), 10 count (all 10-scoring arrows including Xs), and golds (all 9s and 10s combined). These numbers are used for classifications and tiebreakers in tournament settings.
• Verification: In competition, a second scorer records the same arrows independently. Both sheets must match before the scores are submitted.

Indoor archery uses a 300-round format: 10 ends of 3 arrows each, shot at 18 meters on a 40cm target face. The maximum score is 300 (all 30 arrows in the X/10 ring). Indoor targets are smaller and closer than outdoor targets, which changes the scoring dynamics. At the World Archery Indoor Series(opens in new tab), archers shoot at three separate 40cm target spots (one arrow per spot) to avoid damaging arrows. For compound archers, only the inner X ring counts as 10, making the indoor 300 format the standard benchmark for comparing archers across clubs and events.

Has Anyone Ever Shot a 300 in Archery?

Yes, many times. A perfect 300 means 30 consecutive arrows in the 10 ring. In the NASP (National Archery in the Schools Program)(opens in new tab), the first perfect 300 was shot in 2012 by a Kentucky high school senior using a bare Genesis bow (no sights) at 10 and 15 meters. In the decade before that, no NASP archer had achieved the feat. At the competitive adult level, perfect 300s are more common: at the 2019 NFAA Indoor Nationals(opens in new tab), 48 archers posted clean 300 scores with 60 Xs on day one. A perfect 300 in a school program (bare bow, no sights) is a different achievement from a 300 in a compound division where archers use magnified sights, release aids, and stabilizers. Both count as perfect scores, but the difficulty level is vastly different.

Indoor vs. Outdoor Score Sheets: What Changes?

The column structure stays the same (arrows, end totals, running totals). What changes is the number of arrows per end (3 indoors vs. 6 outdoors), the number of ends (10 indoors vs. 6 outdoors for a 36-arrow round), and the maximum score. The indoor 300-round format is the most common for league nights, club competitions, and postal tournaments where archers mail in their score sheets for comparison against other clubs.

Youth programs like NASP(opens in new tab) and 4-H Shooting Sports use simplified score sheets with fewer ends and arrows per end. This sheet covers 5 ends of 5 arrows (25 arrows total), which is a common format for 4-H county shoots and introductory archery classes. The layout matches what state 4-H programs use, with space for county or club name and age group.

When to Use the Youth Sheet

• 4-H county and state competitions. Most 4-H archery events use 5-end formats with bare bows at shorter distances (10 to 15 meters). This sheet matches that structure so scores can be submitted directly to extension offices.
• School archery programs (NASP). While NASP has its own official scorecard, this version works as a practice sheet for coaches who want students to learn the scoring process before competition day.
• Introductory archery classes. Fewer arrows per end and fewer total ends keeps the session short enough for younger archers who lose focus during longer rounds.

If you're new to archery, this is the section to start with. Archery targets use 10 concentric rings arranged in five colors. Each ring has a point value from 1 (outer white) to 10 (inner gold). The center ring is marked with an X, which scores 10 points but is tracked separately for tiebreakers. If two archers finish with the same total score, the one with more Xs wins. If Xs are also tied, the archer with more 10s wins. This system is standardized by World Archery's rulebook(opens in new tab).

Compound vs. Recurve Scoring

In World Archery competitions, compound and recurve archers use slightly different inner ring scoring. Recurve archers score the full inner gold as 10. Compound archers must hit the smaller X ring (the very center dot) for a 10, and the surrounding gold ring counts as 9. This adjustment reflects the higher precision that compound bows with magnified sights and mechanical releases can achieve. On the score sheet, the column structure is identical for both bow types. The difference only affects how judges call the arrow values at the target.

Line-Cutting Rule

If an arrow shaft touches the line between two scoring rings, the archer receives the higher value. For example, an arrow on the line between the 8 and 9 rings scores 9. This applies even if the arrow only barely touches the line. In competition, a magnifying lens or scope is used to confirm line-cutting calls. On your score sheet, record the higher value any time the arrow touches a line.

Add up each arrow's ring value for the end total, then add each end total to the running total. That's it. Unlike bowling or cricket, archery scoring is purely additive with no bonus points, multipliers, or conditional calculations. The complexity is in shooting, not scoring.

Worked Example: Ends 1 Through 3

Suppose you shoot a 36-arrow outdoor round. Here are the first three ends to show how the running total builds.

• End 1: Six arrows scored 10, 9, 8, 8, 7, and 6. That adds to 48. Running total is 48.
• End 2: Six arrows scored 10, 10, 9, 9, 8, and 7. End total is 53. Running total is 48 + 53 = 101.
• End 3: Six arrows scored X, 10, 9, 9, 8, and 8. Both the X and the 10 count as 10 points, so the end total is 54. Running total is 101 + 54 = 155. The X is recorded separately at the bottom of the sheet for tiebreaker purposes.

After all 6 ends, the running total in the final row is your round score. Maximum possible: 360 for a 36-arrow round (all 10s). In practice, top recurve archers at the World Archery level(opens in new tab) regularly score above 340 in a 36-arrow half.

Scores vary widely by bow type, distance, and experience level. A 250 out of 300 in an indoor round is solid for a club-level recurve archer, but the same score from a compound archer with a magnified sight suggests room for improvement. The benchmarks below are based on the indoor 300 round (30 arrows at 18 meters), which is the most common format for tracking progress because it's shot year-round and conditions are controlled.

Tracking Progress Over Time

A single score sheet tells you how one session went. Stacking score sheets from 10 or 20 sessions reveals whether your average is trending up, whether specific ends are consistently weaker (many archers score lower in the middle ends due to fatigue), and whether equipment changes made a measurable difference. Archers and coaches who want to track these trends without manually comparing paper sheets can track recurring score assessments with Striveon to calculate averages and show progress over time.

Archery competitions follow rules set by World Archery(opens in new tab), USA Archery(opens in new tab), or national federations. Here are the scoring rules you need to know when filling out a score sheet.

Recording Arrow Scores

• Highest to lowest. Write arrows from highest value to lowest within each end (for example, 10, 9, 8, not 8, 10, 9). This makes errors easier to spot during verification.
• X notation. If an arrow lands in the X ring (the smallest inner circle), write "X" rather than "10" on the score sheet. It scores 10 points but the X count is tracked separately.
• Misses. A miss is recorded as "M" and scores 0 points. If an arrow hits the target stand or bounces off the target face, it also scores 0 unless it left a visible mark in a scoring ring.

What Are the 5 Rules of Archery?

This question refers to the five core range safety rules that every archery organization teaches. While specific wording varies by program, the universal rules are:

• Follow all range commands. Stop shooting immediately when the range officer calls "stop" or blows a whistle. Resume only when the "shoot" command is given.
• Keep arrows pointed downrange at all times. Never aim at anything other than the target. This applies during nocking, drawing, and any time an arrow is on the bow.
• Do not cross the shooting line until cleared. Wait for the signal before walking forward to score and collect arrows. Walking downrange while others are shooting is the most dangerous thing you can do on an archery range.
• Nock arrows only on the shooting line. Pick up arrows from the quiver or ground only when you are at your shooting position and facing the target.
• Inspect equipment before shooting. Check your bowstring for fraying, your arrows for cracks or bends, and your nocking point for movement. Damaged equipment can cause arrows to fly unpredictably.

Scoring Disputes

When two archers disagree on an arrow's value, the higher-scoring archer makes the call first. If they cannot agree, a judge is called to the target. The judge uses a scoring scope or magnifying lens to determine whether the arrow touches the higher-scoring line. In tournament settings, judges' decisions are final. On your score sheet, circle any disputed arrows and note the resolution. If you coach archers across multiple events, keeping evaluation records alongside scores helps identify patterns. You can build custom archery evaluation criteria in Striveon to track metrics like X count, gold percentage, and end consistency over a full season.

Clout Archery Scoring

Clout archery(opens in new tab) is a long-distance format where archers shoot high-arcing arrows at a flag (the "clout") planted in the ground. Instead of a vertical target face, scoring zones are five concentric circles on the ground radiating out from the flag at 1.5-meter intervals. The closest zone (within 1.5m of the flag) scores 5, and values decrease to 1 for the outermost ring at 7.5 meters. Under World Archery rules, distances range from 125 meters (women's recurve) to 185 meters (men's compound). A single clout round uses 36 arrows (6 ends of 6), with a maximum score of 180. Standard archery score sheets work for recording clout scores, though the ring values (1 through 5) differ from the standard target's 1 through 10 scale.

Paper score sheets are the default at most clubs and competitions because they require nothing more than a pencil and a clipboard. Two scorers per target verify each other's records, and the paper sheets serve as the official match document. For casual practice and single events, paper works well.

The X-Count Problem

Paper score sheets from a full season of indoor league nights stack up quickly. Finding your X-count average across 20 rounds, comparing gold percentages by bow type, or seeing whether your scores dip in specific ends (end 7 fatigue is a common pattern in outdoor 72-arrow rounds) requires digging through a pile of sheets and doing the math by hand. Most archers never get around to it, and the patterns that would improve their training stay buried in a clipboard.

From Individual Sheets to Long-Term Progress

Digital score tracking connects individual sessions into a continuous record. Running averages, X-count trends, and end-by-end consistency metrics become visible without manual spreadsheet work. For coaches who run archery programs with multiple age groups or bow classes, centralizing performance data saves the admin time that paper scoring demands. Our guide to tracking athlete progress over time covers how to build a system that connects session scores with broader development goals.

Platforms like Striveon let coaches track archer performance across sessions and connect scoring data with development plans, equipment notes, and training logs in one place. See how Striveon centralizes performance data, evaluations, and training plans.