3-D shoots

[minnesota_hunter]

I hope it is ok to ask a few questins.  i was just wondering what you all like to see at 3-d shoots.  This year our club is going to try another traditional only 3-D.  This will be our 5th year of doing it.  the 1st 3 years we had ok turnouts.  last year turn out was very poor.  Alot of the club members wanted to skip it this year.  I told them to schedule it, and i would run it myself, if i had to.
1. We set out 50 targets, is that to many?
2. shooting distances, what is to far?
3. novelty shots,  are they worth setting up?
4. we tried a new scoring system 2 years ago, and everyone said they liked it.  we had 4 stakes set out, and you picked the shot you thought you could hit the vital from.  12 points for the hardest shot and less the easier it got.  a body shot was a 0. a few people said it should be a negative score. I realy enjoy this scoring but do you think it would scare people away?
thanks for any advice.

[ishoot4thrills]

I'd go with 30 or 40 targets with the farthest one set at about 35 yards. Have most targets at 15 to 25 yards though. Have 2 or 3 stakes set at each target. The men's then the ladies' then the kid's stake, starting with the men's at the farthest distance from the target. Yes, I like a novelty shot. Put a large target out at around 75 to 100 yds.

[Fallguy]

What club do you belong to? I do not think I have made your shoot. When is it so I can get it on the calender?

[LEWIS VADEN]

50 targets for most of the trad only shoots here in TX.  10 to 35 yards with maybe a couple 40 to 60'

[The Vanilla Gorilla]

You could set up 150 targets and I'd shoot em all, and probably come back again later and shoot a fun round. I love 3D shoots, and I'll shoot until I drop if I'm allowed to!

Your last years poor turnouts could have been due to the gas prices last summer. They affected a lot of the ones I attended. This  year seems to be already picking up. I shot a course in a near blizzard today, along with a lot of other people.

I don't think 50 targets is too many. I think 50 is just right. When I get older, I'm sure I'll change my mind.

I enjoy novelty shots, but keep them optional. Not everybody wants to pay $10 bucks for a course, and end up losing or breaking a lot of their arrows on novelty shots.

I don't think any method of scoring would scare anybody away. I don't like the negative scores personally, and I'd rather have a 0 than having to take away points.  But, I'd be the only one to blame for my bad shots.

Just my views on stuff.

[dnovo]

36-40 targets is about right. Lots of guys will get tired with more than that. Vary the distances. Sometimes non trad guys set them up so almost every shot is 12-15 yards. That gets boring. Use your imagination. Most of all make it fun. Guys like I shoot with delight in watching their buddies ruin an arrow once in a while.

[Dick in Seattle]

I don't find 50 too many, unless it's one round.   Split the course if you can into two 25 target trips.   Done that way, you get a breather and a leg rest and this old man would shoot the full course twice... 100 targets.   Did an 80 target round last Sunday.  The distances are key... 8 yds (You'd be surprised how many will miss a little squirrel or rabbit at htat distance!) to 30 for most targets, with maybe a couple at 40.   Don't care for the novelties... more trouble for the club than is necessary, but there are those who disagree. (Imagine!)

Biggest problem I see is that you're scoring.   Takes most of the fun right out of 3D. Changes it from a day in the woods enjoying shooting fun targets to a competition.   You either hit or you don't and you know whether you did.  Relax and keep shooting.

[Ssamac]

30-40 targets is pretty average. Some people don't have the time for more, and if you go in a group and are a mixed group shooting from different stakes, 50 or more targets can take a while.
None of the shoots I've been at have negative points. You're not going to place if you don't get in the rings anyway, so even out of the rings is like a penalty.

I like Dick's idea of a split course too. You can give a choice to shoot one or both and that takes care of the folks that don't have a lot of time.

Good luck
sam

[Fallguy]

At Rapids we do 60 targets. We set the course in 3 loops of 20 targets. 45 yards is about the longest shot we set.

[pooahl]

50 shots is fine with me.

To me, "too far" depends on the risk of losing my arrow.  50 yards in an open, grassy, field? NO THANKS. 50 against a hillside or bales? Absolutely.  "Hunting distances" don't have anything to do with 3D - otherwise every target would be within 25 yards.

I don't like the shots that risk arrows - I've seen targets set at the edge of a swift, cold river with no chance of recovery if you miss. Then there's the target in a rocky creek bottom or sitting on or against a boulder - busted arrow if you're off by a little. It's one thing if they're set at 20 yards, but sometimes these will be long shots.  No fun if there's a $10 arrow at stake.

I like the novelties, the crazier the better, as long as I don't break or lose arrows. Zip wires, rocking horses, pop-ups, speed shoots and so forth are all in good fun, but if you're scoring, you should not include them - just clearly mark them as novelties that are not for score.

[Dick in Seattle]

pooahl adds a good point I forgot... relatively arrow safe targets.  I know some folks think river shots and iron deer are fun, but I'm a retiree on a fixed income.  I won't risk an expensive arrow, or a hand made one, on a target where there is a high possibility of loss.   I don't keep score (ever... at anything) but I do know how many arrows I started out with and how many I finish with.  Taking them all back home with me is a source of satisfaction.  

Oddly enough, and it makes no sense, I make an exception to this rule for one shoot... Moses Lake/Sun Basin.   That shoot is specifically known as a rock shoot and I make a dozen arrows specifically for it each year as part of the price of going.

[Hattrick]

split in 2 courses 25 each one being a more difficult course,with 3 stakes as mention

[minnesota_hunter]

thanks for the input so far.  i should have said this befor,  but the range is split into 3 loops.  1 has 20 targets, and the other 2 each have 15.  we do offer the option of shooting 30 or 35 targets at a reduced cost also.  we only have 2 shots that do not have a good natural back stop.  those shots we put a piece of wrestling mat behind the target and set the stakes close.

[bowmaster12]

one of my favorite shoots is one that i call a string shoot.  Ill try to explain what it is set up yoru course targets as normal then from a starting point at each target run a string thru the woods towards the target to an end point. shooters start at teh stack and are allowed to (stalk) the target down teh string they can shoot at any point along the string but they are not allowed to back up along the string and if they dont shoot by the end of teh string its a score of 0.  So you may have a small opening at 25 yards that some think they can make so they shoot there others my think they can get a better shot further up so they move up the string to find there are no more options or there could be a gimme shot just liek real hunting.  Its alot of fun it can take longer than the "normal" shoot but its a great option!

[D. Johnston]

Where and when is your shoot?

Originally posted by The Vanilla Gorilla:
You could set up 150 targets and I'd shoot em all, and probably come back again later and shoot a fun round. I love 3D shoots, and I'll shoot until I drop if I'm allowed to!

I'm with ya VG! I shoot 5 rounds of 50 in a weekend at the big shoots in Texas. They have 5 classes so I shoot 5 rounds. I love it. The big shoot are the only ones that have 40 or 50 targets and I love making all I can every year.

Bisch

[luvnlongbow]

One of the best shoots I have attended is a one arrow score and second arrow (if you miss) at a reduced score. Two arrows per target max. You must shoot very well to have a good score.

[Chuck Hoopes]

I like the O score for body hits-- Ive been trying to get my club to do this for years-- Why we reward ourselves for a body hit is beyond me? --Its definitly not what we are trying to accomplish on live animals.  That said, I don't think it is neccessary to have a negative score-- We all know that some of the shots that fail to hit the Kill Score zone on 3ds, are often perfectly good kill shot on a live animal, given the angle the arrow struck at.  So, I think a zero score is fair, and no one feels overly punished for what they knew to be a good kill shot in the real world.  Ive always tought rewarding body hits to be absurd-- we're not shooting at ringed field archery target.  WTF?  I think some pin head came up w/ this scoring method years ago and no one questioned it then, and we just came to accept it, with out thought.  Anyway, its a relief to here that somebody's thinking straight.