Archer's Jargon

Want to sound like a pro while on the course? Here is some commonly used jargon you'll hear on the range and course.

• SPOT - This is the bullseye (including the X) of a field or hunter target, or the bonus dot on an animal face. "I got 2 arrows in the spot at the 20yd target."
• STAKES - These are the shooting position markers. Sometimes they are literal stakes, but at our range they are concrete markers.
• CALLING ARROWS - Using binoculars to tell the shooter where where each arrow lands. "I'll call your arrows for you." "Can you call my arrows for me?"
• N-O'CLOCK IN THE N-RING - This is how you tell someone where an arrow landed on a field or hunter target. e.g. "That last shot was 3-o'clock in the 4-ring" or "12-oclock in the 3-ring."
• WALK-UP - The target has consecutive shooting positions, each closer then the previous. For example there is a "45yard walk-up" on all field courses.
• FAN - On a field or hunter round, a fan is 4 different shooting positions with the same distance.
• BIRDIE - The tiny target in the field or hunter that is shot from close up.
• PRO RING - The field target 4 and 3 rings have extra lines that divide the rings in half. In some variants of the game, these are used to divide the face into 5-4-3-2-1 scoring areas. Normally, when we say "in the pro ring", we mean the inner part of the 4 ring. If we say ON the pro ring, we mean the line that separates the inner and outer 4-ring.
• DROPPED SHOTS - when you get to the point where most of your shots score, then you'll say that you "dropped that shot" when you missed the scoring surface. That usually means that you missed because of some obvious error on your part. "Damn! My fingers slipped and I dropped that shot."
• CLEAN a target or CLEAN a course - To clean a target is to shoot all spots on a target: 20 points. To clean a round is to shoot all spots on the entire round: 280 points in 14 targets. "I cleaned the 15 and 20yd targets today!" We also say "I 20'ed this target."