How does scoring work in archery?

B · Beginner · Scoring and winning · 1 of 4

Checked 14 October 2026

The target has ten rings scoring 10 at the centre down to 1 at the edge, in five colours: gold, red, blue, black and white. An arrow scores the value of the ring its shaft is in. An arrow outside the rings, or one that misses the target, is a miss and scores nothing.

How it works

Colour	Scores
Gold (yellow)	10 and 9
Red	8 and 7
Light blue	6 and 5
Black	4 and 3
White	2 and 1

The ten zones are of equal width.
Inside the 10 is a smaller ring, the inner 10, written X on the scorecard. It scores 10 and is used to split ties.
A miss is written M.

The faces used:

Where	Face	Width of each ring	10 ring across
Recurve at 70 m; barebow at 50 m	122 cm	6.1 cm	12.2 cm
Compound at 50 m	80 cm, cut down to the six rings from 10 to 5	4 cm	8 cm
Indoors at 18 m	40 cm, often three small faces of five rings each	2 cm	4 cm; 2 cm for compound

On the six-ring and five-ring faces an arrow outside the last printed ring is a miss.
Indoors, compound archers score 10 only in the small inner ring; the rest of the gold scores 9.
The centre of the face is 130 cm above the ground.

Tricky cases

Is the gold always worth 10?

No. The gold holds two rings: the inner one scores 10 and the outer one 9.

Does an X score more than a 10?

No. It scores 10. It is counted separately and used to break ties in ranking.

Why do compound archers shoot at a smaller target?

The rules set an 80 cm face for compound at 50 metres and a 122 cm face for recurve at 70 metres. The reason usually given is the greater accuracy of the compound bow.

Why the rule exists

Equal rings make the score a plain measure of how far each arrow landed from the centre. Smaller faces for compound bows keep the contest tight, because those bows group arrows more closely.

Where it differs

Where	What changes	Source
World Archery rules	As above	B2 7.2.2; B2 7.2.3; B3 12.2
Field and 3D archery	Different faces and scores	Not covered

From the rule book

World Archery Rulebook, Book 2, Articles 4.5.1 and 7.2.2 to 7.2.3; Book 3, Articles 12.2 and 12.2.8. Version of 27 January 2026. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: World Archery Rulebook (PDF).