# Differences in 3D and Field Bows?



## pacnate (Sep 23, 2009)

I'm just trying to get into Field Archery. Going to a shoot Friday a couple hours away. Gonna shoot my 3D setup:

Pearson Advantage 56 lbs
28.5" draw
Harvest Time HT-3s .400 spine 80 gr points


What kind of differences are there in a 3D setup and a field setup?

More or less mass weight on bow?

Sight bar differences?

Scope sizing?

Arrow sizes?

Sorry if I come across as ignorant, but it's because I am! lol

Any help would be great. Already got a lot of help from a friend, but didn't wanna be a pest...lol.

Thanks, and God Bless!!
Nate


----------



## rock monkey (Dec 28, 2002)

same basic equipment between the two.

field.....28 targets type field or the 'big vegas target' type?

it's NOT easy. keep an open mind and shoot more for experience than score. have a question, ask it. we cant read minds.

a lot of arrows....112 for score, plus the first 4 for practice. then add in the arrows you shot on the practice bales. shooting any outdoor target game is an endurance game, not a game of patience and wait and wait some more.

arrow size.....whatever you want to shoot and have the most confidence in. point weight, me personally, i wouldnt shoot anything less than 100gr for the FOC.

sight and scope is a personal thing, just like any of your other equipment choices, it's what gives YOU the most confidence in your ability and skill. one suggestion.....TRUST YOUR LEVEL.


there's a ton of info in all the stickies in this sub-forum.


----------



## pacnate (Sep 23, 2009)

Thanks Rock. 

I'm thinking the one I'm going to be shooting is 28 targets. He said out to 80 yds and in to 20 ft. Sounds fun. I've always wanted to try it, but never had the opportunity.
Really looking forward to it too. 

Right now I have a CBE scope with 5x lens on a Toxonic Sight bar. But it doesn't have a lot of travel....I'm thinking I may not have enough travel space to get down to the 80 mark...? May have to shoot more poundage to get that right?

What kind of scoring should I expect to make? I'm not talking perfect....but I know that shooting "even" on a 20 target 3D course would be 200. What about field?


----------



## rock monkey (Dec 28, 2002)

ok, that's NFAA field.

a couple of things to ponder about the sight travel. NFAA has a speed limit of 300fps.......not sure if you're pushing it or not. you can move your extension in a dot or two. a couple of things will happen when you do that. your perceived movement of target image will slow down. target image size will be a tad smaller, to what degree, not sure. your sight marks will tighten up. the negative to tighter sight marks is that you have to be extra careful when you set your sight. the big 1 3/4" scopes arent all that long distance friendly. you dont need to see all that extra real estate....makes for a busy sight picture.


scoring-wise......whatever you feel is a good score. never shot it before?, go shoot for experience. take notes, listen, ask questions. be happy with a newbie score and go to the next one with the intention of improving.

field is a very humbling round and very unforgiving of mental mistakes. not everyone has the backbone to work on their game.


----------



## Kade (Jan 11, 2011)

The difference in the bows is the target they are shot at. That's it. 

Now how you have them setup may be different but not much. You may shoot fatter arrows in 3D and a smaller scope. But that's about it. If you can't get 80yds turning up your lbs isn't gonna get you there. You will need to change your peep height. Your sight should have plenty of travel. My slowest field setup which shot in the 275-280 range still used less then 2" of travel. My current setup shot in the 288 range and I was around 1.75" of travel. And that was to 105 yds. 

Now getting scope clearance if your using a big 3D housing is another story. But I used to get clearance with a large CR housing over 80yds when I shot 3D all the time. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Robert43 (Aug 2, 2004)

Some people will say shoot 3D @60lb & feild at say 55lb due to more arrows per day with diffrent sight marking for the lower poundage or even diffrent sight


----------



## south-paaw (Jul 3, 2006)

change out the camo for some bling !...


----------



## Kade (Jan 11, 2011)

Robert43 said:


> Some people will say shoot 3D @60lb & feild at say 55lb due to more arrows per day with diffrent sight marking for the lower poundage or even diffrent sight


If you can't handle 60 all day then 55 is probably going to be too much for you also by the end of the day. I used to shoot 60lbs for 3D and thats what I shoot for field, indoors and hunting also. 

If you can truly handle 60 lbs then you should be fine. 70lbs on the other hand your probably going to get tired until you get used to shooting that many shots in a row though. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## pacnate (Sep 23, 2009)

How do I change my peep height and still keep my comfortable anchor position??? That seems to worry me a little. Maybe cause I've never tried that, but seems like I'd be inconsistent with getting my anchor.

I'm shooting a 60 lb max Pearson Advantage, and for those worried about the camo....It's blacked out with black and orange strings...lol, but it doesn't really bother me to shoot 60. But I may go a little lower just for comfort. 

Thanks for the help guys. I'll let you know how it goes. Headed to shoot on Black Friday!


----------



## rsw (May 22, 2002)

Let's get down to the real differences. Some good advice here, but not very specific. I believe the first major difference is in the targets at which you will aim and shoot and secondly the distance as well as number of arrows shot. One target has a precise aiming point and the other has a very subtle aiming point, both of which, for me, require a total different aiming system. For 3D, I believe one needs a large scope body (42 mm with .5 or .6 diopter lens and lighted .019 blue optic fiber to ensure a good vision of the entire animal, something which is not likely with my preference for a field archery scope (29 mm with .8 diopter lens and paste on dot on lens). Most of us seem to shoot fatter shafts for 3D and heavier skinny shafts for field. Unless you shoot a lot, you will probably want to shoot around 52-54 pounds for field and 60-65 for 3D.

Mass weight on the bow is a personal issue. I don't change that for either venue.

Scope size/lens power is also personal; however, there are limitations, especially for 3D. For example, a high power lens in a small dia. scope body at a close 3D target can be a serious detriment if you can't see the entire animal.

I like to maintain approx 14% FOC for field arrows and a little less for 3D - 10-12%. Shoot the largest diameter shaft you can shoot with accuracy for 3D. Smaller dia. arrows that are heavy are ideal for field archery. Many shoot the same arrows efficiently for both - something like the Maxima or other mid-size arrow.

For either venue, balance your bow system with back/side weighting so you don't have to fight to keep your sight up on the dot and the level remains level without continual attention.

Other than that, there are few issues. Ideally, you will have two bows - one for each so you don't have to make setup changes frequently.


----------



## pacnate (Sep 23, 2009)

Thanks a lot. Those are some issues I've already noticed too, just shooting in the yard...lol. I've just started shooting some Harvest Time HT-3s, does anyone possibly know what kind of FOC they have? My bow does seem to be a little leaning to the left, like I have too much weight on that side...(Right Handed), so I may need to take some off, or counterbalance some to the right? Don't have a full Vbar setup, just side rod and front rod. Still trying to figure it all out anyways.....lol. Very much a greenhorn on all this. Thanks for the help though. Anything else I need to know?


----------



## bfahl (Aug 25, 2007)

I would invest in on target 3 from pinwheel software....it will help you figure an ideal shaft for your bow setup. It is a nice tool.


----------



## pacnate (Sep 23, 2009)

Been thinking about one of these type softwares. Does it do tapes too? What other options are out there and what makes this one any better?? Thanks


----------



## BAArcher (Feb 5, 2004)

Nate,
Check your pm's....


----------



## Spotshooter2 (Oct 23, 2003)

pacnate said:


> Been thinking about one of these type softwares. Does it do tapes too? What other options are out there and what makes this one any better?? Thanks


Yes it will do tapes and a whole lot more. Get the Software for Archers version as it does everything and only cost 29.95 and you can download it right off the internet. 
That is the one I have been using for quite a few years and to me it is an invaluable asset in getting the correct arrows for your setup before you even have to purchase them. Makes it real easy to see what happens to the spine if you want to go to a heavier or lighter point before even ordering the arrows. Here is the addy.
http://www.pinwheelsoftware.com/


----------



## pacnate (Sep 23, 2009)

Thanks a ton Spotshooter. I'm fixing to download that tonight!!!

BAArcher.....sent you one back. I'd love to come. Shoot me back some info asap.


----------



## pacnate (Sep 23, 2009)

If I download the SFA software, can I put it on 2 different pc's? Or do I have to download it separately for each pc?


----------



## Spotshooter2 (Oct 23, 2003)

No that is for one pc only.


----------



## pacnate (Sep 23, 2009)

10-4 thx a lot. I was just wondering.


----------

