# 900 round tips



## Strodav (Apr 25, 2012)

You'll be assigned a target and a line. Depending on the number of shooters, there may shoot 2 lines, A and B, which alternate during the match. A lot of times there will be 4 people assigned to a target, 2 As, 2 Bs. There's usually a sign in the center of the range letting you know if it A lines' or B lines' turn first as they alternate. If not, the range officer will announce it. Pay attention to the whistle / beeps. 2 beeps means come to the line, 1 beep means your free to shoot, 3 beeps means go down range to score and pull your arrows. They use a double card scoring system. So one person usually calls the hits and 2 fill out the score cards and keep running totals. Do not approach or touch the target until its scored and its time to pull arrows. You should stay well behind the line while your waiting to shoot. It's a good idea to bring a hat, lawn chair, a small cooler with water / gatorade, bug spray, suntan lotion, and a towel. You shoot if it rains, unless lightening, so bring a motorcycle like rain suit or at least a rain jacket you can shoot in. A lot of guys put spotting scopes on the line. I use 12X binocs. If you are shooting freestyle, bring something to clean your lens and perhaps a rain shield for your scope.

You'll shoot 2 practice ends of 6 arrows at 60 yds, then scoring starts with 5 ends of 6 arrows at 60 yds, 30 arrows, 300 points max, Xs are recorded for tie breakers. Usually there's a short break then 5 ends of 6 arrows at 50 yds. Usually there's a short break then the pattern may continue at 40yds, but they may shoot 10 ends of 3 arrows at 40 yds. The reason they may shoot 10 ends at 40 yds instead of 5 ends is to avoid breaking too many arrows. Total points 300 @ 60 + 300 @ 50 + 300 @ 40 = 900, hence the name.

It's important to keep an eye on the flags above the targets as the winds can shift several times during a match. It's also very important to make sure you are aiming at your target. The bales are close together and it's easy to shoot one target to your left or right. If you hit another target, it's a miss. They usually put a pretty large target number at the base of the target stand. You have 4 minutes to shoot each end of 6 arrows and, I believe, 2 minutes to shoot the 3 arrow ends. There are clocks usually in the center of the range, left side and right side showing how much time is left. If it's windy, they may enforce a 4 max let down rule as arrows can blow off the lizard tongues.

As far as arrows go, I use small diameter small fletch arrows about 14% FOC. Actually, 26 1/4" ACEs with Bohning 1.75" X-vanes shield cut, pin nocks and 100 gr glue in points. I've seen guys shoot very well with line cutters and very well with standard diameter arrows. Last Sunday, I got beat soundly by a guy shooting Easton Carbon Ones, which are not an expensive arrow. If they are accurate for you at 60yds, shoot um. Rules say all your arrows should be identical, i.e., of the same length, type, and color fletching and you should put your initials on the shaft.

Now if you're shooting FITA rules, believe it or not there is a dress code (no jeans or camo) or short shorts for the girls, and your bow must be 60# or less, no electronics, and it will most likely be 60m , 50m, 40m. I've shot 900 round FITA matches all at the same distance, say, 70m.

While not as bad as a 28 stage field shoot, it is a bit of an endurance match, so you should practice by shooting full 900 round practice sessions.

I really enjoy 900 rounds and hope you have a great day. It's a lot of fun.


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## ron w (Jan 5, 2013)

yup...my favorite game !.


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## duckdawg1 (May 4, 2010)

Thank you Stodav so much for your write up. I think I fully understand it now and I will surely have a great time. Thanks again.


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## Praeger (Jan 7, 2011)

Strodav said:


> You'll be assigned a target and a line. Depending on the number of shooters, there may shoot 2 lines, A and B, which alternate during the match. A lot of times there will be 4 people assigned to a target, 2 As, 2 Bs. There's usually a sign in the center of the range letting you know if it A lines' or B lines' turn first as they alternate. If not, the range officer will announce it. Pay attention to the whistle / beeps. 2 beeps means come to the line, 1 beep means your free to shoot, 3 beeps means go down range to score and pull your arrows. They use a double card scoring system. So one person usually calls the hits and 2 fill out the score cards and keep running totals. Do not approach or touch the target until its scored and its time to pull arrows. You should stay well behind the line while your waiting to shoot. It's a good idea to bring a hat, lawn chair, a small cooler with water / gatorade, bug spray, suntan lotion, and a towel. You shoot if it rains, unless lightening, so bring a motorcycle like rain suit or at least a rain jacket you can shoot in. A lot of guys put spotting scopes on the line. I use 12X binocs. If you are shooting freestyle, bring something to clean your lens and perhaps a rain shield for your scope.
> 
> You'll shoot 2 practice ends of 6 arrows at 60 yds, then scoring starts with 5 ends of 6 arrows at 60 yds, 30 arrows, 300 points max, Xs are recorded for tie breakers. Usually there's a short break then 5 ends of 6 arrows at 50 yds. Usually there's a short break then the pattern may continue at 40yds, but they may shoot 10 ends of 3 arrows at 40 yds. The reason they may shoot 10 ends at 40 yds instead of 5 ends is to avoid breaking too many arrows. Total points 300 @ 60 + 300 @ 50 + 300 @ 40 = 900, hence the name.
> 
> ...


Great summary, ought to be a sticky in this forum.


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## 2little2late (Dec 25, 2006)

"The reason they may shoot 10 ends at 40 yds instead of 5 ends is to avoid breaking too many arrows."

Another option for the same result is to shoot 2 targets on same butt with 6 to 10 scoring rings only at 40 so as to keep game flowing. That way each line still shoots six arrows an end with same result as everyone shooting 3 arrows per end at one face. It works well. Also, it is a chance to have clean faces put up for easier calling.


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## Azzurri (Mar 10, 2014)

Pace yourself through the ends. Remember you need to be able to shoot those last arrows well even if the distance is shorter.

Similar lines, err on the side of lower DW settings or limbs, because you need to shoot a lot of accurate arrows. 

For recurve, carbon arrows with vanes. For compound, what you'd normally use at 40-60. I would not worry about linecutting. I'd worry about consistent flying arrows. Bring extra arrows in case ones get smashed by you or others.

If there are separate lines it helps to know who's on your line, so that if you miss a signal you still know you're with Bill and Dave, and Bill and Dave are either up or down, and that tells me the same thing as seeing or hearing the signal.

Be aware of the terrain. Am I standing in a hole? On a slant? Is my target slightly up or downhill?

Try to get as close to the middle of the target as you can in your lane. You'd be surprised how some people kind of shoot at an angle because of alignment.

Practice the distances before you show up. Try to get sightmarks ballparked in practice before the event. You don't want to be coming up with sight adjustments cold on the day. Slight adjustments, fine, but you don't want to be figuring out what settings are for 60 the day of with perhaps 12 practice arrows.

Be prepared for the weather, jacket if it's someplace that cools down (or starts cool), warm weather prep if it'll be hot.

Bring spares.


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## mikesmith66 (Aug 8, 2008)

Take water. And spare nocks ! 

They are fun shoots. Long, but fun. I shot my personal best of 890 on one this past June. I felt pretty good after that shoot and it was a blast. 

One thing I can stress, is to make sure you practice on a 122cm target. Get used to looking at that target with your aiming point. Make sure you spend time practicing at 40yds too. A lot of guys take that distance for granted. You'd be surprised how "different" aiming at that big yellow spot at 40 is compared to 60. Especially if there's holes dug in the 10 ring after the 60 and 50 yd rounds. A lot of room there for your eye to wander..

I've shot 5 or 6 of them over the years, and I typically go armed with a full dozen arrows. My local club usually has a couple guys on the same target. Nocks and vanes will get ruined. Take a bag of spare nocks. Make sure you vanes are glued securely ! :darkbeer:

Have fun !


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## 2little2late (Dec 25, 2006)

It's a shame that more clubs don't steer people toward the 900 rounds. It's a beautiful thing. Try it, you will like it. Fun for all ages and skill levels. Beginners can build confidence in their game and experts can chase that elusive clean game. You don't need huge tracts of land to set up for the shoot like you would for field or 3d. A 900 league?


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## Azzurri (Mar 10, 2014)

As someone getting started but with some ability, I think 900s are great. Not everyone is ready to shoot 50m at a tiny compound face or 70m with accuracy in recurve. Kids get to do a progression where they build up to those distances, but for adults coming in, I think it's a great bridge and end in itself.

It also in comparison to 1080 or 1440 type rounds has the virtue of an intermediate can finish the whole thing. It is often suggested to me to just do the short distances in FITA rounds, but then you feel goofy. This lets you feel like an adult while building up.


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## ArcherXXX300 (Apr 22, 2013)

I learned that a spotting scope is really nice. I couldn't see all my shafts with other peoples arrows in the target which didn't allow me to make good adjustments. I'd like to get a decent spotting scope. Above advice is good.


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## Azzurri (Mar 10, 2014)

I'd second the need for good binos or scope because at 50-60 you may not even see the arrows in the target well.


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## Lazarus (Sep 19, 2005)

mikesmith66 said:


> One thing I can stress, is to make sure you practice on a 122cm target. Get used to looking at that target with your aiming point. Make sure you spend time practicing at 40yds too. A lot of guys take that distance for granted. You'd be surprised how "different" aiming at that big yellow spot at 40 is compared to 60. Especially if there's holes dug in the 10 ring after the 60 and 50 yd rounds. A lot of room there for your eye to wander..


Very, Very, good advice here ^. I recently shot my very first 900 round in my entire (long) life. My worst score was at the 40 yard section. That is inexcusable, totally inexcusable. Especially for someone that often practices on a sheet of paper with nothing but an "X" drawn on it. 

I believe the 900 was the most fun I had ever had shooting a bow though. Other than that, I got nothin'.


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## mikesmith66 (Aug 8, 2008)

Lazarus said:


> Very, Very, good advice here ^. I recently shot my very first 900 round in my entire (long) life. My worst score was at the 40 yard section. That is inexcusable, totally inexcusable. Especially for someone that often practices on a sheet of paper with nothing but an "X" drawn on it.
> 
> I believe the 900 was the most fun I had ever had shooting a bow though. Other than that, I got nothin'.


The 40 yarder can make or break your total score......I learned the hard way. 
Mostly for 2 reasons: 
1. not practicing at that range with that particular target.
2. Fatigue...both mental and physical.


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## huteson2us2 (Jun 22, 2005)

Srodav did the best job I have ever seen explaining the 900 round. The only thing I can add is that the Fita rules about the 60# and 23/64 arrow size has never been enforced in any state I shot in but marking arrow holes is enforced. Jeans without holes and tears has also been OK.

A little thing done in Washington State and AZ is something called a spider. This is a money shoot that has nothing to do with the tournament and you do not need to enter. In AZ $1.00 is collected for each distance for a total of $3.00. At each distance, the first person to hit any of the X in the X ring wins the money for that distance. If no one hits any part of the X, the money is added to the next distance.

In Washington State, a circle is drawn around a dime over the x in the X ring. Same rules and amount except to win, the arrow must be totally in the dime circle without touching the line. Anyone touching the dime line must put in a quater for each arrow touching adding to the pot for that distance. Not part of the official game but alot of fun.


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