Field archery consists of a series of targets set over natural terrain, which could be woodland, slopes, open ground or across water.

Archers make their way round the course in groups, shooting each target in sequence until all targets have been shot. Archers are normally out on a course for most of the day, with refreshment stops en route.

Structure of the competition, and rules of shooting, vary depending which society or association’s rules are being used to host the tournament.

Targets may be roundels; paper faces often depicting animals; or foam 3D animal targets with designated scoring areas.

Some competition rounds have targets at ‘marked’ distances (the archer is told the distance from the shooting pegs to the target) whilst other rounds can be ‘unmarked’ distances (where the archer has to estimate the distance from shooting peg to target, and make his shot accordingly).