ASA Archery

ASA (Archery Shooters Association) is the largest 3D archery organization in the United States. ASA tournaments use a distinctive scoring face with an asymmetric 14-ring at the upper-rear of the 8-ring oval, twin Pro-12 zones inside the 10-ring, and a 10 / 8 (vital) / body cascade — visually busier than IBO/WA-3D faces but giving more zone-by-zone aiming options.

Details

ASA runs a national tournament series (Pro/Am circuit and qualifier events) plus state-level affiliate matches. Classes range from Bowhunter to Open Pro, separated by bow type, sight aperture rules, and stake distances. Distances span roughly 20 to 50 yards depending on class and round. Stakes are colour-coded on the course; a single round visits 20 targets at varying distances per the class rules.

Scoring is by zone hit: the 14-ring (worth 14 only on a called shoot-off), the lower Pro-12 (12 points, the default 12-ring for Pro/Open classes), the upper Pro-12 (10 points by default; 12 only when called pre-shot), the 10-ring (10), the 8-ring vital (8), and the body silhouette (5). A miss off the silhouette scores zero. The "called" mechanic on the upper-12 — declaring the higher-value zone before shooting — is unique to ASA and adds a tactical wager dimension to scoring.

For training, scaled ASA practice targets reproduce the same zone geometry at a shorter distance using a calibrated print scale. The 14-ring is positioned by spec on the 8-ring boundary, which is why scaled prints sometimes use thicker stroke bands or repositioning to keep the 14 visually contained inside the 8 outline.

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Glossary

Printables

Printable Target Faces

Common questions

What's the difference between the lower-12 and upper-12 on an ASA target?: The lower-12 is the default 12-ring for Pro and Open classes — hits there score 12 points without any declaration. The upper-12 sits above the 10-ring on the front-shoulder side; hits in it normally score 10, but if the archer declares "calling 12" before the shot, an upper-12 hit scores 12 (a missed call costs the upper-12 hit zero). Only one 12-ring is "live" per shot, depending on the call.
Why is the ASA 14-ring at the upper-rear of the 8-ring?: The 14-ring spec puts it at the boundary of the 8-ring on the upper-rear corner — visually high on the back/rump side of the animal, above the typical aiming spot. It's used only for shoot-offs (tie-breakers) where archers explicitly call 14 and accept the higher-risk shot. On scaled training prints the 14 outline often pokes outside the 8 boundary, which is why our face uses a slightly thicker 8 stroke band or a repositioning trick to keep the visual clean.

ASA Archery

Details

Common questions

What's the difference between the lower-12 and upper-12 on an ASA target?

The lower-12 is the default 12-ring for Pro and Open classes — hits there score 12 points without any declaration. The upper-12 sits above the 10-ring on the front-shoulder side; hits in it normally score 10, but if the archer declares "calling 12" before the shot, an upper-12 hit scores 12 (a missed call costs the upper-12 hit zero). Only one 12-ring is "live" per shot, depending on the call.

Why is the ASA 14-ring at the upper-rear of the 8-ring?

The 14-ring spec puts it at the boundary of the 8-ring on the upper-rear corner — visually high on the back/rump side of the animal, above the typical aiming spot. It's used only for shoot-offs (tie-breakers) where archers explicitly call 14 and accept the higher-risk shot. On scaled training prints the 14 outline often pokes outside the 8 boundary, which is why our face uses a slightly thicker 8 stroke band or a repositioning trick to keep the visual clean.