Bullseye in Archery: Points, Rings & Target Sizes

The bullseye in archery is the innermost scoring ring at the center of a target face — the smallest zone and, in most formats, the highest-scoring area available. Consistently landing arrows there is widely regarded as the definitive test of accuracy.

The Bullseye Is Not the Entire Gold Zone

A common misconception is that any arrow striking the yellow (gold) area counts as a bullseye. It does not. The gold zone contains two rings: an outer ring worth 9 points and the inner ring — the true archery bullseye — worth 10 points under World Archery rules. Only an arrow in that innermost ring earns a bullseye in archery.

Inside the 10-ring sits an even finer zone called the X-ring. It still scores 10 points in standard competition, but X-ring hits are recorded separately and used as a tiebreaker when archers finish with equal totals.

Archery Bullseye Points and Target Sizes by Discipline

The physical size of the archery target center changes significantly by format and distance:

• Outdoor recurve (70 m): 122 cm target face; the full gold zone spans 12.2 cm across both rings.
• Outdoor compound (50 m): 80 cm target face; the 10-ring measures 8 cm in diameter. Compound archers typically use a reduced face showing only the gold, red, and blue rings.
• Indoor (18 m): 40 cm target face. The recurve 10-ring is 4 cm in diameter; the compound 10-ring narrows to just 2 cm — roughly the size of a dime.

In 3D and field formats, scoring differs. IBO 3D targets award 11 points for the smallest center circle and 10 for the next ring out. ASA 3D targets feature a 12-point inner ring and — when declared in play — a 14-point center ring called the "spider." The bulls eye archery concept still refers to the innermost zone; it simply carries a different point value than in target archery.

Key Scoring Rules

When an arrow shaft touches the line between two rings, it always receives the higher value — a rule consistent across World Archery and NFAA competition. Witnessed bounce-outs and pass-throughs are re-shot rather than scored as misses. If a target face is disturbed before scoring is complete, any line-cutters are awarded the lower value instead.

Why the Bullseye Matters

Beyond archery bullseye points, the bullseye carries real technical weight. Hitting it demands consistent form, a well-tuned setup, and clean arrow flight from release to impact. Understanding what constitutes a clean arrow hit is foundational to reading your groupings and improving your score end by end.