How High Should an Archery Target Be?

In competition, archery target height is set by the rules: the centre of a single target face sits 130 cm (about 4 ft 3 in) above the ground, outdoors and indoors. At home no rule applies, so 130 cm is a sensible default for adults on level ground, as long as your backstop catches every miss.

The competition rule: 130 cm to the centre

The figure comes from World Archery's rulebooks (2022-09-01 versions) and Archery GB's Rules of Shooting. Tolerances differ by format.

Outdoor target archery. World Archery Book 2, Art. 7.2.3.1: "The centre of the target face shall be 130cm above the ground as measured from ground level. The tolerance of measurement shall not exceed ±5cm." Art. 7.1.1.3 sets outdoor bosses "at an angle of between 10 and 15 degrees from vertical." Archery GB's outdoor Rule 301(a) matches: targets "inclined at an angle of about 15 degrees, with the pinholes 130cm (4ft 3in)± 5cm above the ground." The pinhole is Archery GB's term for the centre of the gold.

Indoor target archery. World Archery Art. 7.2.4.1.1: "The centre of the single face or the centre of the middle face of the vertical triple face shall be 130cm above the floor." For triangular triple faces it refers to the two lower centres, which Book 3, Art. 13.1.3 repeats for the indoor team event. Indoor bosses stand 0–10 degrees from vertical. Archery GB Rule 402 allows "any angle between vertical and 15°," uses 130 cm for a single row and a tighter ±2 cm tolerance.

Stacked faces change the heights. World Archery allows upper centres up to 162 cm and lower centres down to 100 cm indoors with four 40 cm faces, and 172 cm and 90 cm outdoors with multi-centre faces. Archery GB's indoor two-row heights are 100 cm and 160 cm.

Face sizes by distance

"How big is an archery target?" depends on the distance. World Archery Art. 7.2.3 and 7.2.4 set these face sizes:

Height is measured to the centre, so a 122 cm face reaches much closer to the ground than a 40 cm one. Our scoring guide explains the rings.

Backyard ranges: level shots or hunting angles

Club rules don't bind you at home, so set the height for how you shoot:

• Target practice: copying the 130 cm centre keeps your home shooting consistent with a club or tournament.
• Hunting practice: if you hunt from a tree stand or on slopes, practise downward shots, but only from a safe, stable platform.
• Children: for a smaller archer at short range, a slightly lower target keeps the face in their natural line of sight.
• Safety first: a higher target means more high misses. Whatever the height, the backstop and the clear zone behind it must stop every arrow. Our backyard range guide covers backstops and layout.

Keep the stand stable

A boss raised to competition height is top-heavy. Archery GB Rule 301(c) requires each boss to be "securely anchored so that it cannot blow off its stand," and stands "anchored to prevent them from blowing over." Do the same at home: peg or weigh down the legs and strap the boss on.

Range habits matter as much as hardware. Our range safety guide covers when it's safe to walk forward and pull arrows.

You can browse adjustable archery target stands on Amazon or look at fixed target stands. Check that the stand puts your boss's centre near 130 cm.

Frequently asked questions

What is the standard target centre height in archery?

130 cm (about 4 ft 3 in) from the ground to the centre of the face. World Archery uses this outdoors with a ±5 cm tolerance and indoors for a single row of faces. Archery GB's Rules of Shooting give the same figure, with ±5 cm outdoors and ±2 cm indoors.

How big is an archery target face?

Under World Archery rules, outdoor faces are 122 cm for 90, 70 and 60 m, and 80 cm for 50, 40 and 30 m. Indoor faces are 60 cm at 25 m and 40 cm at 18 m. Triple faces use three smaller centres on one sheet.

Does the target have to be tilted?

Outdoors in competition, yes: World Archery sets 10–15 degrees from vertical and Archery GB "about 15 degrees." Indoors, World Archery allows 0–10 degrees and Archery GB up to 15. At home a slight backward lean is optional; a stable stand matters more.