Your First ASA 3D Shoot in Florida. What to Expect

The ASA (Archery Shooters Association) runs the largest 3D archery tournament circuit in the country, and Florida gets some of the biggest stops. Augusta, Georgia sits just over the state line and pulls Florida archers by the hundreds. The Sunshine Pro-Am in Gainesville, Florida in February is often the first ASA Pro-Am most new archers attend.

If you’ve been shooting paper targets for a year and you’re starting to wonder if you’re “good enough” for tournaments, the answer is: probably. ASA Known 40 is the class most recreational archers can walk into and shoot a legitimate round with a week of prep. Hunter class requires even less gear commitment. The barrier is almost entirely mental, figuring out what to bring, what the course looks like, and how the scoring actually works.

This post walks you through all of it.

What ASA 3D actually is

An ASA 3D shoot is a course of foam animal targets, bears, elk, deer, turkey, javelina, alligators, and every other critter you can imagine, placed at varied distances through a wooded course. Archers walk the course in small groups (“stake groups”) of four, shoot one arrow per target, and score based on where the arrow hits the animal.

Unlike a paper or field round, the target’s scoring rings are animal-anatomical: a center 12-ring inside the 10-ring inside the 8-ring that follows the shape of the vitals. On a buck, the 10 is where you want to hit to cleanly kill the deer. The 12 is smaller, harder, and worth more.

Distances in ASA classes range from 5 yards (easy) out to 50 yards in upper classes. Distances are marked (“Known”) or unmarked (“Unknown”) depending on your class.

Classes to consider for your first shoot

ASA has a long list of classes. For a first-time Florida shooter, three are most common:

Hunter class. Bowhunter-friendly equipment rules. Maximum 280 feet per second arrow speed. Fixed pins, no magnification, bowhunting setup. Distances up to 40 yards, unknown. Cheapest barrier to entry because your hunting bow probably already qualifies.

Known 40. Any equipment (within a reasonable max). Distances up to 40 yards. Distance MARKED on the stake. This is the class to start in if you have an accurate bow but haven’t built confidence in range estimation yet.

Unknown 40. Same as Known 40 but distances are hidden. You range by eye or with estimation. This is a big step up and we recommend a full season in Known 40 before moving to Unknown.

Women and youth have parallel classes at shorter distances. Rob at Archery Sarasota can walk you through what class fits your skill and gear in a 10-minute call or shop visit.

What to bring, the practical gear list

Separate from your bow setup, here’s what actually shows up in every bowshooter’s 3D kit at a Florida shoot:

Gear you must have:

• Your bow, set up with a sight matching your class rules
• 12 arrows minimum (you’ll lose one, break one, and still need 10 for the round plus practice)
• Release aid (bring two, one breaks per year for somebody in the group, it will be you eventually)
• Range finder (for Known classes, still useful to verify; for Unknown classes, required if your class allows)
• Quiver, a back or hip quiver matters on the move between stakes
• Arrow puller (foam is forgiving but your fingers aren’t after 40 arrows)
• Bow stand or sling, you set the bow down at every stake

Gear that makes the day better:

• Water and electrolytes. Florida humidity in October can still be 85°F
• Light snacks, a round takes 3–5 hours on most courses
• Bug spray. Florida course walks go through palmetto and pine; you will be bitten
• Rain jacket, afternoon thundershowers are part of the deal most of the year
• Towel for drying bow and arrows after sudden rain
• Extra pens and a sturdy scorecard holder
• Small tripod binoculars, some archers spot their arrows at 40 yards; not needed, but nice

Gear people forget:

• Sunscreen, especially if your class is on open courses rather than wooded
• Folding camp stool, you wait between stakes
• A hat with a brim that doesn’t interfere with your peep sight
• Extra target face arrows (some courses have a mandatory test arrow station)
• Tape measure or calipers, for settling disputes on line-cutter arrows

How scoring works, the part most new archers get wrong

Each target has an assigned value per ring:

• 12 (center, smallest): 12 points
• 10 (next ring): 10 points
• 8: 8 points
• Body of the animal: 5 points
• Miss: 0 points (for Hunter and Known classes; other classes may deduct)

The critical rule: the arrow has to break the line of a scoring ring to score that value. If it’s touching but not over, it scores the lower ring. Your arrow “breaking” the 12-ring line means ANY part of the arrow’s circumference touches OR crosses that line.

In your stake group, one person keeps the group’s score on a card. You do not score your own arrow unsupervised. Your spotting partner calls your shot, YOU agree or dispute, and one person writes it down. Disputes are resolved by visual inspection, sometimes by pulling the arrow to read line contact.

If you’ve never shot a 3D round, the single best thing to do the week before is watch a couple of ASA 3D YouTube videos of professional archers scoring their own rounds. You’ll see exactly how the spot-and-call dynamic works.

Prep drill, four weeks before your shoot

If you have a month before your first 3D shoot, here’s the prep routine we put Sarasota archers through:

Week 1: Distance awareness. Shoot 20 arrows each day at 20, 30, and 40 yards. Don’t vary pin choice mid-round, practice the full pin commitment. Your goal this week: every arrow inside the 8-ring on a 6″ bull at every distance.

Week 2: Judging for Unknown distance (if applicable). Shoot 30 arrows a day using ONLY your eye to estimate distance, then verify after every shot with a range finder. Write down your estimate vs. actual. You’ll get within 3 yards consistently by day 5.

Week 3: Simulated round. Get 10 foam target animals (or borrow from our shop) and walk a 20-target course in your yard or a friend’s property. Time it realistically: 10 minutes per stake, including walk time. Keep a scorecard. This is the rehearsal.

Week 4: Taper and rest. Shoot 30 arrows a day, focused on execution only, no scoring pressure. Rest two days before the shoot. Drink water the day before. Don’t try new gear or new arrow spine the day before, the only change that should happen on shoot day is the walk into the course.

The three mistakes new 3D archers make

1. Shooting too fast. New archers try to keep up with the pace of their stake group and rush shots. The group doesn’t care. Take your time at each stake. Two seconds longer settling into your anchor is worth two points on every target.

2. Aiming at the whole animal instead of the ring. The animal is an anatomical target. Your pin goes on the 12 ring, not on “the deer.” This mental shift is the biggest score improvement new 3D archers make.

3. Missing because they didn’t check equipment before leaving. A loose stabilizer bolt, a serving that separated on the drive, a peep that rotated in the case, these go unnoticed until stake 4 when you blow a 30-yard easy shot. Pre-round equipment check at the truck is non-negotiable.

Where Florida archers go

There are ASA and local 3D shoots most weekends in Florida from September through April. A few worth knowing:

• Sunshine Pro-Am (Gainesville), ASA tournament, mid-February, big turnout
• Florida State Archery Association shoots, various locations, monthly
• Local club 3D ranges, most archery clubs run internal 3D leagues on Saturdays
• Augusta ASA Pro-Am, just across the state line, largest ASA event of the year, April

We maintain a calendar of upcoming shoots at the shop and can point you to whichever matches your class and driving range. If you’re coming from Sarasota, Tampa, Orlando, Naples, or Fort Myers, we’ve got recommendations for which specific shoots fit a first-timer.

Ready to shoot?

A first ASA 3D shoot is the most fun any target archer has in their first year of the sport. The gear is reachable. The format is friendlier than it sounds. Your group will help you through the rules. You will score better than you expect.

If you want a setup sanity-check on your bow before your first shoot, book a tournament prep session, we’ll make sure your sight tape is dead accurate, your chrono speed is inside your class rules, and your bow is paper-tuned clean.

Archers drive in from Tampa Bay, Orlando, and Fort Myers for pre-tournament tunes, and we also run group tournament prep clinics on weekends before major state shoots.

Book your pre-tournament setup check or call (941) 322-7146, we’ll make sure the bow is ready before you walk the course.