What’s a Butt Anyway?

In archery, a butt (or boss) is simply the thing you attach the target face to. It can be foam, straw, or layered material designed to stop arrows safely and let you pull them back out without inventing new swear words. The butt is not the target itself. Think of it as the target’s mattress — the face is the printed sheet that tells you where to aim.

Target Faces – The Three Main Characters

1) Field Faces

• Design: black spot centre, white ring, black outer ring
• Sizes: 20cm, 35cm, 50cm, 65cm
• Scoring: spot 5, inner white 4, outer black 3

Field faces are satisfying: hit the black and you feel smug… until you realise you were aiming for the tiny black dot
inside the black.

2) Hunter Faces

• Design: all black with a small white spot
• Sizes: same as Field faces
• Scoring: same 5–4–3 system

Scottish twist: on a cloudy day, shooting a black target in a dark pine stand can feel like aiming at the concept of darkness.

3) Animal Faces

Animal faces show a creature with two key scoring zones:
kill (higher) and wound (lower). Scores drop depending on which arrow hits and from which peg. You stop shooting as soon as you hit a scoring zone — so accuracy saves both effort and arrows.

3D Targets – Bringing the Hunt to the Hills

Some rounds swap flat faces for foam animal models. Scoring zones are moulded into the target and may be hard to see in poor light. They’re brilliant fun… until your arrow finds a seam and bounces off like it hit granite.

How Targets Are Arranged

• Single face: one target for all arrows
• Multiple faces: four small faces; shoot in the stated order
• Fan shots: move along pegs after each arrow
• Walk-ups: start far, step closer each arrow

Scottish Target Wisdom

• Damp weather can warp paper faces — clubs keep spares
• Targets are set square to the lane where terrain allows
• No random marks or tape on butts — it can be seen as an aiming aid