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Clout Archery

Clout archery refers to the activity, competition, or sport whereby archers shoot at a distant target taking into excellent consideration arrow trajectory. The word “clout” is derived from the Norse “clud” which refers to the later English word cloth. This is in reference to the target itself, a stick or small pole inserted into the ground, with a piece of cloth or fabric draped over it.

The practice of clout shooting or clout archery gained popularity as a competitive game in medieval England, where several mandates were put into law that required regular practice of archery. This was to ensure the nation had a good supply of well-trained English longbowmen ready to be called to arms.

clout archery

The practice of shooting accurately at a distance translates well onto the field of battle. Groups of archers would shower clustered enemies at a distance with devastating effects.

The activity survives to this day and is practiced the world over. This article delves into the many aspects of clout archery.

Clout Archery Distances

Distances vary in clout archery. Several clubs and associations have their own distances. These distances are traditionally based on age as well as men’s and women’s separate divisions. The following is a breakdown of the distances of several of the most prominent clout archery clubs and organizations.

Archery GB

Archery GB, is the governing body of archery in the United Kingdom. A breakdown of distances for the clout archery contest overseen by Archery GB follows thusly.

Gentlemen (adult): 160 meters (180 yards)
Ladies (adult): 130 meters (140 yards)
- Junior Gentlemen
  - Under 18: 130 meters (140 yards)
  - Under 16: 120 yd (110 m)
  - Under 14: 100 yd (90 m)
  - Under 12: 80 yd (75 m)
- Junior Ladies
  - Under 18: 120 yd (110 m)
  - Under 16: 100 yd (90 m)
  - Under 13: 80 yd (75 m)

British Longbow Society (BLBS)

The British Longbow Society (BLBS) is a traditionalist archery club specializing in the English longbow. Clout archery under their rules restricts competitors to using traditional longbows and wooden arrows. You may visit their website here: https://www.thebritishlongbowsociety.co.uk.

The distance for gentlemen is set at 160 meters (180 yards) and the distance for ladies is 110 meters (120 yards)

WA Clout

World Archery is the global governing body of archery. It is composed of 156 member national clubs and other organizations. There are no separate distances for longbows or juniors. However, distances are categorized as compound or recurve.

Men’s
- Compound: 185 meters (200 yards)
- Recurve: 165 meters (180 yards)
Women’s
- Compound: 165 meters (180 yards)
- Recurve: 125 meters (135 yards)

clout archery

Archery Australia

Competitive clout shooting in Australia is governed by Archery Australia (AA). Check out their website here: https://archery.org.au.

For record-keeping purposes, only certain variations of age class, gender, bow division, and distance are recognized for records. Nevertheless, their distance breakdown is as follows:

180 m (200 yds)

165 m (180 yds)

145 m (159 yds)

125 m (137 yds)

100 m (110 yds)

Clout Archery Rules

The rules governing clout archery are not universal. There is some variation depending on the archery club administering the competitions. A general outline of the rules may be described as follows:

Shooting lines are established according to the distance for each shooting class (see the preceding section on distances).

A target, typically a flag is placed at the correct distance from the shooting line(s). This target is known as “the Clout”. Just like the recognizable archery target with concentric circles radiating outward from the center, various scoring zones are marked on the ground radiating outwards from the clout. Arrows that score the highest are closest to the clout. Points decrease as you move outward from the central clout. Sometimes a rope, measured to the current length, is swept in an arc from the central clout, and all arrows within this circumference score the corresponding point(s).

A single round of shooting typically consists of three (3) dozen arrows (3 x 12 = 36) shot in intervals or “ends” of 6 arrows. A full tournament may consist of 2 rounds, whereby a total of 6 dozen (6 x 12 = 72) are shot.

Next, we’ll break down the specific rules for each major archery club (see the above section on clout distances).

If you are completely new, please check out this highly detailed PDF by https://www.sussex-archery.org.uk.

clout archery — Credit: https://startarchery.co.uk

Archery GB Rules & Scoring

Archery GB uses a small 30 cm by 30 cm colored, fabric square on a wooden pole. The pole is driven into the ground as far as possible or up until the bottom of the flag touches the ground.

There are two shooting range arrangements classified as “one-way” and “two-way”.

One-way shooting has it so the shooting line and flags are at opposite ends of the field. The archers shoot their arrows, put down their bows, walk to the flag, tally scores and walk back to the shooting line.

Two-way shooting has a set of flags and a shooting line at either end of the field. Arrows are shot from one end, then once scores are tallied and arrows are collected at the other end of the field, archers shoot back towards the original end of the field.

Archery GB Scoring

Maximum Radius	Points Scored
18 inches (45 cm	5
3 feet (0.9 m)	4
6 feet (2 m)	3
9 feet (2.5 m)	2
12 feet (3.5 m)	1
> 12 feet (3.5 m)	0

British Longbow Society (BLBS) Rules & Scoring

The target (clout) used by the BLBS has a diameter of 75 cm (30 inches) and is of white cloth. The target has a central black circle that is 10 cm (4 inches) in diameter. It is raised up on a small wooden platform and is held at 45 degrees from the ground.

clout archery

Two rounds consisting of 36 arrows in 12 ends of 3 are shot to make a ‘Double Clout Round’. The scoring scheme is as follows (starting with 6 points for hitting the clout):

BLBS Scoring

Maximum Radius	Points Scored
Clout	6
75 cm (30 inches)	5
1.2 meters (4 feet)	4
2 meters (7 feet)	3
3 meters (10 feet)	2
4 meters (13 feet)	1

World Archery (WA) Clout Rules & Scoring

The World Archery rules and distances are used all around the world. The clout or target is made from rectangular, colored fabric with maximum dimensions of 80 cm (30 inches) by 30 cm (12 inches). It is attached to a small wooden pole. The bottom of the target should be at a maximum distance of 50 cm (20 inches) from the ground. The field is arranged for “one-way” shooting. The scoring/point system is as follows:

WA Scoring

Maximum radius	Points scored
1.5 m (5 ft)	5
3 m (10 ft)	4
4.5 m (15 ft)	3
6 m (20 ft)	2
7.5 m (25 ft)	1
> 7.5 m (25 ft)	0

Archery Australia (AA) Clout Rules & Scoring

For their clout shooting competitions, Archery Australia conducts one-way shooting. Several shooting lines are established at various distances (see the section on distances above). The target or clout is typically a laminated cardboard triangle, with one vertex pointed down towards the ground. It is 45 cm (18 inches) high and 35 cm (14 inches) wide.

Small colored flags are placed at 1.5-meter intervals on either side of the clout to indicate point zones which are scored as follows:

AA Point Zones

Maximum radius	Points scored
0.75 m (2.5 ft)	10
1.5 m (5 ft)	9
2.25 m (7.5 ft)	8
3 m (10 ft)	7
3.75 m (12.5 ft)	6
4.5 m (15 ft)	5
5.25 m (17 ft)	4
6 m (20 ft)	3
6.75 m (22 ft)	2
7.5 m (25 ft)	1
> 7.5 m (25 ft)	0

Best Arrows for Clout Archery

Since clout is a relatively long-distance shooting activity, the best arrows for clout archery share many characteristics with arrows used in flight archery.

Assuming a distance of 185 meters from the target, archers will be shooting at an angle of roughly 43 degrees. The arrows will be traveling approximately 45 to 60 meters in the air where wind speeds can be quite different from what they are at ground level.

When it comes to clout the major considerations in arrow construction are drag, arrow thickness, and point weight. Drag will slow arrows down, compromising distance. The thicker the arrow is the more surface area there is for the wind to affect the arrow’s flight path. Lastly, tip weight will affect arrow trajectory. Heavier tips make for a reduction in arrow flight trajectory.

For wooden arrows (BLBS clout shoots require wooden arrows) a good arrow diameter is 5/16 inches. This is tapered down at the ends to fit a 1/4 tip and nock. 20 grains is a good weight. As for the fletching, goose or duck feathers are preferred to turkey which tends to be stiffer. These feathers are cut or burned into a parabolic geometry with a height of only 1/2 inch (top of the parabola).

Clout Archery Sights

When shooting clout with a modern recurve or a compound, some archers attach clout archery sights to their bows to help them score big. These sights use a system of prisms or mirrors so that when the archer looks through the sight, he can see the target on the ground while aiming up in the air at an angle.