Being fascinated with archery history, I read about the Royal Rounds some time ago. In the mid 19th century English archers would meet and shoot selfbows at 48" diameter targets (122cm) from 60, 80, and 100 yards. Horace Ford was the undisputed champion for a decade. Later the American Rounds were developed; at 40, 60, and 80 yards. Credit for standardizing the target with the familiar gold, red, blue, black, and white concentric circles was given to Prince George IV at York in 1786. The target was also known as 'The Prince's Colors'.

I know that there has been an interest here in shooting the Rounds over the last year or two. I built an economical and portable target that I would like to share if you are interested.

I started with about eight laminations of cardboard from a local auto body shop and a local appliance store and cut them to 40" by 50" so I could fit the target in the back seat of my car. I drilled pairs of holes in them around the edges, bound them tight with zip ties, then sealed the top and bottom with duct tape against moisture. I found a toughenized paper target face on the web, trimmed it to 40 by 50" and used a spray adhesive to mount it to the cardboard.

Drywall screws and #10 washers hold the cardboard to short pieces of 2X2 that were cross drilled for a large nail to hold two legs on the back of the target. The bottom of the legs were also drilled for tent pegs to secure the target against the wind. I don't want the target to crash with my arrows stuck in the face of it.

Lastly, I mounted a nylon strap to the 2X2s so I could set and retrieve the target easily. Not counting the zip ties, duct tape, screws and wood, I've got about $10 in the target for the target face.

Happy Shooting.

nice job and two nice boss as well. Have fun shooting.

York, York...York Rounds.

The Royal Rounds are something different. Sorry about that.

I wish I could edit the OP.

I've never heard of Royal rounds, but the York round is a classic and is still shot at the USA Archery's Trad tournament. It is 6 dozen arrows at 100yrds, 4 dozen arrows at 80yrds and 2 dozen arrows at 60 yards. The womens' version is called the Hereford round and is 6 dozen at 80 yrds, 4 dozen at 60 yrds, and 2 dozen at 50 yrds.

The York and Hereford rounds are shot at a 52 inch or 122 cm target.

This may be a reality check for some, but, have a go at shooting a York round yourself, then look at the scores of people like Frank Bilson ... (Frank who??) Now remember this is with an English longbow, wooden arrows, no shelf, no sights.

July 15th 1951 Royal Toxophilite Society Ground

Score at 100yards 71 hits 385 score 12 Golds

Score at 80 yards 48 hits 286 score 9 Golds

Total at 60 yards 24 hits 142 score 5 golds

Total 144 hits (out of a possible 144) 26 Golds: Total Score 813

Jack -

YOU'RE ALIVE!!!

Viper out.

Yeah Tony, I still check in occasionally to make sure you're still keeping 'em straight.

It is worth noting that the York round is so challenging with English longbows or even American flatbows that the winner of the tournament is awarded the gold medal based on having the highest number of hits on target irrespective of score. The silver medal goes to the highest number of bulleyes, and the bronze medal medal goes to the highest score from among the remaining participants.

Sorry that should read 143 hits

At the very first National Archery Assoc. Championship in Chicago, Ill. 1879, Wil Thompson won with a total of 172 hits and a score of 624 for a DOUBLE York round.

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