The 12.2 cm ring, the banned clicker, allowed extra weight: the key barebow rules from World Archery to NFAA – and where they actually differ.
"Barebow is simple: no sight, done — right?" Almost. The core idea holds, but the details differ by federation, and those details decide whether your gear passes equipment check or gets pulled at a tournament. The core test at World Archery: your unstrung bow has to fit completely through a ring with a 12.2 centimetre inside diameter — anything that doesn't fit isn't allowed.
Explicitly banned: sight, stabiliser, clicker and kisser button. World Archery has even made formal rulings on this: both a mechanical draw check and a "psychological" release trigger violate the intent of the rule — so the federation looks not just at parts, but at the intent behind them.
What is allowed, though, is a fixed extra weight on the lower end of the riser — as long as it's "short and fat" rather than "long and thin". The reason: a long, thin rod would act like a stabiliser and dampen vibration, which is explicitly banned. The arrow rest also has to be fixed and non-adjustable — another clear difference from recurve, where adjustable click rests are standard.
Important to know: these rules aren't equally strict everywhere. World Archery, the US field archery federation NFAA and the international field archery federation IFAA all run their own rulebooks with partly separate classes and limits — what passes at one federation can already be grounds for disqualification at another.
The unstrung bow has to fit completely through the ring. No part may stick out — the simplest way to check your own gear before a tournament, before the organizer does it for you.
"Short and fat" instead of "long and thin" — example: a 4-ounce weight around 4.5 cm in diameter is fine, but a thin 30 cm rod of the same weight would be a disguised stabiliser and banned.
World Archery only allows a recurve riser with limbs for barebow. NFAA, however, splits it into two separate classes: Barebow Recurve and Barebow Compound — the latter permits a compound bow with no aiming aid at all, under its own limits like a maximum 80-pound draw weight and 300 fps arrow speed. Check which class your federation offers before your first tournament — or you'll show up with the wrong bow in the wrong entry group.
Both anchor methods — string walking and face walking — are explicitly permitted in World Archery field and 3D competition. That gives you tactical freedom many newcomers don't even know they have.
Barebow isn't a niche fringe group anymore: at the 2020 Lancaster Archery Classic, 185 men and 60 women already competed separately in barebow, and the NFAA Vegas Shoot class grew from under 100 to over 200 entrants in just two years. Register for tournaments early, or the class fills up before you.
Rule compliance is also a safety matter: an extra weight that isn't seated firmly can come loose during the shot. Check that all permitted add-ons — rest, plunger, weight — are firmly seated before every tournament, and have the organizer check your gear if in doubt, before you step up to the line.
At tournament check-in, actively ask about the exact rule version being shot — WA field rules differ slightly from national federation rules, especially around extra weight and the rest. Two minutes of asking saves you a nasty surprise at equipment check.
The unstrung bow has to fit completely through a ring with a 12.2 cm inside diameter. Get yourself a matching ring or template before your first tournament and test every new add-on yourself before mounting it permanently.
Barebow Recurve uses a classic riser with limbs, Barebow Compound a compound bow — both with no aiming aid whatsoever. At NFAA these are two separate classes with their own limits, such as a maximum 80 pounds and 300 fps for Barebow Compound.
Yes, but only "short and fat", not "long and thin". A compact weight on the lower riser end adjusts balance; a long, thin rod would act like a banned stabiliser.
Yes, explicitly, in World Archery field and 3D competition. Still check the local rule version before every tournament, since individual national federations can have their own additions.
Yes, definitely. The class has grown so fast in recent years that popular events like the NFAA Vegas Shoot can fill up weeks in advance. Registering early secures not just your entry but often a better shooting time too.
Barebow Arrows: Spine, Point Weight and Bare-Shaft Tuning