Compound Archery

Modern high-tech archery bow with cams and cables — shot at 50 m indoors and 70 m outdoors.

👥1 per team🌤both

What is Compound Archery?

Compound archery is the modern high-tech branch of target archery. The bow uses a cam-and-cable system that reduces holding weight at full draw and provides consistent release energy. Compound is contested internationally under World Archery at 50 m indoors and 50 m or 70 m outdoors, and forms half of the Archery World Cup.

Quick facts

Category

Precision Sports

Type

Individual

Players

1 per team

Where played

both

Country of origin

🇺🇸 United States

Estimated origin

1966, Missouri (H. W. Allen patented the compound bow)

Olympic

No

Popularity

major

Sources & provenance

Last verified 2026-08-24.verified