archery

I wonder if the phrase "don't shoot until you can see the whites of their eyes" has any relevance here - or is that a purely modern usage (say, for pilots)?

This wouldn't put you very close to the target (person), but close enough in archery terms, I think.

Also there was an archery contest on the grounds outside my office a few weeks back, and the colouring of the targets definitely struck me as unusual - they may have been white at the centre, with no white elsewhere. UK/European standard?