Compound bow for kids?

[Expatriated]

My kids watch hunting shows with me and wanted to get into shooting a compound bow in the back yard.

I bought one of these $80 Bear Archery Brave's at Cabela's, thinking that would be a good place to start. But my kids are mostly frustrated with it. There is a 1 pin sight but no peep sight so it's hard for them to line anything up. Additionally, there's no loop for the release, which I bought so the release slides around. The arrows get positioned wrongly too during the draw because the rubber pieces on the string (guess you're supposed to use your fingers?) slide around and the arrow won't stay horizontal.

So, anyway, they're all but done with this thing. I didn't expect something they were going to kill a deer with it but this thing is almost like some homemade toy, not something they can learn on for real.

They are 10 and 12.

Y'all have a recommendation for a compound bow that a youth can use to learn properly on? Bear makes an Apprentice model that seems to have all the big boy stuff on it but draw weight can be brought down to 15 lbs. That's what I'm looking at right now.

 

[sugarcreekbrass]

I bought my wife the Bear Apprentice outfit. The main reason was because I had so many Cabelas points on my credit card I got it real cheap. It's not the greatest but is a big step from what you currently have. My wife killed her first deer with it this year. I replaced the 3 pin sight with a better one after she snagged one of the pins and broke it. IIRC, you will have to put a D loop on the string and will have to slide the peep so it will be at the correct height. That might cause problems if your kids are sharing this bow and they aren't the same size.

 

[Expatriated]

Good info. THanks!

 

[Matthorstman88]

I bought my 7 year old son an bear apprentice 2 last year. I would recommend buying one. He shoots about a hundred arrows a week and the string is holding up pretty well. As far as sharing a bow a the draw length has a lot to do with your accuracy and form. He shot two perfect rounds of 300 at the state indoor tournament a couple of weekends ago with his.

 

[Expatriated]

I bought my 7 year old son an bear apprentice 2 last year. I would recommend buying one. He shoots about a hundred arrows a week and the string is holding up pretty well. As far as sharing a bow a the draw length has a lot to do with your accuracy and form. He shot two perfect rounds of 300 at the state indoor tournament a couple of weekends ago with his.

Cool. That's great. Out of curiousity, what draw weight do you have it set at?

 

[DEC]

There are a bunch of good options out there that are virtually limitless in draw weight and length settings. The beauty is that the platforms grow with your youth.

Diamond Infinite Edge
Hoyt Ignite
PSE Stinger
Mission Craze 2

Probably more, but these are some quality options that don't break the bank as well.

 

[17 squirrel]

I started my son with a preset Browning, his next bow is a Parker that when the child out grew it you could shop it back to Parker along with 50/bucks and they would upgrade it with larger limbs. He still is shooting it..
I've been very happy with the lifespan we have gotten out of it.

 

[Expatriated]

Thank you all for the info and options!