Starting youngsters on a bow?

[Aggar]

I was at gander mountain yesterday with my kids and my daughter, 6, saw one of those little cheap $20 bows with 2 arrows and she said she wants to get one and start shooting. At what age is a good age to do this? My daughter is small for her age group. And are those cheap bows worth a crap?

 

[Hookeye]

My kids were small and all have shot since age 5.
Bear "Panda" then Golden Eagle "Brave" and then PSE "Bandit".
Had all 3 of them slinging arrows with that batch at one time.

Paid $25 for the Brave set new, on closeout. Reg $50 back then, I thought that overpriced, and still do.

$25 was a bargain and my kids shot the crap out of it (and my garage door).


17, 20 and 23 now.
I got a Mathews Gen X decked for them to mess with. W release I have over $400 in it.
Worst case I can adjust that for me, to use bowfishing.

Little kids...............I'd go the same route I did way back.
They drop, stomp and bang those little rigs around. They held up great.
Were passed down to friends and family when their little ones could use them.

 

[Hookeye]

Kids when real young, grow so fast..........it's hard to find something that fits now, and will next yr.
When so young, it's all about fun......so form/fit isn't critical.

I think they had more fun making silhouette targets on blue insulation foam.

 

[jlehman]

I was at gander mountain yesterday with my kids and my daughter, 6, saw one of those little cheap $20 bows with 2 arrows and she said she wants to get one and start shooting. At what age is a good age to do this? My daughter is small for her age group. And are those cheap bows worth a crap?

I would go for it, my daughter was 5 when she started. She isn't super good and her interest comes and goes with it. I think at that age you go with cheap and if there is real talent and or interest you think about a bigger investment at the time you need to make another purchase either breakage or out growing.

 

[Aggar]

I guess I'll have to get that for her and another for my oldest daughter as well and then a nerf bow for my 3 year old son.

 

[HamsterStyle]

As far as age goes, it all depends on the individual kid. For Christmas this year, we picked up our 5 year old just a little cheap, looks like a compound bow that shoots suction cup arrows. The back of the package had a picture of a deer that you can cut out as a target. If you look in the picture, it is down the hallway taped to the side of her dresser. She absolutely loves shooting that bow. When she hits the target and the arrow sticks, you would think that she won the lottery.



The oldest, Aidan, who is 12, got a bear compound bow I believe it is the brave. It was approximately $70. We have not gotten it out to shoot it yet. But, it appears to be a very nice bow for the purpose.

 

[Hookeye]

Even when the Brave bow still fit my kid, at longest draw setting......the poundage was too light.
I made some nylon shims and got maybe 2# more from it.
She stuck a carp with it (water down, trapped in a 30 yard stretch, water maybe at deepest up to m waist- I ran them to shallows where the kids nuked a couple).

 

[17 squirrel]

My son was around 6 when he started shooting a bow, I bought him a little Browning, it worked for a few years and then I bought him a Parker that could be upgraded for 50 bucks. After a few years with the small limbs I shipped it back to Parker and they upgraded it with limbs that would adj to 29" pull if needed. He used it for another 4 or 5 years until he bought himself a true adult Parker last fall.
And I will say I took a old release of mine that used a strap around your wrist and made it smaller to fit a kid. It helped tremendously for him to be able to pull back his bow when he was little.

 

[Water63]

Get the starter bow if they like it and stay with it then invest in better equipment.
Scholastic 3D is a great program if you have a club in your area S3da ? 3-D Archery
The kids shoot everything from recurves to compounds my daughter really liked it. Goodluck

 

[Matthorstman88]

I got my son 6 year old son a bear apprentice 2 it cost around 250 I believe but it adjust with out a press from 16 to 26 inch draw lenths and goes from 10 to 50 pounds of draw weight. It is good to get them started early and get them in some sort of archery program. He shot in the indiana state indoor shoot and took home 1st place. The ifaa (Indiana field archery association)Does an amazing job of getting young ones interested in competition by giving big trophys and making it a big deal for them.

 

[Lee11b]

Started my daughter, when she was 8, with a Diamond Infinite Edge. A little expensive, but she can shoot it until she is an adult

 

[dnurk]

Started my son when he was 7 with one of those cheap Bear kits as well. I think it was called the little brave. They are perfect for seeing if the kid wants to stick with it.

He is 9 now and has a nice wooden longbow from Black Rhino bows. They make really great stuff for young shooters.

One small suggestion. Grab a set of finger savers online and install them on your kids bow. It will help them get a cleaner release and teach good habits.

http://www.amazon.com/Pine-Ridge-Ar...fkmr3&keywords=Archery+string+Slide+on+finger

one other tip...make the targets fun. Let them shoot pumpkins, balloons, etc. Have them draw zombies or monsters on pieces of paper and tack those up on your target face. Make it all fun as long as everyone is safe.