Archery for young children

[KristenR]

Any recommendations for a beginner bow and arrow set for young children? I see some for as cheap as $30 and some upwards of $300.

[Momma2Luke]

:bigear:

[dtsmamtj]

We have bought ours either used from friends or archery places. Mine have compounds - my 6 year old still needs some help from dad sometimes. I can't really recommend any specific name brand that we use consistently though. Mine prefer a compound to a recurve. Out here we have places where you can go and shoot indoors and they will let you try out different bows to see what works well for the individual person.

[Halcyon]

We got one for ds10 for his bday two weeks ago. It is quite good (he is certainly pleased!) and younger can use it too. Dh did a fair amont of research.

 

Here's the link:http://www.amazon.com/Bear-Youth-AYS6000-Green-Scout/dp/B007TG9I56

[Mommyof4ks]

Our kids start on Genesis bows for around $150, and then move up from there when they are older. Dh found a Genesis on Craigslist for $75 with some arrows (that is the expensive part). It is a compound bow that does not require a lot of adjustment and set up the way other bows do. It shoots well, and my dd used it in competition a few years back. it is a beginner bow for sure, but it can easily be sold when your child is ready to upgrade.

[Desert Rat]

We took archery classes at a local archery store for 2 years every other week before buying ds his own bow. The classes were inexpensive and they supplied bows for them to use, both recurve and compound. After 2 years, we bought ds his own bow- a Matthews compound. It cost us about $250 and we've since added a few bells and whistles that cost another $50 or so. This may be an option for you.

I think it's a good idea to let kids test out new sports/skills in a way that doesn't cost parents tons of money for equipment. Archery can be very expensive. Now that he's getting competitive, we're finding that out. But, at least we know he's going to stick with it.

[hillfarm]

When dd was little, she started out with a Bear Brave bow. It was about 1 step up from a toy, but was well balanced and shot pretty well for her. When we got into her shooting sports club, we kind of fell into the rotating cycle of equipment. So when she outgrew the little bow, we sold it to another kid and bought a used one that some other kid had just outgrown. I think we did that a couple of times before getting her the Bear Apprentice bow that she shoots now. We had to add about $100 worth of modifications to it for her, but she really likes it.

 

I didn't notice if you were buying for a girl or boy, but we hit a problem spot around age 10 where dd's draw length didn't match up well with her upper body strength. That may be something you need to consider. This website, Carbon Arrow University, has great info on how to determine the proper drawlength, bow size, arrow length, pull weight, etc. More info than most kids need to know, but very helpful in getting them started with something they can actually hold properly and have a decent chance of being successful with.

[mrs.m]

My DD has a Genesis Youth compound bow and a PSE recurve. Check your 4-H club too. They may offer classes.