Need input from anyone whose child owns a fiberglass bow (as in, "bow & arrow).

[Colleen]

My second son is turning 11 in a couple of weeks and wants a fiberglass bow for this birthday. I've always been reluctant to buy a bow & arrow for any of my guys; just safety concerns, I guess. I had a little archery set when I was that age (nothing fancy), but there were no younger kids around. As some of you know, I already have plenty of things to worry about when my guys are outside: The river, the hay mow, the fact that they're out in the woods chopping down trees with a good-sized ax. My dh and I don't see eye-to-eye on things like this. In that vein, while I've been thinking over the bow, dh already suggested to his mom that she gift that to our son. So she's doing that ~ or sending the money, with which he can buy the bow. So now I'm in the position of, a) helping him find a reasonably-priced, age-appropriate bow; and b) establishing safety rules since I know dh won't do so.

 

So give me some suggestions of a bow to purchase, please. It shouldn't be elaborate ~ just a fun kid type-of-thing, if you kwim, but something that hopefully won't break after two days. (She's sending $50 for it, btw.) Also, if your child(ren) has an archery set, do you have some rules in place, or some safety suggestions to offer? I can just see my guys using this thing out in the woods and someone ending up with an eye patch.:blink:

[yvonne]

Hi Colleen,

 

I'm actually thinking of getting my 8yo boys bows and arrows for Christmas. We've had a number of the toy ones. They're ok for a little while, but really aren't worth much. For your boy-boys, I would not even bother with a toy quality bow & arrow.

 

What we did that was tons of fun was try out a real archery class. We contacted an archery club in our area. They referred us to a guy who does free introductory class on archery for kids for the club. He said most archery clubs will do something like that. The boys _loved_ it. They met at a real archery range in one of the county parks with an archery range. He showed them how to hold the bow and arrow and how to aim and shoot it. They practiced shooting at bales of hay with bulls-eyes on them right alongside other, adult archers who were shooting at distant targets. Some of them had regular bows and arrows, some had compound bows, some had hand-made arrows,...

 

The best part for me was discovering a completely new sports community. All the folks who were there shooting were the friendliest, most helpful people. They were all more than willing to show the boys their particular type of equipment. None of them seemed particularly bloodthirsty. :) It was a fantastic community.

 

The other attraction for me is that it is an activity that we can do on our own schedule, without needing to coordinate with anyone else, in a beautiful, mountain park setting. It's quiet and calm, with friendly people. I might even get a bow for myself so I can try it out with the boys.

 

In terms of start-up cost, I think he said that a way better than play set-up, but obviously not top of the line bow/arrow/accessories (hand protection), would cost about $180 total.

 

All this to say... If you have an archery club near you, be sure to talk to them & see if your son can get a sample lesson. He will love it! And after just one, solid introduction to it, he would know enough to know what sort of bow to get and he would be able to practice shooting on his own.

 

Let me know how your son likes it, if he tries out a class!

yvonne

[Kate CA]

Funny that you mention this. We just bought this for John (9). It may not be what Per wants, but it was what I felt comfortable saying - "Go do this in the backyard with your sisters." ;) It is not a fiberglass bow either, but we own those and they are big and unwieldy for a smaller person. This site has a lot of different real sets for kids, but they are all over $50. I am not sure you can get a real one with arrows, etc. for that much. Have you been to your local sporting goods store to price check?

 

My husband says that if you want to get something that is a "real" set then he recommends the sets from that site (or something similar at your local sporting goods store). We bought what we bought as a beginner set to get him comfortable shooting until he can step up to a more advanced bow. Mark knows how to use them so he will learn from Mark at that point. Is anyone going to teach Per how to use it or is he going to be on his own? That is kind of a big thing to consider too, safety-wise.

 

We will have rules. I will not allow John to just go out whenever he wants and he will have to make sure there is no one around him. He has gone out with his local Scout troop as well as with Mark so he is familiar with the bow. Mark is still not comfortable with just letting him at a real bow without any supervision.

 

HTH! :D

[Unicorn.]

Our 12 yo ds has the $12.00 set from Academy. Let me just say that looks and price are sometimes decieving. The bow has held up very well to our destructive boy. It is the same type they use at boy scout camp. He's had it about 2 yrs now. We bought extra arrows (I think it only comes w/ 2) and made him a target out of lots of foam core board and cardboard, but a hay bale (especially a round bale) is the best idea. I just didn't have access to hay at the time.

 

As for rules, our 2 biggest rules are 1) make sure no one (including the dog/cat)is in front of you, even if they are well past the target!

2) Don't shoot it towards the house (or the neighbor's house)

 

You don't need to spend a lot of money to get a decent bow, especially if this is not something you are sure will work out for your family- kwim. We love bow's around here, just wish we had more space.

hth

[Rosie_0801]

If you have a local SCA group in your area, you could contact them for suggestions too. If that's a direction you want to head, you might want a wooden bow instead.

Rosie

[Peela]

Hi Colleen,

My just turned 13yo just got a bow and arrow for his b'day. His dad just joined the SCA (medieval re-enactment people) and wanted ds to get involved too (dh is ow into heavy combat with full medieval armour- its quite a sight!). Anyway he did research- but bought ds a $180 bow and arrow- so not much help to you. There are much cheaper versions- like Rosie says, check out your local SCA group, they will give you contacts.

 

As for rules- we set up a target in the backyard and surrounded it with cardboard boxes, so that if he misses, the arrows don't hit the neighbours :) or get lost, or hit a hard surface and get damaged (they are not cheap to replace). No small kids are allowed in the backyard while archery is taking place, all moving pets (dogs) are put inside, and anyone else around must stay behind the archer until all arrows are spent.

Meanwhile, we are reading Robin Hood and ds is getting pretty good.

 

I think it certainly can be done safely if you set rules. If the rules are broken, the bow is confiscated for a time.

Ds has been making home made bows and arrows with the other (younger than him) boys in the street for a couple of years now. Its a boy thing! I am sure it is less safe than what we have set up- but they are less powerful, too.

 

Dh bought me a bow and arrow too- hoping I will get interested- I may, but as yet havent used it.

[Ria]

Our five sons have compound bows. Yes, they could do some *serious* bodily harm, but we are very strict about safety. We have an archery area set up in the yard, and a target. The boys know the rules....basically the same rules we have about their bb guns. There are no violations or the weapons are confiscated. We've never had a problem.

 

Ria

[Donna]

My 11yo has a compound bow (for hunting and target shooting) and we are looking to purchase one for 13yo, just haven't found a left handed bow his size for the right price yet. We searched ebay and Craig's list to find them. Oldest son is blind in one eye, hence the need for the left handed bow but has been practicing pulling back his brother's bow.

 

Both will take the bow hunter's safety education course (they have taken the shotgun course already). They target shoot only with a grown up present either outside at our home or in poppop's basement (yes, he has a target set up in his house and is an avid bow target shooting competitor). At home, they are allowed to practice pulling back and aiming in the house with no arrows to build up their strength (to be able to pull back 35-40lb without shaking 60 times) and steadiness.

 

I think the general rules of safety would apply with a bow. Know your target and beyond being a big rule. Knowing your child's maturity level is also a factor in whether or not you want a grown up present or in the vicinity while they are shooting.

[angela in ohio]

We have knives, guns, archery equipment, you name it. They are locked up unless dad (or mom) is available to supervise. Dh teaches hunter safety and gun courses, so they get plenty of training, but we still require adult supervision at all times (12, 10, and 6 yo.)

 

I can ask dh about a bow when he gets home.

[Jean in Newcastle]

The biggest rule at our house is that they can only be used when there are no visitors. Unfortunately, even with supervision, we've had trouble with visitors wanting to participate but then not be willing to follow the safety rules. It got to be such a problem that we now only use our weapons when there are no visitors.

[texascamps]

My ds 12 is getting a a bow for Christmas but we are buying a real one, so he can hunt with it next year. I had to return one that I bought because it was not legal for hunting here. However, I was told that it was a competition bow. Pricey. We had a plastic long bow that we bought from Academy for about $25 with some practice arrows that we've been using for years and its okay, if they really only want to mess around.

 

Rules are: They have to ask us to pull it out. Fire against the fence. (no one lives behind us) Everyone stay behind the shooter until all arrows are fired. Practice arrows only in the yard.

[Tarheel Heather]

If you or your dh are up to it, you can make a bow for less than 10$, and purchase arrows. My father made my kids bows from pvc, electrical tape, and some twine. The kids painted them. They are the youth arrows.

 

My blog link with bow pics.

 

Something else to think about!

[Colleen]

Thanks for your help. After reading the replies, and talking a bit more with Per about his interest in owning a bow, I'm feeling pretty doubtful about this. He isn't particularly interested in archery per se; he's not interested in joining a club, taking lessons, etc (and I wouldn't want to take the time for that either, to be honest). Just shooting at a target in the backyard sounds kinda boring to him. I think it's more the idea of the whole thing: Running around in the woods with a bow & arrow ~ which is exactly what I wouldn't want him to be doing. Actually, when we were talking about it, he specifically said he wants to shoot at ducks and birds. This is what I get for trying to teach my boys not to harm animals. Great!:tongue_smilie:

My dh wouldn't be teaching him how to use the bow or be involved other than to take him to buy the thing. Aaargh! Why do I always have to be the bad guy? I feel guilty, because I know how much my son is into the thought of having a bow. I don't want to borrow trouble but I just don't see giving it to him with no parameters in place. And yet, I'd have to be the one who establishes and maintains those parameters, and it'd be a royal pain the arse to go it alone. As far as Hans is concerned, it's a non-issue. He told me that he and his brothers had bows and sometimes hit each other with arrows ~ broke the skin, sometimes really got hurt, but so what? They had fun! So he'd be the good guy who said "yes" to the bow, while I'd be telling Per he can't shoot at animals, can't use it out in the woods, can't use it around the little guys, yada yada yada.

 

Oh, bother. I can't decide what to do.:confused:

Edited December 2, 2008 by Colleen

[Mad Jenny Flint]

My son has a compound bow, a child's one, and has used it on exactly two occasions. This was a gift from my dad, an avid hunter, and it is the real deal, and expensive.

 

All that aside, at the sporting goods store where he purchased it, the salesman was good enough to take me aside and tell me that NO ONE should be nearby while there is target shooting going on- that this bow and these arrows could cause serious injury, and because the wound is not cauterized (by the arrow, etc), bleeding to death is a possibility.

 

Needless to say, if he shoots it, he does it alone, and away from animals. It just hasn't turned out to be a big deal in any case since he is not all that interested.

[GailV]

Oh, bother. I can't decide what to do.:confused:

 

This is the point where it's nice to have outside authority. I haven't been in the archery world much, but I doubt that many sales people would approve of the idea of running around without safety considerations, and would probably say so.

 

Having adults who are involved in archery say, "that's really a bad idea; you shouldn't do that" may give some weight to your arguments. At our archery club the kids are not even allowed to RUN in the building AT ALL, because they could trip over someone's floor quiver or somehow be in a freak accident. I can picture our instructor's response to your dh's vision of how your son would use the bow -- she would calmly say, "you people shouldn't be involved in archery, that's irresponsible."

[Colleen]

My son has a compound bow, a child's one, and has used it on exactly two occasions....It just hasn't turned out to be a big deal in any case since he is not all that interested.

 

Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case here ~ once the novelty wears off and he discovers I'm serious about following safety precautions.;)

[Colleen]

This is the point where it's nice to have outside authority. I haven't been in the archery world much, but I doubt that many sales people would approve of the idea of running around without safety considerations, and would probably say so.

 

Having adults who are involved in archery say, "that's really a bad idea; you shouldn't do that" may give some weight to your arguments. At our archery club the kids are not even allowed to RUN in the building AT ALL, because they could trip over someone's floor quiver or somehow be in a freak accident. I can picture our instructor's response to your dh's vision of how your son would use the bow -- she would calmly say, "you people shouldn't be involved in archery, that's irresponsible."

 

Unfortunately, an instructor's/salesperson's opinion doesn't matter to my husband.:glare:

[Jean in Newcastle]

If it is just the idea of having a bow and arrow - would he settle for one of the kind with suction cups at the end? Vision forum has a compound bow like that and also a blow gun. My ds11 still has fun with those. (Though he has also taken them apart to make them into other "weapons").

[buddhabelly]

The players wear these special aprons that the darts stick to. They wear eye protection (comes with the set), and it is kind of like paintball because since the darts stick, you can "see" how many times you've been hit. (No squabbling over, "I got you! Yes I did!" "No you didn't!"

 

So this idea would be more for the whole family, at least the older boys and their friends. But he would be shooting at people rather than ducks, so you would still have to correct his idea about that. Another good thing about it is that it is very clear who is playing and who is not. If someone has the special apron on, they are playing. If they don't, you are NOT allowed to shoot darts at them!

 

You would probably want to order two sets so that four children can play. I believe Hasbro makes this, and it is called "Nerf Dart Tag."

 

Hope that helps a little. Oh dear, I just realized that this isn't even a bow at all, more of a gun. Oh well.

 

Julie

[hillfarm]

My dd has been using a Bear brand Brave compound bow. The amount of force used to pull it is around 17 pounds. She has recently outgrown it and is moving up into a slightly better bow with a little more power. We will sell the smaller bow for around $50. So keep in mind that if you get a bow and it isn't being used, you can always resell it. Hers is a real bow, not a toy, but it is not hunting-legal in our state as it does not have enough power to guarantee a clean kill. (I think they require a 40 pound pull and at 10yo, she is quite a ways from being able to draw that much pressure.) It is perfect for a child who is learning to shoot or for just target shooting in the back yard. It came with a couple of target-tipped arrows, the on-board quiver and sight.

 

My dd participates in 4-H shooting sports archery and rifle training. The club is wonderful. They manage to take kids of all ages and "focus levels", if you KWIM, and run a program that is very educational, well structured and fun. This is a group where there are no first chances. The instructors explain the safety rules and gently drill the kids on them at each meeting. Anyone breaking the rules is immediately pulled from the shooting line and has to sit out the rest of the class. A second offense at a subsequent class results in dismissal for the rest of the season. In our 3 years involvement I have seen many hyper and unruly kids go through the program and only twice have I seen anyone benched. I haven't seen anyone dismissed. The kids seem to know that this is a group where the boundaries are made of iron and are completely unbending. It is one of the most popular special interest clubs in our area. Apparently the kids thrive on such a structured, no-nonsense atmosphere.

[Peela]

I have been the bad guy at times, too, Colleen, and I think you have to trust your own gut instincts on it. I have certianly said a strong no to violent adult computer games my husband has no trouble with, for our son.

 

Most archery experts will tell you how dangerous it can be with the more powerful sets. In our case though, my husband knew a kid when he was a kid who got an arrow through the eye, just playing around with friends- and I was the one who over rode his concerns and allowed our son to play around in the street with his friends with home made bows and arrows- knowing all the other mothers were as concerned and aware of the dangers me, but we were all willing to try it because our kids were outside playing and being creative rather than watching TV! But there is a big difference between a powerful bow and arrow and a play kit- now that ds has the powerful kind, there are strict rules and no playing with friends- which actually severely limits his interest in it too. In fact, I think he has spent one, maybe two sessions in the back yard shooting the target since he got it a few weeks ago now.

[Laura R (FL)]

You know, it really does have to have some kind of common sense limit to it. My oldest was the FL State Indoor target champ for her age group. Her bow is about a $600 recurve set-up though, probably not what you're looking for. ;) Sorry, you don't get to brag about that achievement very often.

 

I have a friend whose boys made their own bow and arrow set out of wood. I think they bought a cheap bow and made their own wooden arrows. Pretty clever and then they had to study the physics to get the arrows to fly right. From what I understand, they are pretty good with it (elementary, jr high, high school age).

 

Ok then, she says that any bow under $50 isn't really going to be much fun and will break easily. She played around with one with my dh when they were shooting at a Gander Mountain range. She says the draw length is too short, it wouldn't even go 18m, and you sure couldn't put any eye out with one. She agrees with the $156 starter set from the previously listed site, or checking on ebay.

 

As for safety, when she shoots in the backyard, she calls out before she fires a shot. Siblings and dogs/cats must be inside. I don't know if her bow is lethal because she only draws 27 pounds, but it's a recurve, not a compound, and she has those thin carbon arrows for target shooting. I bet it could put a hurtin' on you at close range! :eek: