Youth bow tips

[buckchaser]

Good evening all.

My soon to be 12 year old nephew is showing a real interest in archery (with bowhunting his ultimate goal).

We (my wife, myself, his single parent dad) are looking to get him introduced to the sport.

Leaning toward a compound at this point.

He's probably around 5 feet tall and pretty stocky. Best to focus on the special "youth" models or simply a lower poundage adult bow?

I've been shooting bows since I was a teenager, but am a total neophyte to being around young archers - open to any experiences/tips those who have could share.

Thanks in advance.

 

[OR Archer]

Check out the Mission line of bows. Great quality bows that will grow with him for years to come.

 

[4rcgoat]

My son used to shoot a Bear Apprentice,not sure if they still make them.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

Bear, Diamond, Elite, Hoyt, Mission, PSE all make good youth bows that have a wide range of adjustability. Starting out with a proper draw length and fairly light draw weight is important for learning good form and being able to shoot accurately.

 

[CodeMonkey]

Mission Radik *Live* Youth Bow Review **Updated 11/21/22**

For some time now, Aubrey has been hinting to me that she would like to start her journey into the world of archery. Aside from a few shots here and there, she’s never shot a bow. Furthermore, she’s never had a bow that actually fit her or was setup properly. I decided it was time to do...

www.rokslide.com

 

[Southern Heritage]

ive Found nothing better then a Mathew’s mission. I have 3 now for 2 kids and wife v

 

[Jstumbaugh]

Theres a diamond edge in the classifieds for $200 all set up. 15-60lb draw

 

[nphunter]

A womens bow or adult bow with light limbs, is a way better bow than any youth bow made. 30-40lb limbs and the ability to use mod's or rotating mods is best, a lot of women's bows are like 23-25" draw length adjustable or if the kid is tall they make long draw models or just a mens bow with low poundage limbs.

Youth bows are OK but are cheap, less precise bows, I started my kids young at around 5 and they started with diamond atomics (little kids bow), moved to a hoyt Ruckus which is IMO one of the better youth bows on the market and finally moved them both to Strothers Hope (Moxie Angle) bows. One thing to consider is overall bow weight, that is a big factor for most kids and is still a factor for my 13yr old (85lb soaking wet).

My 16yr old is still shooting a long draw Hope with 40-50lb limbs and is pulling about 45lbs which is more than enough to hunt anything with. He got a pass-through on a mature buck at 30 yards with a 420gr arrow tipped with an expandable broadhead a couple of weeks ago. My kids are both super into archery or at least have been off and on, the youth bows are great for kids into archery but they are not really great bows in general, they are OK bows at best but great for what they are designed for. The thing about adjusting draw lengths is that you need to retune the bow each time you make an adjustment, typically the draw is super spongy also on youth or lightweight bows in general unless equipped with limb stops as well.

Unless you just don't want to spend the money then go onto the archery talk classified or ebay and pick up a used 30-40lb womens bow for him, just measure his tip-to-tip wing span and divide by 2.5. Use that as the bottom number when picking a bow.

 

[isItFallYet]

I’ve bought a few from diamond to barnett, and finally bought a Mission Radik and my son is getting pretty deadly with it. It’s easy to adjust weight and draw length. The chipmunk population around my house has been drastically reduced!

 

[bow puller]

I agree with nphunter on the womens bow vs youth as the better option. My oldest killed elk with a razor edge @ 40lbs many years ago then stepped up to a short ATA PSE that went 45-60lbs iirc. Think that one was a Drive R but it's been about 6yrs or so.

My youngest has been shooting a Bear cruzer lite the last couple years and when he's a little bigger will get a good womens bow next. He's left eye dominate so nothing to pass down from big bro.