My 8 year old son is interested in archery, what type of bow would be best for him to start with?
by admin on Friday, September 3rd, 2010 | 10 Comments
He is a pretty good size young man – about 4’7 and 85 lbs., but I do want something that will be easy for him to use. Any suggestions?
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A standard recurve bow, probably in the neighborhood of 25 or 30 lb pull. The clerk at a decent sportsman’s supply shop can help you figure that out, and how to buy the right length and type of arrows. Buy a stringer and an extra string.
Personally, I wouldn’t spend a bunch of money on expensive equipment for an 8 year old. Yeah, it’s really cool. But he’s going to outgrow it AND he needs to learn good technique first.
Go to your local Boy Scout office and buy a copy of the Archery merit badge book. The BSA merit badge books contain lots of good information (and in this case SAFETY instruction!) and are written at a level appropriate for boys.
Is there someone in your family who can teach him? If not, track down someone, please. A bow is a weapon, like a gun. I’d like your son to learn to use it responsibly.
Bear makes a very easy to use bow, it’s not a compound, it’s a traditional. Dick’s and Bass pro shop’s have some good junior compound bows. I have seen junior compounds at Wall-Mart also. They are easy to use. My son is 8 and about 65 lbs and has no trouble with the one I picked up at Wall -Mart or with the traditional Bear.
Brother Otter pretty much covered it. Don’t spend too much yet. If he continues to show interest then you might think of upgrading his equipment. The most important thing is for you as a parent to encourage him and participate in his new found interest.
Small recurves (15 or 20lb) are cheaper and lighter than most compounds. There are tons of cheap ones out there! That is what I got for my kids.
You may want to check out the Mathews Genesis bow. This a compound bow that does not have any let off, but has a very large range of draw length without affecting the draw weight (quite an engineering feat). Like standard compounds, the draw weight is adjustable. So you could set the weight at say 35 lbs., and you and your son could both shoot the bow at 35 lbs., even if his draw length is 20" and yours 30"! Pretty amazing. The real benefit is that at his age, he’ll likely be growing like a weed, and can out grow most bows in only a couple of years. This bow will grow with him as far as draw length goes. You’ll have to check on the various draw weigth ranges and fit him to one so that he starts out at the bottom of the weigth range so he has plenty of room to increase weight as he grows. Price range on these bows is somewhere in the $150-175 range I think.
Good luck to you and enjoy the sport!
I agree with the first answer. Bear makes some great youth compound bows. The same quality as their full size bows, just smaller.
a good recurve im 15 and learned to shoot on a compound but wish i learned on a recurve just because anybody can learn to shoot a compound if they can shoot a rifle
Brother Otter Has the right idea…. check in your area for any sportsman’s clubs that offer a youth archery class also. I coach youth archery and all the kids love it. I actually have 4 classes on Saturday through the sportsman’s club I belong to and I have 1 class on Wednesday through the National Archery in the Schools Program. (check to see if your school system participates).
I have been coaching for 5 years…most parents run out and get the "best" bow on the market and when they don’t see the "results" they expect they get upset. Just like any other sport it takes patience and practice.
I would consider a recurve to start with and if he continues to show an interest as he grows you can move up to a larger recurve or a compound bow….. My daughter started on a recurve provided through the sportsman’s club and when she decided she was going to continue shooting and wanted to shoot target and 3-d archery we moved her into a compound.
She started with a Browning Micro Midas 3 and has since moved into a Hoyt….she just turned 11 and started shooting at 6. If you would like more information on youth archery classes feel free to get in touch with me.
If you’re in the US, go to usarchery.org. Find a coach in your area and a range. If you already know a range, give them a visit and talk to the archers there.
As others have pointed out, a recurve is best, but I would start with at most 15 lbs. A heavy bow will screw up his form very very quickly. I coach quite a few 8 year olds and sometimes I have to have them use a 10lbs bow. If you see him tilting his body backwards to pull the bow, the bow is too heavy for him.
First of all, forget about compounds and other expensive bows. Start him off with an inexpensive fibre-glass bow ("one-size-fits-all", they are made to be used left- and right-handed); you can usually find one at a "big-box" sporting-goods store such as Sportsman’s Warehouse – which is where I found one for less than $30 (I have NEVER seen one at any Wal-Mart), and it is small enough in size and draw-weight for most any child. One of the better "kid’s bows" on the market is the "Little Sioux", by Barnett Archery (it was about $27 a few years ago, sold as a set with two arrows, quiver, finger-tab and target); another is the Titan Recurve Target Bow (fibre-glass) by Indian Archery (about $38 a few years ago). Also, don’t worry about getting him any "pretty" arrows, either, until he has enough skill to hit the target at least 70% of the time; wood is best, as it is the least expensive, and those arrows WILL get broken and/or lost (although if you are willing to spring for fibre-glass arrows, they do last longer than wood).
Generally, no matter what type of bow he starts with, it should be around 15-20 pounds in draw-weight (the amount of force needed to draw the string back). If he is a "beefy" kid (lifts weights and such), he might be able to handle a 30 pound draw-weight bow, but that is rather "iffy" and a heavier draw-weight bow should wait until he is able to hit the target accurately with the lighter bow. If he has to strain to pull the string back, he needs a lighter draw-weight bow (all good archery shops will let people try out bows, to find the right one for the individual).
Go to a local archery range (if there is one in your area) and talk with the archers you see there. Also, go to an archery shop for advice – not one of the "big-box" stores, unless they have a completely separate archery section (they usually don’t, as with Gander Mountain and Scheel’s – and sometimes Sportsman’s Warehouse). There really is nothing worse – or at least not much that is worse – than bad advice. Go to those who have the experience, not those who are only trying to sell you a product.
No matter where you go or what bow you get for the boy, keep the cost down as much as you can – he might decide that he just doesn’t want to do archery, after all – and $200 or more is a lot to spend on something he has only a "passing interest" in.