• The SH Membership has gone live. Only SH Members have access to post in the classifieds. All members can view the classifieds. Starting in 2020 only SH Members will be admitted to the annual hunting contest. Current members will need to follow these steps to upgrade: 1. Click on your username 2. Click on Account upgrades 3. Choose SH Member and purchase.
  • We've been working hard the past few weeks to come up with some big changes to our vendor policies to meet the changing needs of our community. Please see the new vendor rules here: Vendor Access Area Rules

Thoughts on a first bow for my 16 year old son

kelly.jayp

kelly.jayp

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2017
Messages
1,473
Location
Charlotte, NC area
PSE Stinger? Mission MXR? Other thoughts? For deer hunting - never shot a bow but loves to hunt. Thin build and began working out a couple months ago to build strength but not sure what he can pull yet
Jay


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
kelly.jayp said:
PSE Stinger? Mission MXR? Other thoughts? For deer hunting - never shot a bow but loves to hunt. Thin build and began working out a couple months ago to build strength but not sure what he can pull yet
Jay


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
I would be more likely to buy him a higher end bow 2nd hand. Most of the time you can buy a bare bow a couple of years old for less than you would spend on a cheaper option. The accessories are just as expensive as the bow, but you can move them around. If he is a teenager, he should work his way up to at least 60# draw pretty quick. I bought a used halon for my buddy with a skb hard bow case, arrows, broadheads, release, 300.00 sight and qad ultra rest for 800.00. The package probably cost the original owner 2200.00 to 2500.00 bucks.
 
One thing I found with some of the starter bows is they generally have a maximum draw length of 29-30 inches. If your son is still growing like my 16 year old they can grow out of the bow really quick. My son grew around 8-9 inches in the last couple years and now has a draw length over 30 inches. Just a thought for consideration. I never thought he would grow that tall, as I am short and stocky. He is now a 6'1" string bean and I need to buy him another bow.
 
My first bow was a bear cruzr...the main selling point for me was the adjustability. 12-30 draw length and 5-70 pound draw.....I can set it up for anyone to shoot...I knew I would upgrade to a nicer 1 eventually but the bow was fine for me to hunt with. I killed my first whitetail with it and I hope my wife will get her first with it and then the kids later when/if they want to

They made in Florida so that why I ended up choosing a Bear over other starter bows...It was either the bear or a diamond
 
Weldabeast said:
My first bow was a bear cruzr...the main selling point for me was the adjustability. 12-30 draw length and 5-70 pound draw.....I can set it up for anyone to shoot...I knew I would upgrade to a nicer 1 eventually but the bow was fine for me to hunt with. I killed my first whitetail with it and I hope my wife will get her first with it and then the kids later when/if they want to

They made in Florida so that why I ended up choosing a Bear over other starter bows...It was either the bear or a diamond
Click to expand...
I bought this 1 as well for my son. He enjoys shooting it but due to sports he won't be hunting with it quite yet. It is a really nice bow but the string on it is subpar. But that is an easy fix. Really easy to setup and tune as well.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk
 
My first bow was a diamond infinite edge. Crazy adjustable and killed plenty of deer with it. It’s very easy to shoot and very easy to tune heck you can back the poundage down to 5 lbs so you can re string it yourself. Then if he sticks with the sport upgrade him to a bowtech(since bowtech makes diamond)
 
My brother has a Bear Cruzr. It shoots pretty well but is a very light weight bow. Some like that, but I find it harder to shoot at longer ranges.
 
Hard to beat the Mission MXR. I traded my xbow for it to see if my shoulder could take it first, with the intent of trading it in for an Athens. I love it so much I never got the Athens. Barry bought one too.
 
Last edited:
I bought one of those diamonds for like $400 fully loaded. It was a fine bow, but knowing what I know now I would have looked for a Mathews z7 or something. Around here loaded they’re right around 500 and a hell of a good bow.
 
Used flagship is the way to go imo...nothing wrong with entry class bows I used one all last year after my very well used and loved Mathews q2 took dump...the bow my father bought me 16 years ago
 
This is a tough question to answer, I personally like the Diamond Infinite Edge due to all the adjustability that you can do yourself without a press. And it really is a great shooting bow and it has a fair amount of forgiveness. Unfortunately it really comes down to user preference and comfort. I shot alot of PSE products until I bought a Z-7 that was the most comfortable bow I ever held in my hands. After that my entire archery game changed I actually got anxiety when I would go out to practice. I shoot a Triax now and it is great but not like my z-7. As far as draw length and him growing, you need adjustment that said I dont know of to many company's that offer much more than 30" draw. I am 6'1 and I shoot a 30" draw I truly need 30 1/4" but that is as high of a cam that I can get. The rest can be made up in form and D loop. Really though I don't know of a bad bow these days get 1 that is easy to adjust that is comfortable to him. In Ohio you can hunt with anything 40#'s or higher thats plenty to kill a deer. Not going to take a shot past 20yards at that weight personally but to each their own on that 1. I would defiantly shop the classifieds on archery talk though, can get some great deals on bows there. Important to start him out lower weight and get him shooting good and enjoying it then work the poundage up. A lot of people think you have to max out that draw weight but then they miss a deer cause they couldn't hold back the bow for that extra 30 seconds. Consistent groups repeatable are way more important than that 1 shot delivering as much impact as possible ( just because I can pull 70#'s) you know those guys. Good Luck!! Hope he enjoys shooting and hope this helps.
 
The popular ones I know of:
  • PSE Stinger package
    • $450-480 @ Cabelas
    • 28-70lb adjustment
    • up to 30" draw length
  • Diamond Infinite Edge package
    • $350 @ Cabelas
    • 5-70lb adjustment
    • up to 31" draw length
  • Bear Cruzer G2 package
    • $399 @ Cabelas
    • 5-70lb adjustment
    • up to 31" draw length
All the packages include a biscuit style rest, peep, 3-5pin sight and quiver.

My son has the Cruzer G2 from a couple years ago, has grown more than a foot since then and the bow keeps up with him easily. It feels very light in the hand, no shock we notice, etc. If you want a big box package deal, that's my fav.

Another option I can't help grin about is off Amazon: The Sanlida Dragon X8
  • $199 on Amazon (Prime)
  • 0-70lb adjustment
  • up to 31" draw length
  • 5 pin sight
  • peep
  • biscuit style rest
  • no quiver
I bought one of these this year after having problems with my old bow and figuring "What the heck, not much to lose" and can't express enough how impressed I am with it. You can find youtube reviews of it and instructions on setting it up, tuning it, etc. I did all of that stuff myself with their help and didn't even need a bow press to do it. I used the money I saved to buy a drop away rest and a quiver to add, and am entirely happy with it. The rest is a nice upgrade if you shoot heavy arrows that would fall through a biscuit, but not necessary otherwise.

I may upgrade from this to an older flagship at some point, but this thing will remain a reliable "truck bow" for years.
 
Good stuff guys. Will be marinating on the suggestions. I like the used top shelf approach and I like the Mission MXR from what I have read - a used MXR package bow might be the unicorn


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
At 16 he most likely is big enough to be in a dedicated bow. His specs would help with suggestions. I do like the large range bows like the infinite edge but there is a down side to that. My suggestion for him is the same as anyone. Take him to shoot bows. Lots of bows. Let him pick what he likes then buy used. Forget the name on the bow as there are a lot of good companies out there. You can take all this advice but in the end, he is the one shooting.
However, if he happens to be a lefty, hit me up. I may have something good for him.
Good luck!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top