My Son's First Bow

[donnieballgame]

I'm pretty excited, lol, picked up my son his first bow this week for Christmas. He's 4 and I think he will be pumped especially since the target has a deer on it.

Also got a forearm guard for my daughter hoping I can her into shooting, a buddy at work gave me his daughters old bow, but she hasn't touched it lol. Shes 12 almost 13 so I may have missed my chance lol.

Curious if you folks that have gone through this already and had some advice.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[Wirrex]

Oh, hell yeah! I have 3 boys: 6, 4, and 3. They have a couple bows like that one and they are better than the compound version with cams. Before these bows I made them all several pvc bows which worked great and cost nothing.

You may need to get the cheap styrofoam plastic covered target because the arrows penetrate it much easier. They aren’t as happy if the arrows bounce off.

 

[DaveT1963]

I got my daughter into archery when she was 15, killed her first deer that year. She married moved off and hasn't bowhunted since........ until this year she bought a bow, called me and said Dad I miss bowhunting together can we find a spot/hunt next year.......... it is never too late

for youngsters a afternoon of stump shooting at close range with both kid and dad shooting will build lasting memories - have fun! I bought my grandson a lemonwood longbow two years ago.

 

[Nutterbuster]

That was my favorite part of working in a shop: young new shooters! Some pointers:

• Those fiberglass arrows will most likely bounce right off of that target. A cardboard box stuffed with odds and ends (leaves, cloth, cardboard) will be cheap and fun to build with the kiddos. Arrows bouncing off the target or hanging by the tip really discourage them for some reason.
• Try to avoid an arm guard if you can. A proper wrist and arm bend will prevent mechanical injury and string slap.
• Shoot close. Whatever distance they can keep arrows on the target is the distance they need to start at. Same goes for adults. If you're losing arrows in the yard, swallow your priemde and move closer!
• Dont push them. Maybe they want to shoot. Maybe they don't. The best way to make them want to shoot is if YOU shoot. Kids emulate, and want to do what the adults they look up to do. Let them watch you for pointers. Try to keep the coaching to a minimum, especially with small kids. They're still growing, so form is hard anyway. It's more about developing the passion than honing skills early on.
• Expensive youth bows are for parents, not kids. That bow will hunt (so to speak). Upgrade one good time to something like a Bear Cruzr or Diamond Infinite edge (compound) or Samick Sage (trad). Dont bother with the in betweens.
• The exception to that is a Genesis Bow, and getting them involved in NASP. The genesis bows are fun for even adults, and the program really does a good job of teaching fundamentals. You can find so e of their videos on YouTube.

 

[Vtbow]

Oh, hell yeah! I have 3 boys: 6, 4, and 3. They have a couple bows like that one and they are better than the compound version with cams. Before these bows I made them all several pvc bows which worked great and cost nothing.

You may need to get the cheap styrofoam plastic covered target because the arrows penetrate it much easier. They aren’t as happy if the arrows bounce off.

Is your 3 year old able to shoot? ive got a little bear compound I picked up at a thrift store for mine and i wasnt sure if he is quite ready for it. he has a suction cup recurve he got for christmas last year.

 

[MJH]

I am thinking about getting my boy a bow for Xmas this year. Mom will put her head in her hands, but kid and I will be fist pumping for sure.

 

[Wirrex]

Is your 3 year old able to shoot? ive got a little bear compound I picked up at a thrift store for mine and i wasnt sure if he is quite ready for it. he has a suction cup recurve he got for christmas last year.

For sure! He shoots more than the other two combined. He forces me to shoot with him as soon as I get out of my car. Like I said the compound isn’t so good for the younger ones because of the draw length. Maybe it’s adjustable idk. I just give him his pvc bow with his name on it. He likes to shoot my targets and in one session he might get one to hit my closest target at 20yds.

When everyone is shooting I usually set their target up at 10-15’. When someone makes a good shot ya gotta go through the roof about it! They love that and it makes the other ones try harder.

 

[EricS]

That target was designed for youth so maybe the arrows will stick. If not you will need to diy one that will. He will enjoy it but will be disappointed if his arrow bounces off when he finally connects.
As far as your daughter goes it’s never too late. Even if she has no interest in hunting she can enjoy shooting. I would try to make it enjoyable for her and just have casual conversation. She’s at an age where some dedicated daddy time is always a good thing.

 

[donnieballgame]

Thanks for the pointers gents, I'm beyond excited, lol, I kinda wish I'd looked into the PVC bows, didn't really know much about that. The target is a youth target and says below 30lbs, but I'll have to make sure, I'm sure we will have a few boxes lying around after the holiday's if I need to quickly make one. I might get the suction cup one for the 2 year old, lol.

 

[Vtbow]

yeah, I"m going ot look into to PVC bows as well, checked out the little bear compound I have last night, and everyone is right on...draw lenght is pretty long! Thanks guys!

 

[Buchholz06]

That was my favorite part of working in a shop: young new shooters! Some pointers:

• Those fiberglass arrows will most likely bounce right off of that target. A cardboard box stuffed with odds and ends (leaves, cloth, cardboard) will be cheap and fun to build with the kiddos. Arrows bouncing off the target or hanging by the tip really discourage them for some reason.
• Try to avoid an arm guard if you can. A proper wrist and arm bend will prevent mechanical injury and string slap.
• Shoot close. Whatever distance they can keep arrows on the target is the distance they need to start at. Same goes for adults. If you're losing arrows in the yard, swallow your priemde and move closer!
• Dont push them. Maybe they want to shoot. Maybe they don't. The best way to make them want to shoot is if YOU shoot. Kids emulate, and want to do what the adults they look up to do. Let them watch you for pointers. Try to keep the coaching to a minimum, especially with small kids. They're still growing, so form is hard anyway. It's more about developing the passion than honing skills early on.
• Expensive youth bows are for parents, not kids. That bow will hunt (so to speak). Upgrade one good time to something like a Bear Cruzr or Diamond Infinite edge (compound) or Samick Sage (trad). Dont bother with the in betweens.
• The exception to that is a Genesis Bow, and getting them involved in NASP. The genesis bows are fun for even adults, and the program really does a good job of teaching fundamentals. You can find so e of their videos on YouTube.

All good advice. They see me out back shooting and will often wander back. Sometimes they pick up their bows, sometimes not. Sometimes they are just happy trying to pull arrows out of my target. When they do shoot, it's fun to shoot side by side alternating turns with their target a lot closer or sometimes we'll just pass their bows back and forth. They love shooting at the plastic coffee cans sitting on top of the cardboard box target for points. They also love when I stick a platform in the tree for them with a 5 gallon bucket as a step then hang a quiver for their arrows. Your gonna have a blast!

 

[CZMark]

yeah, I"m going ot look into to PVC bows as well, checked out the little bear compound I have last night, and everyone is right on...draw lenght is pretty long! Thanks guys!

That's where the Genesis shines, its draw length is infinite,