How You Should Some Start Shooting A Bow

[270WIN]

I was woundering is 4 to you of an age to start shooting.I have a 4 year old doughter who love to watch me shhot my bow and now is asking for her own bow for xmas.Ofcourse she will get one but she want one like dad so i was pricing some compound should i start her on a compound or recurve?

[willyqbc]

Well I can tell you that I started my son when he was old enough to walk. I started him with a basic little fibreglass recurve and gave him lots of help getting drawn and anchored. after about a year we bought him a Tom thumbII. He is now 4 and shooting 18M FITA, he shoots 180 - 190 on a 60cm target face. So go ahead and start her young, but you might want to start her with a basic little recurve as they are a little easier to manipulate.
Just my opinion,
Chris

One must be very carefull not to get a bow which is to hard for a child to pull as it can cause harm to the child. You might want to check with your doctor and a certified instructor before you buy a bow.

[Cdn-Redneck]

I agree with make sure the draw isn't too high I was involved with a club that promoted youth archery and one of the main issues was parents buying bows that were too hard for the kids to draw properly. Check with a local club and instructor on what would be appropriate. You can get low poundage recurves and compounds. My daughters Hoyt Banshhee compound goes down to an 18" draw and 20 lb. draw weight. Most parents don't want to buy another bow in a year so they buy one that will last because it has a high draw weight they can grow into.

[BCBairdo]

My daughter shot some 3D last year when she was 3 with her little recurve bow. Just got in from outside with her, gearing up for the upcoming indoor 3D shoot in Jan and she's still shooting the recurve which I anticipate her doing for the next couple of years. As walksalot says it is VERY important that they don't pull heavy weights at a your age or it could cause serious damage to their shoulders which will show up as they get older. Especially for girls it will take them a lot longer to build up the muscle to pull back a 20-30lb draw but as long as you build them up slowly there's no reason why they won't be able to draw back the 40lb minimum required to hunt by the time they are 10.....I know my daughter can't wait to shoot a grouse...flung a couple arrows this fall at one and even though she didn't hit it, it was a very neat experience to share with her.


Ian

[solocam]

270, I started my son at 4, bought him a cheap fiberglass recurve from Crappy Tire. Now a year later he is an adict! I cant wait for him to fit a Mathews Genisis!!! Then he's set for the next ten years! It is soooooo much fun to have hobby to do as a family.
Solocam.