Kid wants to get into archery

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  • Skipjacks

    Ultimate Member
    So I am new to archery. (Got a bow off the classified here last month and fell right in love with it. Made a nice safe back yard target. Having a blast! Loving how you can buy 1 arrow and shoot it many times as opposed to single use bullets)

    My 9 year old wants to try it. She got into it at summer camp back in August.

    She can't use my compound bow as she can barely lift it let alone draw it. She wants a recurve (She has a preference for recurves.....because she is 9 and has preferences for archery needs....kids are fun)

    I don't want to get her a $200 bow since she might decide she hates archery in a month. I am willing to buy her a bow but I am not willing to spend a lot on trying out a hobby. What can I get her that is reasonably priced but not total junk?

    She obviously needs something smaller. She wants a recurve.

    Do I need smaller arrows or can we use the same arrows?

    I will go to an archery shop to buy stuff and will take guidance from them but I'd like to know more about what my price range should be before I show up to a store with zero information and end up over spending.

    I am totally new to this. No information will be considered "insulting" no matter how basic.
     

    randomuser

    Ultimate Member
    Nov 12, 2018
    5,775
    Baltimore County
    That's awesome! My oldest is only 4.5, so we have only messed with toys up to this point, but have introduced him. I have been wondering what age is a good age to get them really started out right with instruction. I actually found this place
    http://www.twelfthprecinct.org/membership.htm
    and put it in my calendar so I did not forget. I was going to post on here and ask the mds braintrust on their thoughts on age.

    I have the same questions you have, so following this for sure.


    Just went to the page and looked LOL. I had it in my calendar this winter just because my kid turns 5 in feb and they start at 5! (I put notes to myself in my calendar all the time or I'd forget things)
    http://www.twelfthprecinct.org/youth.htm
     

    geda

    Active Member
    Dec 24, 2017
    550
    cowcounty

    budman93

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 1, 2013
    5,267
    Frederick County
    I'd say a 9 year old with no archery experience shouldn't get to have a preference. Genesis compounds are a popular choice for starting young kids.

    You probably shouldn't use the same arrows. Arrow weight and stiffness needs to increase as draw weight goes up. Your bow is probably a 50-70 pound draw and a 9 year old girl will probably need a 10-12 pound draw. The genesis is a popular choice because it is very adjustable so a young kid can use it for some time before outgrowing it.
     

    fidelity

    piled higher and deeper
    MDS Supporter
    Aug 15, 2012
    22,400
    Frederick County
    My 8-yr old uses a youth-sized bow from Bear (will run you about $30) ...

    https://www.amazon.com/Bear-Archery-Crusader-Youth-Only/dp/B001FYXX8Q/

    And yes, you need youth-sized arrows as well. Walmart prices them inexpensively.

    ETA: whoops, that was the wrong one. He uses the Bear Scout (about $35) ...

    https://www.walmart.com/ip/Bear-Arc...mmended-for-Ages-4-to-7-Hunter-Green/10859049

    Pic of his attached ...
    68edcf6066bd52cc89f80ccccf879f6b.jpg
     

    Mini14tac

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    May 14, 2013
    2,146
    North County
    Skipjacks and Randomuser. I read this thread and remembered that I have a PSE starter bow and 3 fancy pink arrows with a homemade quiver hanging in the basement. I picked this up many moons ago for my daughters when they were little. They had a ball with it being they a so damn competitive. They are all grown up now so it has been hanging in the basement for years. If you guys are interested I would love to pass it on to your youngins! The price is right! FREE! If you both want it there will be a catch. I will PM a number between 1 and 100 to ERuby (the king of karma) if he is willing to play. Once I PM him the number. I will let you guys know then you can pick a number an whoever is closest wins. Will meet at the Mt Carmel Rd park n ride in Hereford for pickup. You guys in.
     

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    randomuser

    Ultimate Member
    Nov 12, 2018
    5,775
    Baltimore County
    Skipjacks and Randomuser. I read this thread and remembered that I have a PSE starter bow and 3 fancy pink arrows with a homemade quiver hanging in the basement. I picked this up many moons ago for my daughters when they were little. They had a ball with it being they a so damn competitive. They are all grown up now so it has been hanging in the basement for years. If you guys are interested I would love to pass it on to your youngins! The price is right! FREE! If you both want it there will be a catch. I will PM a number between 1 and 100 to ERuby (the king of karma) if he is willing to play. Once I PM him the number. I will let you guys know then you can pick a number an whoever is closest wins. Will meet at the Mt Carmel Rd park n ride in Hereford for pickup. You guys in.


    That'd be really cool. Thanks for the Karma! I'll go with 50:-)
     

    fogman

    Active Member
    I highly recommend Lancaster Archery if/when you decide to purchase. My son started shooting with 4-H when he was 8. Saved his money for a few years to purchase a bow. The tech spent 3 hours with him answering questions and setting up the bow with different rests and allowing him to shoot it until everything was set up properly. Went with a Sammick take down recurve with light limbs to start. As he progressed he purchased heavier limbs.
     

    Skipjacks

    Ultimate Member
    Skipjacks and Randomuser. I read this thread and remembered that I have a PSE starter bow and 3 fancy pink arrows with a homemade quiver hanging in the basement. I picked this up many moons ago for my daughters when they were little. They had a ball with it being they a so damn competitive. They are all grown up now so it has been hanging in the basement for years. If you guys are interested I would love to pass it on to your youngins! The price is right! FREE! If you both want it there will be a catch. I will PM a number between 1 and 100 to ERuby (the king of karma) if he is willing to play. Once I PM him the number. I will let you guys know then you can pick a number an whoever is closest wins. Will meet at the Mt Carmel Rd park n ride in Hereford for pickup. You guys in.

    Awesome! I love MDS. I need to go dig some stuff up to offer as a karma in return (win or lose) to spread the love

    I am 10 minutes from Mt Carmel Rd (Her summer camp is right there off Mr Carmel Rd where she got into archery)

    Tell me when to post a number

    Maybe we should shoot for it? Robin Hood style archery contest! First guy to split his previous arrow in half wins!

    (Dammit ...I have carbon fiber arrows...they won't split...okay we can do guess the numbers)
     

    randomuser

    Ultimate Member
    Nov 12, 2018
    5,775
    Baltimore County
    Awesome! I love MDS. I need to go dig some stuff up to offer as a karma in return (win or lose) to spread the love

    I am 10 minutes from Mt Carmel Rd (Her summer camp is right there off Mr Carmel Rd where she got into archery)

    Tell me when to post a number

    Maybe we should shoot for it? Robin Hood style archery contest! First guy to split his previous arrow in half wins!

    (Dammit ...I have carbon fiber arrows...they won't split...okay we can do guess the numbers)

    As soon as I hear back from Eruby we will get er done!

    I'm going to go ahead and respectfully bow (<see what I did there) out. I'd feel bad winning the arrow splitting contest. JK

    Skipjacks is closer than I am for pickup and It's his thread. I'ma graciously bow out of the number picking and wish him luck with shooting with his young one!

    Good idea on that Skipjacks. I too have some Karma I have been meaning to throw put up on the forums (been lazy lately and not got around to it yet), but I think you gave me the motivation.
     

    Mini14tac

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    May 14, 2013
    2,146
    North County
    Jeez guys just heard back from E and asked if he would announce the winner. RU you sure you want to bow out? If not post your numbers now!
     

    Skipjacks

    Ultimate Member
    I'm going to go ahead and respectfully bow (<see what I did there) out. I'd feel bad winning the arrow splitting contest. JK

    Skipjacks is closer than I am for pickup and It's his thread. I'ma graciously bow out of the number picking and wish him luck with shooting with his young one!

    Good idea on that Skipjacks. I too have some Karma I have been meaning to throw put up on the forums (been lazy lately and not got around to it yet), but I think you gave me the motivation.

    I mean...the ONLY reason I didn't want to do the arrow splitting thing is because of the carbon fiber arrows....otherwise I'd be happy to prove how I can do that (insert shifty eyes here)

    Funny story...I took my bow to a shop to have it looked at just to make sure it was in safe condition since it was used. Shop owner said it was fine and shot 3 arrows at his indoor range to test it. He asked me if I wanted to try it and he gave me a quick lesson. First shot was dead center bullseye, better than his shots. It was nothing except dumb beginner's luck but this guy was not happy with me and looked at me like he wanted me out of his shop immediately. I told him it was just proof that he gave me a fantastic beginner's lesson and that it means he is obviously a great teacher and then he had a better attitude about it. Then I spent $75 in his store and he was even happier

    Oh....and "Bow" out.....HAHAHAHA
     

    randomuser

    Ultimate Member
    Nov 12, 2018
    5,775
    Baltimore County
    Jeez guys just heard back from E and asked if he would announce the winner. RU you sure you want to bow out? If not post your numbers now!

    LOL. Yeah, I'd feel like I was steeling (on principal). He was posting on here actively looking for a bow and arrow right now for his kid. I was looking for something in the Feb timeframe (even had it on my calendar) once my kid turned 5. He posted on here looking and is just a few minutes away from pickup. I posted up a number as I got all excited about a bow and arrow and teaching my kid to shoot, but he's already there and looking. I'd feel like I was taking that bow from his kid. Definitely I'm out, but wanted to say thank you for offering up that karma.

    I'm sure he's going to enjoy the heck out of it and the time spent shooting it with that little one.

    I'm sure I'm not the only one but, being a Dad is for me the greatest joy I have ever known. Selfishly, I get to relive my youth with my kids and do all the epic fun stuff all over again as an older version of my youth while building bonds and passing on knowledge. Good times.

    Thanks for offering up that Karma for sure!
     

    Eastwind

    Nice!
    May 3, 2020
    119
    My girlfriend and I started archery a few months ago as a cheap alternative for going to the gun range because of ammo prices. We went to Macrotech Archery and they were pretty informative and helped us select a pretty decent recurve bow. She specifically wanted a recurve although they recommended a compound. Personally I like the idea of starting out basic and moving "up," essentially- even if basic isn't necessarily the best. We ended up looking up the bow the guy sold us and it turned out to be priced quite a bit lower than it was MSRP / on Amazon so we were pretty happy about it. That and he gave us a lot of good advice. All in all it was a nice experience.
     

    Skipjacks

    Ultimate Member
    .

    Being a Dad is for me the greatest joy I have ever known. Selfishly, I get to relive my youth with my kids and do all the epic fun stuff all over again as an older version of my youth. Good times.

    Right?!

    It's awesome!

    Wait until they watch your favorite movies with you. When my daughter started enjoying Star Wars....it was a great day

    You sure you want to bow out (it's still funny)? If you do I'll gladly take it and make it a re-karma when my daughter gets bigger

    If not I am happy to make the numbers game!

    Mini14Tac, it's a hell of a nice offer no matter what. Thank you for being such a kind person willing to spread your hobby
     

    Mini14tac

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    May 14, 2013
    2,146
    North County
    Ok it’s all yours Skipjacks! Was just trying to make it interesting. Will send a PM about scheduling a date and time we can meet up.

    ERuby, thanks for offering to participate. And again thanks for all of your great karma’s!!!
     

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