buying a first bow for a young bow hunter

[eyesonly]

My Archery gear has been in the rafters for about 5 years while we got the kids through the young years with sports and such and them not being old enough to stay home alone and now my 12 year old twins just got done with hunter ed and let me know they want go bow hunting. I know ive been out of your guys loop for a while but im in sticker shock from what im seeing on bow prices- any advice or recommendations on where or what to look for- all three shops recomended the same bow but I cant afford to drop $350.00 a piece on two youth bows- Lots for used youth bows on the web for sale but id like to buy new- the boy is a lefty which isnt helping either and the girl goes about 65 lbs soaking wet - any advice would be helpful- i'm starting to get frustrated

[92python]

I recommend going to archerytalkdotcom and looking on the classifieds for a couple of used bows. Make sure the sellers have high feedback.

Also, put a whisker biscuit on their bows to make things easy for them.

[Cheetah]

I have a coworker in a similar position, a bow for him plus his two kids adds up quick and he still isn't sure how to make it work and keep everyone happy.

Like Python said, AT has a very active classifieds section and if you post that you are looking for bows to get your kids into archery I bet you'll find a bunch of guys interested in helping keep costs down. You'll need to figure out their draw lengths before asking around though, and plan for growth, that way you don't end up with something you can't use.

I also just scanned through the Gander Mtn and Cabelas websites and saw a package called "Diamond Youth Nuclear Ice Bow Package" for $180. It looks like everything under the $350 price is right handed only, no lefties.

It's not just the kids bows that are expensive these days, a new higher end bow for hunting plus all the extras will easily run a grand if buying new. Both of my bows that I have now were bought from other AT forum members at considerable discount vs their new prices.

[eyeguy 54]

Diamond Youth Nuclear Ice Digital Bow Package

I'll second this setup for beginners. 180 at cabellas. Check to see if your son is left or right eye dominant. even tho he is left handed he might be right eyed for dominance.

use the live chat option on the cabellas site and they can help answer yoout questions. better yet call a pro shop if you have one close to where you live. Genesis comes left handed but not sure if strong enough to qualify as a hunting bow.

[Bugwubber]

Diamond Youth Nuclear Ice Digital Bow Package

I'll second this setup for beginners. 180 at cabellas. Check to see if your son is left or right eye dominant. even tho he is left handed he might be right eyed for dominance.

Agreed, check eye dominance before ordering. I think huntersfrienddotcom has a lefty Nuclear Ice- at least their order form lets you select that. Same price as Cabelas.

[eyesonly]

I REALLY cant tell you how much I appreciate this guys- This has helped me tremendously- we are looking at the diamond tonight ! I have one more what may be a dumb question before we run up to gander/ cab- as far as eye dominance goes- If the Boy is left handed and he is right eye dominate should he be shooting a right handed bow ? That seems odd to me but Like I said I've been out of the scene for a while

[JigginGopher]

Yes. If it turns out that your boy is right eye dominate then he should learn to shoot right handed. I am right handed and left eye dominate so i shoot left. It would be a good idea to get both of them figured out in regards to eye dominance before purchasing their bows.

[eyesonly]

Thanks Jiggen and the rest of you guys- Great advice and really helped me out

[Scoot]

I don't mean this to rain on the parade, but I've got some thoughts about this that are a little different from above.

I've been looking at the Nuclear Ice package for my five year old son. He can draw it with no problem. It's a nice youth package and it's got lots of range as far as drawlength and poundage. However, IMO it's not quite enough bow for hunting deer. I know it'll meet the legal standards, but I see it as "undergunned" as far as deer hunting goes. That's just my opinion and I'm sure some will disagree.

Another thought I had-- are you thinking about the kids bowhunting this year? If yes, you've got a problem-- they have a long way to go to be able to shoot well enough to ethically hunt deer. If you're thinking about them hunting next year, you're doing great to get them going now. You might consider setting up some sort of proficiency test for them to be able to hunt deer- 4/5 arrows inside a pie plate at a certain distance, for example.

Now, I'll step off my soap box and try help a little...

The classifieds suggestion above is a great one. Parker makes some really good youth bows that don't carry high dollar tags. Also, post this question/request on the website mentioned above and ask for some help in locating a couple bows- one righty and one lefty (assuming the lefty needs a left-handed bow). I'd bet you'll get some help. People like you, who are doing the kids and the world a favor by trying to get young bucks started in bowhunting tend to quickly get helped out. I hope you get some help and the kids have a blast with archery and bowhunting.

Good luck!!!

[bonefish]

Last year I was in a similar boat. I have a left handed 8 year old, with 2 younger siblings getting ready to shoot as well. Since the others are right handed, I made the decision to get a bow that will last him a Looooooong time since he's the only one in our house that could use it. Many of the youth bows have fairly narrow weight or draw length ranges. I went with the Mission (Matthews) Menace. This bow is designed for kids and women. It's shorter but has a huge range of draw (17-30" ) and weight (I think it's 15-55lbs) so he will use it well into high school and its more than enough to take game once he's got the strength to pull back higher weight. I think the bow was about $300 with a whisker biscut, and sight.

My younger right-handers I'll probably go a different route since they are more readily available used and I can hand down bows to get more use.

My $.02 is if they are serious about the sport, Get something that lasts through their physical growth. You don't want to under-equip them so that you have to spend another $200 upgrading every few years. Those upgrades are reserved for Dads

[FishingWebGuy]

I know they are out of your price range but I picked up a Mathews Menace this year for my 7-year-old after his kids bow broke. What I didn't realize when I bought it is that my wife likes shooting it also and it is a breeze to switch between draw lengths and pull. Even my 17-year-old likes shooting it.

My son started shooting at 17lbs and is now up to about 25. Anyhow I struggled over the price for a while when I bought it but now in hindsight, this bow will last him for 10 years -- that's only about $30 a year in the long run. We'll spend far more than that on arrows, targets, etc over the years.

$30 a year and he loves shooting it. It's a "real" hunting bow and he feels just like dad when we go to the range. He's had it for about 2 months and still asks to shoot it regularly.

I have spent far more money on other things that haven't lead to as much quality time spent together.

Just my $.02

[Scoot]

Yep, I'm on board with the last two posts. I'm thinking about a Nuclear Ice for my son until he's about 10 or 11, then moving to something like a Menace. I totally agree that the Menace is much more of a legit hunting bow than the Nuclear Ice.

[jumpacablez]

fred bear makes a bow for $279 for the package. its called the apprentence, and its poundage is 20-50,with 13"'s of draw lenth adjustment. seen it in the big "C" catalog, its a little costy up front but will pay for itself over the years.