Bow for my 6 1/2 year old?

[Citadel99]

Guys,

Any input is appreciated as my knowledge on bows is zilch... I have a 6 year old who is all about bows. We have a Daisy Buck bb gun he's learning to shoot on and I'd like to potentially get him a bow for Christmas.

Am I best getting an inexpensive (sub $100) compound bow or should I just get him normal bow? Any advice, thoughts, or recommendations are greatly appreciated.

Mark

 

[glistam]

My friend's 6 year old shoots a Bear Goblin. It's a small longbow-style made of fiberglass. He enjoys it a lot. Cost about $30-40 and comes with a few arrows.

 

[kBob]

You might look into getting your son an introductory lesson of four by a pro to see if it is something he really wants to do.

We did back yard archery with junk picked up at yard sales......and at a recent Scout event my son was the worst even over those with zero experience because he only learned enough to have bad habits and be too sure of himself. He really likes my junky cross bow, but I have stopped letting him shoot it until he can cock it himself. Not bad with a BB gun but, hey I was a pro at marksmanship instruction.........

He did Karate for years and is still barely recognizable in his katas. Fortunately he seems to have found saber fencing to be something he is good at and is beating his peers there and frightening the Senior high schoolers that have a lot more reach than he.

Things to remember are it has to be something they will like and stick with long enough to make equipment purchases not a total loss and it is best when they learn the right ways first time.

What Company were you in at Ashley River High?

I understand there is no Romeo Company these days and "Old Corps" is an unwelcome phrase.

I am a quitter, Romeo 76. Went out and enlisted and used my GI bill to go to a university with women in it and took a contract and got to be a Regular anyway.

-kBob

 

[Jim Watson]

You could look into NASP - the National Archery in Schools Program.
They use one spec bow in three sizes for different age kids.
http://www.naspschools.org/

A friend's son made it as far as the Nationals but did not make the cut for the World Championship.

 

[Citadel99]

kBob--I was in Alpha Company. Lots of things have changed there but they are still doing good things. For myself, I ended up going in two years after graduation so it was BCT at Benning and then off to OCS for me...

I was already looking around for lessons and will heed that advice. A lot of places in Austin have minimum age of 8 but I'm sure with a little more effort I'll find something. I certainly don't know enough to teach him correctly and I'd prefer for him to learn to do it right.

Mark

 

[typhun]

For a compound bow look at the Mathews Genesis. Not draw length specific so he can use it for quite a long time as he grows and learns, good to about 20 yds. We use them in our club archery school. Its a little more than $100 but its a really good bow for learning on.

 

[TimboKhan]

Bear sells a wide variety of reasonably kids bows. The Brave III is pretty cool.