How old to start kids?

Black Gold · March 30, 2007, 09:29:00 PM

Ok...My son is 15 months old (I realize that is not old enough)....but I am interested to know at what age you begin teaching your children to shoot and what kind of bow do you recommend to begin with (brand & weight)...Thanks!

Ybuck · March 30, 2007, 10:03:00 PM

No expert here, but this is what i did. When my boy was 2 and a half, i bought a Cabelas fiberglass stick with a few fiberglass arrows. It pulls about 5#, and costs about 20$.
When he turned 5, i bought him a K@K Great-tree 48" recurve that pulls 20#. He is 7 now, and shoots well with it. In fact last summer he shot a couple chipmunks. My daughter is 4, and she shoots the Cabelas fiberglass once in a while. It is a joy beyond explanation watching your children learning a sport that you love.

Benha · March 30, 2007, 10:39:00 PM

15 months? Sorry you're too late. LOL I started mine at two similar to the way Ybuck did. Now I have a two year old grandaughter that I am ready to start.

Jon Stewart · March 30, 2007, 10:45:00 PM

Started my grandson at 3 yrs. He walked and shot 28 3-D targets in Grayling, Michigan last year. Shooters behind us were told they could go around because it was a slow process and all said, NO, they were having too much fun watching him shoot. He keeps asking when will he be 10 so he can hunt!!!

Kevin Lawler · March 30, 2007, 10:47:00 PM

My son got the fiberglass bow and suction cup arrows when he was 3. We used to shoot the bay window. His mom had a fit once when she came in one morning as the sun was shining through it only to see little round smudges from the suction cups all over the window. I don't remember how much later it was but soon after he got a Wilkerson longbow. Here's pic of him at Denton Hill at age 5.

Ybuck · March 30, 2007, 10:54:00 PM

Hey Kevin, GREAT picture! His form looks terrific. Makes ya proud huh?

Hunter John · March 30, 2007, 11:05:00 PM

That is a great pic

pointy sticks · March 30, 2007, 11:22:00 PM

Well I started one at 5, one at 6, one at 4 and one at 3. If I can find a light enough bow I'll most likely start the baby at 2 1/5 this summer.

Second youngest last summer about 3 1/2 and the lesson began for both of us

Kevin Lawler · March 30, 2007, 11:24:00 PM

QuoteOriginally posted by Ybuck:
Hey Kevin, GREAT picture! His form looks terrific. Makes ya proud huh?

Yeah he has become quite the archer. He was first in the NC state championships in Hickory when he was 9 (Cubs). That same year he took 2nd at ATAR in cubs. Last year at age 10 I moved him up to youth (12-16) at the NC state championships and he got 4th. Last year he took first at ATAR in the cubs division. Oh, and his pic has been in Primitive Archer twice.

I don't know if he'll do as well this year. He likes baseball.

Stone Knife · March 31, 2007, 06:01:00 AM

When my kids were little i bought a little recurve at a garage sale for $5.00 I just taught them some safety aspects of shooting and just let them shoot not really worried too much about form or hitting i just let them have fun.

woodchucker · March 31, 2007, 06:45:00 AM

My youngest son Tyler started shooting a 2 1/2 years old,and he walked and shot his first 30 target 3D coarse shortly after his 3rd birthday.

(boy,did he sleep good that night LOL)

Bonebuster · March 31, 2007, 07:39:00 AM

Simple beginnings are the best way to start. My eleven yr old started by just playing on a blanket in the shade while I would shoot and talk to him. As soon as he could crawl he would shoot with my help. A little red fiber bow. The actions were the same as what I was doing and he knew it.
He absolutely loved it. If I snuck out without him, and he realized my treachery, he would howl
to the world until I came to get him.

When his brother came along, it was the same story all over again. When they were both up and shooting, it was amazing.

Good clean fun.

buckeye_hunter · April 01, 2007, 08:43:00 AM

I have two girls 4 and 7. I am just getting them started. Hopefully they will be better than me!!!

pointy sticks · May 07, 2007, 08:31:00 AM

This little guy will be 3 in August and just went to his first 3D. His grampy asked me to make him a couple of arrows so I did. The little guy was so excited about having real arrows to shoot.

He's a good shot as well got himself a bear as well

R H Clark · May 07, 2007, 09:31:00 AM

I think Stone Knife has the right idea. The MOST important thing when starting kids is to make it fun for them. Don't wear them out shooting too much or be concerned about hitting a target.Just let them shoot an arrow and tell them how great they are.

My girls Shot at Twin Oaks this year, one is 8 the other 3.Both shot 20 targets and had a blast.

Shell · May 07, 2007, 09:45:00 AM

Cody,

Never too young

I never got the op as I don't have any but I love getting our family's youngsters into it.
It is a natural for any of them who visit, the eyes light up instantly when you pull out a simple little bow (any one that fits will do), some arrows and stand them in front of the target to shoot...
all of our family's kidlets are bonkers for the sport! Just need to make sure all the parents agree as not all of them do, they think they'll shoot their eye out or somethin' :rolleyes:

But they are supervised well and are taught the respect first.

Great pics BTW!!

katie · May 07, 2007, 10:07:00 AM

My little man started with the suction cup bow from wal-mart's toys section at about 1&1/2. We got him a KustomKing selfbow for X-mas at age 3. Next we are getting him a Maddog archery custom longbow. I have one and love it. They are great quality and a great price. Will grow with him until he is my size. Have fun.
Katie

BrianK · May 07, 2007, 10:16:00 AM

My grand daughter Angie is 3 this month and I'll make her a bamboo bow so she can shoot with dad, grandma and grandpa. She already fetches arrows for dad.

I quite agree on keeping it fun for the youngsters.

Bard1 · May 07, 2007, 11:59:00 AM

I got my daughter the suction cup bow and arrow at around age 2. Now that she's 3 I use the same little fiberglass bow and made some "real" arrows for her. They shoot pretty good outa that bow. I don't worry about form much. I just try to get her out having fun with it. Yesterday we went to the range, she brought her bow and arrows, but when we got there had more fun just picking daisies and playing around with me between ends. The day before, we went to the range and I only shot two ends and spent the rest of the time helping her to shoot. Just gotta work on her schedual right now. The key is to keep it fun.
Derek

styckbow · May 14, 2007, 11:42:00 PM

My kids all shoot wiith me and their mom we make quite the sight as we have four kids and all of us shoot traditional so good on you for thinking ahead. You might want to check out Black Rhino bows as they make an exellent product and have excellent customer sevice. We have 2 my club where I coach has 5 and my niece has one in my opinion they are pretty hard to beat and they come in a lot of different sizes for reasonable prices