Questions for those who have started 4-5 year olds in trad.

[fz4vgq]

My son will be 5 in July, he's pretty strong but I have no idea what kind of poundage he could or should be pulling back. I was looking at the Black Rhino website and see that they offer two versions of most of their bows.... a normal and "light" version. the difference at 20" draw length is 15 pounds vs. 11 pounds. Doesn't seem like much of a difference but I know 4 pounds difference for me makes the difference between enjoying myself and struggling.

I'm going to check his DL tonight but still don't really have any idea about what draw weight to get him. I don't want to get the heavier of the two only to find out it's too much and have him lose interest right away.

So for those of you who have introduced youngsters to trad archery..... what are your thoughts and recommendations ?

Thanks,
Chad

[Tim Fishell]

My 3 year old just started shooting with me.  His bow is 9#@16" and he handles that fine.  I started shooting when I was 5 and my first bow was a red fiberglass bow that was 15#@20".  I would think he could handle that just fine.  If he grows anything like my son if he stuggles a little wait a week he'll be pulling it to his ear.

[Rob W.]

My 5 year old shoots a 15#@20" bow that I had when I was a kid.

[Izzy]

15#s should last a young fella 2 or 3 years. With my boys my 10 year old shoots a 32# comfortably and my five shoots a 14#er.

[rraming]

When my youngest was 4 I just let him use one of those starter bow packages everyone sells, last year (5 and 6 yrs old) he used a 20@24 but he only pulls 17-18" of it. Today I ordered him a St. Joe River Bow from David - with a growing kid you should look into his program.

[YORNOC]

Three kids shooting since three years old. Never worry about going too light! Just make sure you set them up with arrows to match. Form is everything when starting out, so if its even slightly heavy, a 5 year old is not going to learn form well. I taught my kids in steps.  Step 1- turn sideways to your target. Step 2- lay your bow flat to nock the arrow. Step three- point your bow at the target, step 4 pull back to your anchor, step 5 -lift your elbow, step 6 -pick your spot, step 7-count to three, step 8- release when on the spot, step 9- only drop the bow and elbow AFTER your arrow hits the target. My kids have done very well, and have some trophies to brag about. My daughter is now 16 and couldn't be bothered. My two boys, 14 and 8 are still 100%. Spend as much time as you can shooting with them. Best time of my entire life!

[bill langer]

15# is gonna be about right, however every kid is different and they grow out of everything fast.

We had a pile of old little bows my brothers and I grew up with and the kids just kind of went through them at their own pace. They all still shoot old miss matched arrows that I have broke or killed deer with etc. and do fine with them and shoot well. Billy jr is 11 and shoots a 35# "BIG ED" bow with 2117's-he is deadly with it.
If you have a chance to let him pick up and shoot some other kids bows it may help. Again 15# is probably good.

[kuch]

Check out elk ridge archery,, he makes a lot of kids bows and has experience dealing with little kids. Makes a great little bow. My kid had one then traded up in poundage . Might let you test drive a kids bow ??? Never hurts to ask .

[Mike Vines]

I started both of my boys at 3 with a 9 pounder.  They are now 7 and 5 with the 7 yr old shooting 37# and the 5 yr old shooting 25# (30# and 20# at their draw lengths).  

Here is an opportunity to plug The Michigan Longbow Association       http://www.michiganlongbow.org/        We have a supply of kids shooting equipment that travels to all of our events for kids to use and have fun with, and there are many different sized bows and arrows to find their fit from, I believe, 9# up to and including 30# and there are even some lefties in the mix too..

If you join the association, we are having a spring shoot that is completly free for members.  The membership is $15 a year and with that, just at the spring shoot, you get unlimited shooting at the 3D course, unlimited novelty shooting, you get to try out all the new ideas we have come up with over winter and want to try them out, not to mention a weekend of free camping.  It is an awesome family organization that I am proud to say I belong to.

[hardwaymike]

Hey Mike, where is the spring shoot located at and when is it?

[joekeith]

Talk to Mike @ Maddog.  He'll know what ya need.

[Lost Arra]

+1 for Maddog

[Mike Vines]

Originally posted by hardwaymike:
Hey Mike, where is the spring shoot located at and when is it?

This year it is in Fenton at the Land O Lakes Bowmen, and is the first Friday thru Sunday of May (6th-8th)

[gobblegrunter]

My son is 5 and has a "pup" longbow made by Maddog. It's marked 23#@25" and at his current draw he's pulling about 13-14#'s. I decided on this order by talking it all through with Mike (maddog). It fits my son perfectly and he's got plenty of room to grow into it.

[TradDad]

Maddog x3...  I started my son at 5 too, I got him one of mikes pup recurves- 20# @ 21"...but back then his dl was only 15" so not too sure what that means in weight. He did just fine and now is pulling to about 19" and 7 years old, same bow. Mike is an awesome guy to work with and makes a beauty of a bow.

[Xavier]

That is pretty darn cool Rob W. my 5yr old has a wheelie bow that I got him when I was shooting mine. But I switched in short time to trad. Now I need to get him one very soon.

[TradDad]

here's some pics

 http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=073194;p=1

[fz4vgq]

Thanks guys !  Just the input I was looking for.

Maddog Pup longbow is at the top of my list for my son. Was researching all the makers of childrens trad bows when I ran across the BlkRhno website with the charts on DL/DW...... got me thinking about what would be appropriate for my boy.

@ Mike Vines - thank you for that info. Looking at the website now.

Thanks very much guys.

[Gen273]

I have a 4 year old girl who shoots a squirt long bow from 3 rivers, it is 10-12# @ 16 inches.She is doing good with it.