Children's bow recommendations

[Bob Moran]

I'll be going out to New Mexico this fall to visit my son and his family and I'd like to give my 10 yr old grand daughter her first bow. But, I'm kinda clueless. So, you guys who have given bows to your daughters or grand daughters, what weight do you recommend for a 10 yr old girl? Also, what bows would you recommend?

Thanks, in advance. I know I'll get some good advice.

[Arwin]

St. Joe River Bows.  
 http://www.stjoeriverbows.com/outgrown-youth-bow-program.htm

[macbow]

Most of the ones I've made for 10 year old girls have been in the
20 pound range at 26 inches of draw.
She will probably draw about  20 to 22 inches unless she is tall.

[NBK]

My 9 year old Kate shoots a Maddog pup longbow.  About 20 @ 20 sounds right.  She can pull more, but learning from my own mistakes I'm keeping her real light for awhile yet.

[Fletcher]

Black Rhino is a sponsor here and makes great youth longbows.  Chuck is very good at matching the bow to the child and has a trade in program to help as they grow.

Maddog and St. Joe are very good as well.

[Centex]

My kids own a Sarrels Newt and 7 Lakes.  Both bowyers are easy to deal with and their work is impeccable.  Good luck.

[Chester Thompson]

St Joe River Bows, they have a trade in program. I saw a Sarrels Newt a few weeks ago, and it is a nice looking bow.

[Bow man]

All the weight recommdations are great for her
18 to 20 @ 24 with our bows would be about right.

[emt137]

7 Lakes has some great looking childrens bows and Mike is first class.

[Ray Lyon]

Hi Bob,

My daughters are 11 and 13 now, but started out on a little #18 @24 inch Ragim recurve bow and also used a 26# @28" 'school bow' no-name recurve. For first time shooters, especially girls, error on the light side.

My older daughter is shooting a vintage Browning recurve, 37# @ 28" (drawing about 24-25") and the younger is shooting a Dryad Phoenix Lite that she got for Christmas that's 25# @26" (here's picture and there are still some left on Dryad's website    ):

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They're both shooting Easton Axis 600 carbons cut long and with 225-250 grains up front. They fly perfect and are very tough.

[LimbLover]

Originally posted by Arwin:
St. Joe River Bows.  
  http://www.stjoeriverbows.com/outgrown-youth-bow-program.htm  

+1

I think there was another thread about this some time ago. My daughter loves hers. Got Mommy one to match.

[Chuck Jones]

Most people seem to want a heavier bow for the kids, than the kids are comfortable with. The average 10 year old girl that hasn't shot much, will shoot best with about 15#@22", with a 48" bow.  Taller girls, over about 5'2", will need a longer bow. Our M-54, 25#@26", is very popular with youth up to about 5'8" tall.

We take our bows back in trade when the kids grow out of them, at 75% of the original price. This has worked well for years, with many kids shooting our bows from the M-35 up to the M-58 over several years. Hurts less when the time comes to go to a longer bow.

Chuck

[Bob Moran]

Thanks everyone! You've given me some good guidance and I'm going to start shopping your recommendations.

By the way, Ray, I sorry I won't get up to your neck of the woods this year. I'd love to show off my Super Shrew!

[Ray Lyon]

Good luck with your search. Of course I'd love to see your Super Shrew, but also would be fun to shoot with you again.  One more comment, a lighter bow, recurve/high reflex/deflex with a fast flight style string is probably the way to go.  You'll get some performance from it without the higher draw weight.  Match some good arrows up with it that are not too heavy so they shoot flatter and therefore will be more accurate for them.  I like carbon because they are tougher than wood and don't bend when they pull them out of the target incorrectly.  

Take care and hopefully you'll get to TC next summer.

[Terry Lightle]

Maddog