Youth Bow Criteria... Suggestions?

[fish n chicks]

So the long and the short of it is my fiance and I are doing the deed August 20th, the day before our son Jordan's 11th birthday. I want to surprise him with his first bow at his party the next day but i'm having a bit of trouble figuring out some dimensions without giving it away, cause he's been talking about how he can't wait to start hunting. Kid never fished a day in his life before I met him now he's on the water more than I am. I can only imagine what him hunting can lead to but i'm ready for it!    


So here it is then: He's just under 5' tall and weighs a lanky 91#'s. I found a piece of quartersawn sycamore that is perfect for this application and I intended on going with a 50" length which i'm not 100% sure of but my whole board is 54" +/-, and I didn't want it too long for him. What I am trying to figure out is what to tiller this thing to so he can eventually pull to about 20"? I would say before stack takes over? I don't even know what a kid his age pulls on a bow. Mind you he's never pulled a bow before so I can't compare him to a kid who's already started using those muscles. I know he'll grow a lil with this bow and it'll be time for a new one but till then this is within the budget.

I say 20" because I am guessing. I just figured he'd use this for his first year while I can get him a real recurve for his preteens. So any ideas on draw lengths and poundages with em? I can't imagine he'll draw that much longer in a year but he's growing like a weed.

The other area i'm pretty stuck on is the riser but i'm thinking i'm gonna steal one of his football gloves and mock off of that. Probably somewhere's in the 6-7" area i'm guessing.

Hope this is enough info but if not just ask and I'll try to fill in the gaps. Jordan and I thank you in advance!!

[Mike Most]

I put my 12 year old grandson on a 38 lb bow and it was a bit heavy for him until this year and he is now 14. He is probably ready for 40-45 lbs now. I cut arrows 26" at 380grains of weight for him.

30# weight wise and about 25 inches would be pretty close for your son.

My opinion but others may have additional insite which is why this place is pretty cool to hang out in.

Good Luck and happy birthday shooting.

[walkabout]

yep im guessing 25 or 26 inch draw, probably 30-35# range. my sister is 13 and she pulls 26", the bow i built her was 25#@26, but i built it light for her to learn form. before she got the one i built she was shooting a 35# recurve that she said was a little too heavy for her to pull.

[AZ_Shooter]

Send a message to Maddogg Archery.  They make a lot of bows for the youngsters and should be able to give you some good info as far as size, weight, etc.