what # does your kid pull?

[geno]

My twins (one boy one girl) Just turned 8 and I just ordered a couple of maddog bows for them. I ordered them to pull 17# at 21" Does this sound right for an 8yr old. Thanks
G

[econnell71]

I started my nephews off at the age of 6 years old on 6.5 lbs so they could learn how to shoot and be able to hold the string back,and not build a habit of snap shooting so they would develop shot placement instead of taking what they hit, but every kid is different.

[Bonebuster]

I`m a 4-H instructor, and many of the nine and ten year old beginners use the bows we have that are in the fifteen to twenty pound range. They seem to handle these weights with ease, and after a few weeks shooting, they start grabbing the recurves marked twenty five pounds.

I would say that if your kids have been shooting much at all, those weights should be spot on.
If they too are beginners, they will quickly grow into them.

My seven yr old daughter shoots a hand-me-down recurve that is marked 25lbs@24". She likes it alot because the arrows "don`t fall out of the target anymore". I would estimate she is pulling
about 17 or 18 pounds at her draw.

Good job getting your kids some bows. Tell them congratulations for me.

[longbowman]

My son started shooting a home made rubberband bow at 3 yrs. old.  When he was 6 I moved him into a Bear Cub.  By 8 I had bought him a childs compound but made him new wheels for his draw length. (14") The bow pulled 10#.  I cranked the bow down one full turn each month and by the time he was 12 he was shooting a 55# recurve.  He now is a whopping 135# man and shoots his 80# @ 27" Hill Longbow with ease.  So, since I shoot 75-80# bows I wanted him to.  You may never want your kids to shoot much weight so your training would be on a lesser scale.  Just make sure "they" enjoy it.

[NoCams]

My son is 12 now and big for his age. He is around 150lbs and 5' 4",but gee, it seems kids are bigger these days ? He started with a 15lb recurve, then went to a 40lb compound that we cranked down to 32lbs. We then went trad and started with a 45lb Bear Kodiak Mag. At his 22" draw at that time he was only pulling around 30lbs. We then went to a Dwyer longbow 52lb @ 28". He is now drawing about 25" so he is pulling around 43lbs.

Just start them slow and make sure they rest a day in between shooting so their muscles can recover. Just like weight training, gotta give the muscles a day or two of rest to rebuild themselves and get bigger and stronger.

nocams

[Jerry Jeffer]

My daughter is 5 and she is pulling about 15# her draw length. The bow is made 30# @ 24"

[WildmanSC]

70#.  My "kid" is 36 years old.             Now my grandkids shoot in the 8 to 9# range.    :D  

Bill

[Bjorn]

My son is 14 and not a big guy at all. He shoots an ACS CX 50#@28 which he draws to 22; so a bit over 30# at his draw.
That has been sufficient to have killed 2 hogs and a sheep-each of these three was just under 100 lbs.
Proving again that accuracy is trump.

[Mike Byrge@home]

My 11 yr old (average size/strength) shoots about 25# at his draw and my 15 yr old can handle mid 30#'s...he's a bean-pole and not strong for his age.

They can "pull" more weight but they can draw and hold the above weights without straining and in control.

[WildmanSC]

Mike,

It is best that they draw the weight they can handle rather than be overbowed.  I'm amazed every Saturday when I go to the Archery Shop to shoot on the indoor range and I see people from kids to women to men going through all sorts of gyrations to get to full draw.  It's amazing the number of shots that hit the ceiling, the light fixtures and the back wall above the targets!

Bill

[mrkbsm]

My daughter turns 3 in a month and I have one of the little plastic suction-cup shooters for her.  She can get started on that and the weight she'll get when she's older depends on how much and how quickly she progresses.  I would say that the proper bow weight for a child probably varies quite a bit.

[hunt,trap,fish]

I was shooting a 60lb longbow when i was 12, that was 3 years ago. i can shoot 90lb but i dont like to. it all depends on the kid i think. I was a farm kid and i grew up trying to work wiht my dad, so i was stronger than other kids. i still am.

[Nake]

my 6 year old pulls #15-20
my 4 year old pulls #10
Both girls

[UKarcher]

Ok I don't want to step on anyones toes here, but...
the skeletons of medieval archers very often show that they were deformed, having one shoulder cradle a different size from the other. This did not happen when they were adult. It happened when they were children because the law at the time demanded that they learned to shoot a bow.
A young male does not stop growing until they are around 21 years old. During that time there is a soft part of each bone, just off the joint, where the growth happens. If you give a youngster a heavy bow, and he or she shoots it on a regular basis, it can actually stop the bone from growing, hence the lop sided shoulder growth.
It doesn't matter if they are huge farmers boys at the age of 13 or 14. They are still forming their skeletal structure so damage can be done. Keep the weight down and make sure their form is paramount.

[Hattrick]

My 13 teen old daughter is shooting a 49# Stalh recurve, at her draw shes puling around 40-42#s shes a lanky 105#s. She hopeing to kill a pig in a week SC.  

[GingivitisKahn]

Well lets see... My son started with a stick and string "bow" (in a loose sense of the word) that I made for him when he was about 3.  I imagine it pulled at 15 or 20 pounds or so maybe.  Heh, come to think of it, his first trip to the ER was due to him poking himself in the eye with his arrow nock.

He graduated to a glass recurve that pulls probably 30 pounds when he was 6 or 8.  My daughter shoots that bow now and has been since my son got his 45# KMag.

Now that I've got my HH, my boy has been shooting my 55# DH Hunter more and more and my daughter has been shooting the KMag more.  He's 16 and she's 14, for what it's worth.

The wife... she shoots once in a great while (whichever bow is available) but doesn't want her own.   Yet.  :-D

[geno]

This was the most amount of answers that didn't help one bit...  From 3 yr old to 15 yr olds all shooting 20 # and in the middle shooting 40-45...  :(    :confused:

[Mike Byrge@home]

Geno,
IMO 17@21 may be a little too much for your twins but kids are so different you never know.

With my boys I would rather see them shoot a bow they can draw easily rather than struggle with a too heavy one.

I would bet that you are 4 or 5 times stronger than your twins....that would be like you shooting a 70# plus bow.

[GingivitisKahn]

Originally posted by geno:
This was the most amount of answers that didn't help one bit...  From 3 yr old to 15 yr olds all shooting 20 # and in the middle shooting 40-45...   :(      :confused:  

I'm just glad to be a part of that.

   

[rxhntr]

My boy (age 8) draws 20 lbs at 19inch. My girl (age 9) shoots his bow and also her bow 20lb at 22 in. I think you are right in the ball park. Neither of my kids have problem pulling or holding.