kids hunting weight

[DanielB89]

I have a nephew who lives with me and wants to hunt this year. He is 9 years old and has a 20" draw. What would do you think would be an acceptable hunting weight? I was thinking about letting him use my Kodiak Magnum that is #45@28. I was wondering if you guys think this would be acceptable?

Obviously the shot distances would be short the arrow would be around 500 grains with a small coc 2 blade.

[Bjorn]

My son would come out with me when he was 9. He would stalk anything he saw and launch rubber blunts from a 20# @20" L'il Bear. He would tag along like that and be on his own too for another year or two.
At 12 he used a 53#@28 RC and drew maybe 35# after working his upper body all summer. That Sept he shot his first hog (525 gn cedar arrow with a 135 gn Grizzly)-he had just turned 12 two weeks before. In California you have to be 12 to shoot big game.
I would say don't rush it; let them have fun and be completely ready so it is less likely to be a negative experience like wounding.

[Possum Head]

With that bow he's probably 6" too short on his draw to be very effective. If you'll pardon my language, given his size a wheel bow may be a better option til he grows a few more years. Small game is an option.

[Yewbender]

Thats awsome he wants to hunt but you need to check the game law regs and see what is the min. Draw weight. With his draw he will prob only be getting around 20# and most states are 35# and up. Also 20# bow shooting a 500gr arrow into large game, i would never do it. No need to wound an animal.

[woodchucker]

I may get bashed here, BUT...

Most Game Enforcement Officers, Know Little if ANYTHING about traditional equipment. As long as the bow is marked with a legal weight on it, I'm sure you'd be fine. The rest, is up to YOU!!! Match an arrow/broadhead combination that will work. PRACTICE, until he can confidently place his shots in the kill zone. Then, try and set him up for CLOSE (10yds) BROADSIDE shots...

GOOD LUCK!!!!!  

[dnovo]

My youngest boy killed an 8 point buck the day before his 14th birthday with a youth longbow pulling 33# @24". A cedar arrow with 2 blade Magnus II head. Penetration up to the feathers. I figure he was pulling right about 33#

Daniel, I think you are setting him up for failure if you let him hunt deer or pigs with 20ish pounds. Rabbits would be fine to start with. Like suggested above, either get him a wheel bow that he can get over 30# with, or keep working with him to get him strong enough to pull a stick bow with 30 or more pounds at his DL.

JMHO,

Bisch

[KyStickbow]

I am in the same boat Daniel. My son is also 9 years old and loves to hunt...he shot his first deer with a rifle when he was 7. He is to the point now where all he wants to do is shoot a deer with a bow.

Obviously we shoot traditional...and he is a very good shot with his recurve. I have complete confidence he could put an arrow in a deer at 15 yards....but I am not gonna allow him to. Cause he only draws 18"....and I think we would be asking for trouble.

We are discussing getting him a compound until he can pull enough poundage to hunt with. Its not his recurve...but it gets him in the woods with a bow and arrow....with confidence that we can get a clean kill.

[Mamba]

I think the 45# bow for starters even at 20' draw is going to be too heavy.  I have started several boys out hunting and shooting.  I would let him use a light bow for now to play with,learn form and nix the hunting idea for now.  JMHO.  Curt's son Cade did and is doing it, so I guess it is possible.  Every kid is different.

[dbd870]

I'm going to walk a step farther into the land of heresy and suggest if he wants to deer hunt he'd be best served with a xbow at the moment. (don't know your laws on that - GTG here) Let him go trad on small game for now and switch to it for deer once he get's a few more years on him.

[Sam McMichael]

Not meaning to be negative, but if there is doubt, then you probably need to hold off a while. Stick with small game until he is definitely able to pull a "deer" size bow.

[tecum-tha]

I am also taking a 10 year old this year out for the first time archery hunting.
His setup: 45#@30" Kaya Korean Traditional Bow 48"
Arrows are wood and about 450 grains with broadhead.
If he would be shooting pure western style, he would probably have only around 20" of draw.
But I have him shoot a hybrid Korean-Western style and he anchors on his ear. That increases his draw length around 2.5-3" and he pulls  around 33# at his draw length.
His shots will be from a groundblind and limited to 10-12 yards.
He shoots over the knuckle and is the current IBO World Champion in the CUB class. Out to 15 yards he is absolutely deadly on deer size game.
Why did I choose this bow for him?
I am only having a 25-25.5" draw length myself and this bow is 12 fps faster than some high priced custom hybrids I have. It is superlight, very compact and without silencers super quiet. It can accomodate a draw up to 32", so it will grow with him for years to come. At $270 TYD brandnew it is a steal for the performance you will get.

  But:          You say he wants to hunt this year. The problem is, he will not be ready for this season if he starts out shooting now. It requires at least 3-4 month of correct training to have an adult proficient with traditional equipment. It usually takes much longer with young kids. My protege is shooting for over three years now and up to now he uses his .50 percussion muzzleloader rifle for the last 2 seasons. He graduated to flintlock this year, but the main focus this year will be the bow.
Now, on the other traditional sites (tradt..k or stickb..w) there is a korean bow for sale with 35# for $160. This would be an ideal starting bow and if he trains correctly and hard he will be ready for the 45#@30" next year. If you require good kids shafts, I still have a dozen surewoods matched in 25# spine and weight within 10 grains I would sell you. They will be correct in weight and will teach the correct trajectory for heavier arrows from the start. It is also important to teach kids the skills like straightening wood shafts and building arrows correctly. This is as important as shooting. Knowledge is power and can keep the hobby appealing during the winter month etc.

[R.V.T.B.]

I made a house rule for each of my sons that they could bow hunt deer once they could proficiently handle 40 pounds and shoot it accurately out to 20 yards. They each killed deer with firearms at 8 or 9 years old and each of them spent their first couple or three years bow hunting with a compound.  They shot stick bows year round but were unable to handle the bow weight until they were 14 or 15 years old.  Each of my sons had their first bow kill at twelve, with a compound from a carefully selected stand.