Choosing your First Bow and Arrow

Choosing your first bow and arrow as a young child is a lot like looking for a new best friend.  Not any one would do.  No, you needed to be sure that you could shoot arrows like Robin Hood and save the day or go hunting in the wild woods, which was just some open land behind your house.  Whether you’re young or old.  Choosing a bow that’s right for you is very important.

Be Excited for your child

If the parent enjoys something, then the child will normally enjoy the sport as well.  It’s important to be happy that your child is taking an interest in a good sport that they can enjoy for the rest of their life.  That being said, now on to finding the bow for you.  There are several different ways that you can go, but it’s probably best to tailor the choice down to what the youth is interested in.  If they are very young, then a toy bow and arrow might be a better start for them until they develop the muscles to shoot stronger bows.

Go see what choices you have

When you pick a bow, you should start with taking your child to a store and letting them look at the different options.  There are lots of options and it will be the most helpful to just show them.  Many archery shops are really kid friendly and will have a place so that you can try out a bow before you buy it.  You don’t have to get the bow there, but it will help your child decide which direction they want to go in.

Different types of bows

Children grow fast and so it’s important to find something that can grow with them.  There are a couple good ways to go about this.  The first is to find a compound bow that has variable settings and allows you to grow with it, such as the Genesis Bow.  A compound bow has two or more wheels, called cams, which make the bow more powerful while keeping it easy to use.

Another good option that you can choose is to find a recurve or long bow that is made for youth.  The nice thing about these types of bows is that you just pull back what you can handle..  A bow similar to the PSE Razorback for youth would fit this category well.  You can find one that your child is able to pull back and then let them try different bows until they find the one that suits them best.

Let’s recap real quick

1. Be excited – Archery is a great sport and you can enjoy it for your entire life
2. Go look at the options – There are several choices and the best way is to go take a look
3. Try them out – Try out compound bows and traditional bows to find which suits you best.
4. Have fun – After you made your choice, have fun enjoying your new bow.

As you’re shooting things through the air, don’t forget to take the time and make sure that your child is safe about this great sport.  Proper accessories will protect them and help them to enjoy shooting more.  These include arm guards and a release aid.  An arm guard will protect their arm from the string accidentally hitting it when they shoot an arrow.  You don’t to hurt when your shooting, that’s no fun and might make you stop.  There are many release aides from gloves to mechanical devices.  These protect your hand that is pulling back on the string.  There are many other things you can get to have fun with archery, but these are basic things that will help you to enjoy this sport.