by Jackson | Dec 29, 2014 | Compound Bows
This Diamond Atomic Bow Review is for the youth model only.  That being said, this is a great bow for beginners. Especially younger children who have a short draw length and will need a smaller weight. This is the ideal type of bow for that. You can read the rest of the review below.
Diamond Atomic Package Youth Model RH Blue
Bow specifications
- Axle to Axle – 24″
- Brace Height – 6″
- Weight – 2.5 lbs
- Draw weight – 6 – 29 lbs
- Draw length – 12″ – 24″
- Arrow speed – 319-327 fps
What’s included
- 3 pin bow sight
- Hostage capture arrow rest
- Attachable 3 arrow quiver
- 3 carbon arrows
Not included
- Peep sight
- Release aid
- bow case
- target
Special notes
- This is a youth model
- Easily adjusted without a bowpress
- Comes in right and left hand options
- Changing draw length changes weight
The pros
This bow is filled with lots of good things going for it. It’s taken the youth model and scaled it down just a bit more for the younger and smaller crowd. This means that you’ll have a well-balanced and real bow for when your child is ready to have the real thing. The construction quality is good.
This is a sturdy bow that’s easy to change weight with. I’d easily recommend this to anyone who is looking for quality in a bow. It’s mostly setup on arrival with just the quick easy adjustments needed to make sure everything is attached right and the bow is set to the draw length and weight that you want. That all takes about 10-20 minutes and then you’re ready to go.
The cons
This is a more expensive bow and it does have better parts. The biggest con that I’ve found is the bow sight. You can be gentle with it and it should do fine for a while. I’d also mention that this bow is pretty high quality so you need to make sure that this is something your child is interested in before you go spending the money. If they like archery, then this bow is a great choice. If it’s a passing fad, you might want to try something a little cheaper to see if they’re actually interested or not.
The maximum draw length is 24″ which will probably be the limiting factor in how long you can use the bow. I’d recommend taking a bit to find out your child’s draw length and making sure that there is a little room to grow before getting this bow. The length is all relative to the size of your child so I can’t give you an exact number on anything.
It’s priced around $195-220 on Amazon. As always, I recommend reading all the reviews there and any other websites you find to make sure that you are getting the best item for you.
Diamond Atomic Package Youth Model RH Blue
by Jackson | Jul 29, 2014 | Archery Education
Beginning archery is a fun process and many parents will find themselves doing something they don’t know to help their children get started with archery. Knowing how to start archery for kids isn’t too difficult and a bit of learning will go a long way to helping both parents and kids have the most fun as soon as possible.
Here are the things that I’ve found to be some really helpful tips so that you can have the best experience of getting into archery with your kids or any other youth out there.
Get educated
Children are naturally curious and will want to do things that you don’t know anything about. It’s easy to get started and it’s a great chance to help them try something new. The first thing I’d recommend is my Archery Lessons for Beginners to get the right information on how to shoot a bow correctly. It’s going to be really hard to teach your child how to shoot a bow if you don’t know anything about it.
Get the right archery equipment
There are many great choices for your child. You’re very lucky that there are so many good options out there now. You will need to be sure and match a bow to your child and their abilities. Here are the most important things to know when looking at bows.
- Child height or size – You’ll want to buy a bow that is big enough and can be drawn back far enough.
- Relative strength – Most beginners will start at a bow weight of 20#. A stronger youth might prefer a stronger bow up to 30#. A simple test is to see if how many push ups they can do in a minute. 1 = 20#, 5=25#, and 10+ = 30# This is a general guideline and will have to be tailored to each individual.
- Right or Left handed This is easy to figure out. Have your child make in imaginary bow and arrow and draw it back to their face. Whichever hand comes back to the face, that’s the answer. If they pull back with the right hand, they need a right-handed bow. Most people will pull back with their dominant hand and it will normally line up with their dominant eye.
Minimum Equipment List
A Bow
You want a bow that has the right draw length and draw weight. If you don’t know which type of bow you want, get one that has a variable draw length or a traditional bow. Two good examples are:
Samick Sage Recurve Bow
, I recommend this to anyone who is starting archery. It is able to grow with your child as once your have the initial bow you can purchase different limbs later to increase the draw as your child grows. Check out the reviews on Amazon; and the
Genesis Bow Kit
, this is a great bow kit for all the family, including mum and dad. The draw weight can be adjusted if necessary for smaller children. The range is about 20 yards, ideal for most backyards or just practicing.
These are both amazon affiliate links so you can check out the products
Arrows
Generally a beginners archery set will come with 3-6 arrows, over time these are going to break and pieces are going to come off, so buy some extras. Arrows can disappear really fast. Whilst learning I would start with fibreglass arrows, these can be purchased for about $3 each. If buying for a junior normally the 28″ arrow would suit depending on the child’s strength and the type of bow.
Arm Guard
Learning archery needs to be fun and one of the most common injuries and pain, whilst learning is the bowstring striking the wrist. Stop it from the beginning. Who wants to shoot a bow when it hurts? I recommend getting a arm guard for all learners, the
OMP Youth Armguard,
offers good protection for under $10.
Target
You need something to shoot at. You can make your own target, or get something like
The Block Archery Target
, designed to last for a very long time.
Keep it short and fun
As an adult, I have a short attention span. As a child, it was even shorter. Most kids are the same way, so don’t expect them to want to stand and shoot for hours of endless ecstasy on end. 10-15 minutes is long enough for many and you want them to leave happy and excited so they have positive memorize to make them want to keep shooting in the future.
Engineer success
Having a first positive experience is really important with archery for kids. Take some time and learn to shoot a bow real quick, then get the right equipment for them. The third part is to stand extremely close to the target. Seriously, maybe 5 steps away. You want to be so close that it’s almost impossible to miss. You can always move the target farther away, but for some reason it always comes across weird to move it up.
Make friends
There are tons of people and other kids that shoot. Ask around and I’m sure you’ll find some that are in an archery club or have a target setup at their house. It’s a fun way to hang out and you can meet new friends that way. Or, you can get your own friends into archery with you.
I hope these help you to figure out what you need in order to have a good experience. I love archery and it’s been something that I’ve been able to do for years. I’d love the same thing for you and your family too.
Please share if you know anyone who might be interested in archery. It will help them to get started in the right direction.
photo credit
by Jackson | May 26, 2014 | Compound Bows
Getting kids into archery is a lot of fun and most adults learn a thing or two. This is a great beginner bow for young kids and will let them get started having fun right away. All you need to do is put things together and off you go.
To be clear, I’m talking about the Barnett Lil Banshee Jr. Compound Bow. This is a fun little bow that is well made and good for young children.
Barnett Outdoors Lil Banshee Jr. Compound Archery Set
–Â Here’s the link so you can check it out on Amazon.
Lil Banshee compound bow set
Bow specifications
- Draw weight – 18 lbs
- Draw length – 18″ – 22″
What’s included
- The bow
- 2 arrows
- Finger rollers
- Adjustable Pin Sight
Not included
Special notes
- Multiple color choices
- Right or Left hand use
So getting down to business. You want to get a good little bow for your child. At $28-30, you end up with a small compound that is very durable and probably the best choice for someone looking to get started. As a compound, it helps make the bow easier to pull back and you have an adjustable draw length so it works well for different size children.
Barnett Outdoors Lil Banshee Jr. Compound Archery Set
–Â Here’s the link so you can check it out on Amazon.
I believe that children aged 7-12 should be able to use this bow, but that depends on the child. You can take the handle and flip it upside down to make it work for the left hand. For the price, you really can’t get a better bow for starting your kid in archery and it’s better than spending a couple hundred bucks before finding out if they really like archery and want to keep doing it.
Tips to make things way better
Buy extra arrows when you get this. It’s the number one thing everyone ends up getting. You might as well save yourself some time and get them from the beginning. The Barnett Outdoors Junior Arrows (3 Pack)
are a good choice for this bow.
Try my printable targets to keep your kids excited and having more fun. You’ll make them want to go outside instead of playing on a cell phone. They can go hunting, do target practice, or go zombie hunting.
This Lil Banshee bow review is 100% my own opinion.
