Archery for kids

chromebumpers

chromebumpers

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Rather than rely on a store's stock person for advice I figure there's a sportsman here that has experience. My 10 yr. old daughter has been asking all year for a bow and arrow set. I'm not interested in buying a toy but I don't want something beyond what they both can work with and lose interest. The Boy Scouts will have family camping with a turn at archery and my daughter got yet more exposure in the Girl Scouts last spring. Where do you begin sizing up the equipment needed? I searched around for training courses with no luck. Any sites that I can visit?
 
having hunted with a bow since I was 16 years old I would suggest looking around your area for an archery club, most have both classes and contests.
some have weekly leagues like bowling has.
most good archery shops can measure her draw length and suggest a draw weight, for kids its usually under 20lbs,and 20" but should be measured and a good shop can suggest a good beginners bow.
many BASS-PRO stores have ARCHERY LEAGUES and can let you try equipment.
you don,t need expensive equipment, what you do need is some place safe to practice with a safe back-stop and at least 25 yards range, a target and some fairly decent arrows with field tips, some instruction, from someone with a bit of experience.
If I had a young daughter Id probably be looking at something like this, bow linked to below, and find some place to purchase 3 bails of hay as a back stop , Id find some old used carpet to drape over the hay bails at least three layers and use typing paper stapled to the carpet as a target, have her start at 15 yards and have her keep at it until she can punch paper consistently at that distance ,then back up in 5 yard distances and repeat the process, out to at least 40 yards, Id also do what I did with my sons and offer a $10 bill as a prize at each distance, that she collects when she can place 10 consecutive arrows thru that sheet of typing paper from each distance WHILE I WATCH
once she can do that at 40 yards fold the paper into 1/4 and repeat the process, adding range as skill improves, once you can consistently place 10 arrows in a 1/4 sheet of paper from 40 yards your skill is well above average.
when I was a kid my dad placed two pallets to form a basic (A) frame UPPER EDGES TIED TOGETHER BASES ABOUT 2 FEET APART AND DRAPED ABOUT 7 LAYERS OF OLD CARPET OVER THAT AS A TARGET BACKER AND THEN PLACED A FULL SHEET OF 3/4" PLYWOOD ABOUT 20 FEET FURTHER BACK WITH A TREE HOLDING IT UP IN CASE WE MISSED THE ROUGHLY 4 FT X 4FT TARGET, THERE WAS AN ADDITIONAL 60 FEET BEHIND THAT IN THE BACK YARD, BEFORE THE NEIGHBORS FENCE LINE , several layers of old carpet will stop arrows from a kids bow very effectively and won,t easily wear out, plus its fairly easy to replace from carpet store dumpsters

http://www.basspro.com/Bear-Archery-Bra ... LL_PRODUCT

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Hunting/ ... t103968180

http://www.huntersfriend.com/bow_sizing ... guide.html

http://www.archerylive.com/forums/index.php?act=home

http://www.discoverarchery.org/equipmen ... aw-length/

http://www.yeoldearcheryshoppe.com/drawlength.php

http://library.thinkquest.org/C0125680/basics.htm

http://archerylearningcenter.archerylive.com/

http://www.basspro.com/Hunting-Bows/_/N ... Youth+Bows
 
That's some great information! I talked to the kids and both (naturally) want to do it, Hannah actually showed me that the College she wants to go to has archery scholarships. Alex is already telling me how he can protect the family when doomsday comes! OMG LOL!! talk about a can of worms - my wife hears that and the closest they'll come to a bow & arrow is Cupid on Valentines day!
 
Cabelas is close to me and what a place that is! It's one thing to see gear in a catalog or on the net, but to be able to hold it in your hands and try it on is completely different. I could spend some serious money there! Although it seems slow to get 1 shot off, some day I'd like to shoot with a cross-bow.
 
Heh- I've been running approved archery (and rifle) ranges for the BSA since 1989.

I'll comment on the equip rather than sourcing.

Safety first: arm guard and finger tap/glove.

Second - the arrows: make sure they are aluminum. Fiberglass will be too heavy for the probably light bow that she will be using. Wood arrows, once wet -and kids WILL get them wet- will warp and not last.

Make sure the arrows are properly spined. The spine is a a measure of shaft stiffness (no silly jokes plz.) And arrow is designed to work with the draw length and draw weight of the bow. This is not as expensive as it sounds. A properly spined arrow will have a satisfying flight and be accurate. Do a search on the "archers paradox" to see what actually happens to an arrow in flight. A properly spined arrow has a very satisfying Fzzzzz-THWACK!!! Improperly spined on weak bows and the arrow flops around (Common and VERY annoying for youth because they (and often their instructor) think they are doing something wrong when they are not - in this case it actually IS the "bow's fault"). Improperly spined on high-powered bows and the arrow can explode.

I would almost say that quality arrows are more important than the bow.

Your problem now is her youth - 10! She probably is a bit young to store the significant energy in the bow and her draw length will be fairly short. For the Boy Scouts that I work with 10.5 years and up, some are on the edge. The majority of the average boys can handle a 15-20lbs recurve bow. Cheap ones ($40-60) can last a little while. They started failing on me on the second season… but that was with multiple youth use and abuse. Expect to pay $130 for a decent, beginner recurve. Problem is that will last, but she will eventually grow out of it.

Considering her youth, I would get a look at a baby compound bow. It'll have a shorter draw length and store the energy more efficiently giving a satisfying flight.

Another bit is the bow string - typically bow strings are stranded and have reinforcements (serving) around the areas of wear - the end loops and where you nock the arrow. You want the bow string serving thick enough so that the arrow "clips" on to the string. The kid will already have to struggle to get the arrow to stay on the rest - she doesn't need to have it sliding around on the string as well. (Those bow strings aren't always available on baby compounds.)

Buy some cheap brass nock points to crimp on the string so that her arrow will be consistently and accurately located on her string and she won't have to worry about that either.

To start (words on back stop aside) get her sooting at balloons. Make em real big and fun to pop; then with time, shrink them time and increase the distance.

Have her straddle the firing line (as well as all other archers) to prevent her (and others) from drifting back. Also compels the archer to address the target.

Make the backstop big enough so that it can't be missed. Arrows that snake in the grass (particularly aluminum) will get the vanes torn off fairly easily… then you'll have to glue them back on. (so buy some cement and spare vanes of both colors.)

And of course - number one rule of handling: no dry firing. The bow will last a lot longer that way.
 
Other stuff to buy: a stick of wax (lasts forever) to keep string in good shape. Spare strings of the correct length and strand count. a fletching jig to glue vanes back on.

This is my favorite - it keeps good pressure on the shaft:

1170006.jpg


Spare vanes. Cement. Brass nock points. Arm guard finger tab/glove.

Backstops can be whatever you can finagle.
 
DORIANS correct about matching the arrow length and spine to the application, I have occasionally purchased arrows on sale , without checking carefully...(total waste of money) with my bow.
every manufacturer will have a chart suggesting the arrow to use based on draw length and draw weight, its not super critical on a kids bow but youll get much better results once you start asking questions and understanding why things are done certain ways, I would NOT put a great deal of money into bows and arrows untill you see some sustained interest, theres a chance this will be a quickly passing fad and you don,t want to have hundreds of dollars in kids archery equipment that adults can't use... in fact Id drop by several local pawn shops, you might find you can benefit from some ones similar lack of fore thought
http://www.cabelas.com/catalog/browse/y ... t472681980
http://www.ehow.com/info_8384842_do-num ... -mean.html


Shaft Size

Typically there is a four-digit number written on the shaft of an arrow (e.g., "2413"). The first two of these numbers refer to the outside diameter of the arrow shaft measured in 64ths of an inch. An arrow labeled as "2413" has an outer diameter of 24/64ths of an inch. Thus the larger the first two numbers, the thicker the arrow shaft, albeit by possibly a very small amount.
Outer Wall Size

The second two of the four digits refer to the thickness of the wall of the arrow shaft in 1/1,000 inch. Looking an an arrow marked "2413," this gives the arrow an outer wall thickness of 13/1,000 inch, or .013 inches.


Spine and Weight

Along with the shaft dimensions, the spine of the arrow plays a part in the flight. There are actually two different types of arrows spines: static and dynamic. The static spine is measured by the amount of flex in the center of the arrow, while a 1.94-pound (800-gram) object is suspended from it. The number of inches the arrow bends is the measurement for the static spine. The dynamic spine refers to how the arrow reacts to the stored energy of the bow when it's fired. Factors that impact the dynamic spine include how the arrow is released (by hand or by machine), the energy applied to the bow, the bow's cam system, the weight of the different sections of the arrow and the weight of the arrow, which in turn is affected by the thickness of the arrow shaft and of the shaft's outer walls. Since the dynamic spine has numerous variables to measure, an arrow's spine is typically measured in terms of static spine.
Importance

The spine of an arrow plays a role in the tuning, shooting and grouping of arrows, and using the wrong size arrows for a bow can lead to poor accuracy and grouping of the shots. Using arrows of the same size and thickness leads to consistency of flight and handling, which, if arrows are properly aimed and conditions are similar between shots, allows for arrows to fly in the same way and group tightly upon hitting.





viewtopic.php?f=102&t=8415&p=29389#p29389
 
Thanks guys! I will be working on this for Xmas starting this weekend. After all your information it's got me interested for myself as well. I don't even want to touch anything without professional lessons. I wanted to play golf for many years, people would constantly tell me to get a set of clubs and start playing. I on the other hand didn't want to relearn bad tips, advise, hand positions and swings so I purposely didn't touch any putter or club until shown by a pro. The Community College had the best deal $75/per credit (2 credits = $150)for the course and included your green fees. Pretty dam cheap for a PGA Pro teaching you from day one for 8 weeks.
 
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