Bow and Arrow for 9.5 year old?

[rob_s]

I'm wanting to avoid any kind of junk, and am not afraid to pay, but would still like the total nut for a starter kit to be <$100.

[bravo7]

Traditional?

[mtnbkr]

Get a Sammick Sage with the lightest limbs available (20lbs). It'll run you a bit over $100, but will grow with your kid (you can buy heavier limbs). This is a quality bow and has threaded inserts for any accessory you might need.

I have one with 35lb limbs for backyard shooting and 50lb limbs for hunting. They go up to 55lbs.

http://www.lancasterarchery.com/samick-sage-takedown-recurve-bow.html

If the Sage is too heavy, then you can get the next size down (Polaris 54"). My kids had those back when they were briefly interested in archery.

Chris

[Matt O]

I concur on the Sage, it’s quite good for what it costs.


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[vaspence]

3rd on the Sage. I have one also and it's hard to beat for the money.

[dbertagni]

There are a lot of good options for youth bows, but the best advice I can give is find a local archery shop and try a few out.

If you want advice from some of the best people around, and maybe a good deal on a new to you bow, I suggest joining the ArcheryTalk forum: http://www.archerytalk.com/

When my daughter was young, my wife and I taught archery with the Genesis bows. They were tough and very adaptable to a wide range of students.

https://www.genesisbow.com/

[Arbninftry]

My ten year old nephew has already killed 4 deer with a bow. This year he got a respectable 12 point and a doe, with a bow. Last year a Doe and the year before a Doe. He is Slaying them this year Muzzleloader and modern gun.

This year alone he has 4 deer. So yes it can be done. He started at 4-5 with a bow. But we are Indian in Oklahoma, so they teach that shit in preschool and pow-wows.

A 100.00 will get you starter kit. I suggest Academy or Bass Pro. Arrows get you later when they get bigger and shoot real bows.
Start cheap and if they stay interested, then it is really not as expensive as guns. You can reuse an arrow.

Practice a lot.

[Shellback]

The Genesis compound bow was recommended by my local bow shop. It gets great reviews from what I've seen.

[rob_s]

Get a Sammick Sage with the lightest limbs available (20lbs). It'll run you a bit over $100, but will grow with your kid (you can buy heavier limbs). This is a quality bow and has threaded inserts for any accessory you might need.

I have one with 35lb limbs for backyard shooting and 50lb limbs for hunting. They go up to 55lbs.

http://www.lancasterarchery.com/samick-sage-takedown-recurve-bow.html

If the Sage is too heavy, then you can get the next size down (Polaris 54"). My kids had those back when they were briefly interested in archery.

Chris

This is for a girl, and she’s kind of short for her age. It’s just for “plinking” in the yard. What do you all think of something like this with the 15s?
http://www.lancasterarchery.com/samick-polaris-48-recreational-recurve-bow-package.html

[mtnbkr]

This is for a girl, and she’s kind of short for her age. It’s just for “plinking” in the yard. What do you all think of something like this with the 15s?
http://www.lancasterarchery.com/samick-polaris-48-recreational-recurve-bow-package.html

How tall is she? What about her draw length (quick and dirty calc is half the length of her outstretched arms)?

The 54" was small enough for my youngest daughter at 7 (quite petite for her age), but gave her some capacity to "grow into". I feel the 48" will be small unless your daughter is very petite. Weight-wise, 15 is a good starting point. I actually started Thing 2 at 12lbs and found it too light because it's hard to find arrows light enough to fly properly with a 12lb draw. The 15lb limbs I had worked better with light aluminum arrows (Easton Genesis), but not the typical fiberglass arrows kids use.

The 54" will take you up to 30lbs if this becomes a "thing" with her.

BTW, try to find out her eye dominance before you buy. My oldest is right handed, but cross-eye dominate, so she had to go with a left-hand bow as a result.

With the Polaris, you can put an arrow rest on it in order to use arrows with vanes. If you want to shoot off the shelf, get feather-fletched arrows (custom arrows from Lancaster aren't that expensive).
Get a sight, even if it's a cheap set of pins, so she can shoot with some accuracy and not get discouraged early on (ignore the tradarcher naysayers).

Chris

[Casual Friday]

Samick makes a lot of good entry level bows that won't break the bank while a person figures out if they like traditional archery or not. My tall, lanky 11 year old daughter shoots a 54" longbow that's about 18lbs at her draw length. My tiny 7 year old shoots a 48" bow.

If she gets into it and outgrows the base model bows, an ILF (international limb fitting) bow is the way to go. An ILF riser of any manufacturer will accept ILF limbs from any manufacturer. That, combined with the ability to fine tune the tiller make them the most versatile setup out there.

[rob_s]

How tall is she? What about her draw length (quick and dirty calc is half the length of her outstretched arms)?

The 54" was small enough for my youngest daughter at 7 (quite petite for her age), but gave her some capacity to "grow into". I feel the 48" will be small unless your daughter is very petite. Weight-wise, 15 is a good starting point. I actually started Thing 2 at 12lbs and found it too light because it's hard to find arrows light enough to fly properly with a 12lb draw. The 15lb limbs I had worked better with light aluminum arrows (Easton Genesis), but not the typical fiberglass arrows kids use.

The 54" will take you up to 30lbs if this becomes a "thing" with her.

BTW, try to find out her eye dominance before you buy. My oldest is right handed, but cross-eye dominate, so she had to go with a left-hand bow as a result.

With the Polaris, you can put an arrow rest on it in order to use arrows with vanes. If you want to shoot off the shelf, get feather-fletched arrows (custom arrows from Lancaster aren't that expensive).
Get a sight, even if it's a cheap set of pins, so she can shoot with some accuracy and not get discouraged early on (ignore the tradarcher naysayers).

Chris

That's great feedback, thanks.

I think I'm looking at this now.
http://www.lancasterarchery.com/samick-polaris-54-recreational-recurve-bow-package.html

Mom actually would prefer we get the daughter a "BB gun" but when I ask what she means (plastic or metal?) she doesn't really know. I feel like the archery would be safer as the arrows are less likely to leave our property while a metal bb could wind up in a neighbor's window even at 1.5 acre lots. or the neighbor himself for that matter.

[mtnbkr]

That's a nice set and will serve her well. All you need to take it outside is a couple straw bales to put the target faces on. :)

Chris

[Surf]

I went straight into compound bows with my kids, but I primarily hunt with a compound so my bias. I still own a recurve but don't really shoot it to much.

My son started at 5 yrs with a Bear warrior and at 10 went to a Bear Apprentice with a draw from 20 to 50lbs and a wide draw length adjustment.

My daughter is 4' 10", 11 yrs old @ 70lbs and she started with the hand me down Warrior and can shoot the Apprentice at 25lbs.

Just a reference.

[Jim Watson]

You might look at NASP = National Archery in Schools.
The program and the gear. They use a "universal fit" Genesis bow.

http://naspschools.org/description/

https://www.genesisbow.com

A friend's kids had a ball in the program.

[MGW]

My son has used a Genesis Pro for the last three years. The adjustability is very nice. There is no let off and is probably the smoothest shooting bow out there. We bought it used from a local shop that was going out of business. I don’t remember what we paid but I’m pretty sure it was over $100. It was set up with fiber sights, peep, and release loop for him though.

[SJC3081]

Go to a full service archery shop. They will be able to assist you best.