RE: Please help my son to pick a bow
Compounds are easy to learn to shoot. That' s about the only thing I think they' ve got going for them as kids' bows.
Compounds have a fixed draw length, some more adjustable than others, but he will likely outgrow it in just a few years.
Compounds require a variety of tools for simple home maintenance and there is also maintenance above and beyond what he can do himself and require the occasional service of a pro shop. And of course that means parts and labor charges. There is a lot of work to do with them, getting them adjusted (what we call tuned) to shoot arrows straight, and that' s something that has to be done at least once a year. More often if he winds up shooting a lot. Since you are not an experienced archer, that will be a difficult problem for him.
Compounds over 6 years old, you can' t hardly give them away. They might still shoot as well as ever, but they' re obsolete. Most of them are gathering dust in the closet or taking up space in the landfill.
I' d think a 40-45 pound recurve in 58" length would be just the ticket. That' s basically what I had for my first store bought bow when I was his age. That bow accounted for many rabbits and squirrels, as well as a deer and a few wild hogs, and was a faithful companion all the way through college.
A recurve is very basic. Only two adjustments: nock height and brace height, both of which are easy to do himself. Set him up with arrows that are the correct stiffness and he' ll be in business. The only special tools required are a bow square and a bow stringer, very inexpensive items.
Unlike a compound, he can shoot that one recurve for many years. There are many recurves made in the 60' s that still shoot every bit as well today as they did when they were new. They never become obsolete (at least, not in the sense compounds do, with increases in performance each year), so they also retain their value very well. If it weren' t for a tornado that decided it needed my old bow worse than I did, I' d probably still have it.
One more thing, when he' s not using it, you just might wind up sneaking it out to shoot an arrow or two yourself. That' s something that would be very difficult to do with a compound.