I took my 9 year old daughter out shooting with me this weekend. I had a cheap toy compound that I had bought for my oldest daughter when she was young, but she never really showed much interest in it, so I didn' t push it. Whole different story with daughter #2...

I wanted to get some practice in from tree stand heights, so we went to a local park that is bordered on one side by a flood plain levee, worked perfect. Set my target up at 25 yards, walked to the top of the " hill" , simulated hunting between 15-20' up. I shot several times from 10-30 yards, enough to prove that my Savage Pendulum was up to the task, as advertised. As long as I do my part, the arrow is right there with the pin out to 30 yards. I didn' t shoot farther, as for my stands, 30 yards is a pretty far shot.

After I put my stuff away, we got out " her" bow (she already took it over )

Went through the basics, safety first, it' s a weapon, never shoot with someone in front of you, etc. Then showed her how to nock an arrow, cock vane out, string in the first grove of her three fingers (no pinky or thumb), relaxed vertical stance, feet slightly open, pull elbow straight back, anchor point, release and follow through. Within 5 minutes I turned her loose and she looked like she had been shooting for years. Form and follow through were EXCELLENT for a beginner. Only problem she had is the toy bow is a piece of excrement, and even if she was perfect, flight was all over the place.

I really praised her, explained it' s the bow, not her, and she proceeded to shoot for well over an hour. She even wanted to simulate hunting, so we set the target up in front of some bleachers at a baseball field, she got my true talker out, called them in and shot. It was a blast, and when we had to go, she didn' t want to stop.
She' s already asked several times when we can go again, much to her mother' s chagrin

So, I' m looking for a CHEAP bow that will allow her to continue to work on the fundamentals and actually pull of an accurate shot to reward her for good form. Bonus if the bow can also be used by the entire family, draw lengths from short to long

I' m thinking a light draw weight recurve or long type bow, like those fiberglass ones you see park districts use in archery programs (except around her, no such thing).

What would you recommend? And remember I said cheap... If I had the bucks, I' d get a Genesis and be done with it, fun for the whole family, but it' s not in the forseeable future...