My son has been shooting a bow since he was really little but hunting with a crossbow until he was ready. He was already putting 3 out of 3 shots in a 3 inch bull at 20 yards and that was my standard for him. The goal I set for him was to be able to get his bow up to the state minimum and shoot consistently at that draw weight. I originally said 40lbs, the state required 35lbs. His current bow maxed out at 38lbs and we said good enough. He hit that milestone at 10 years old and we went out hunting. I would only let him take 20 yard broadside shots.

He didn't get a whitetail to pose for him this year and he ended up taking a spike with his crossbow. After the season was over, I took him on an exotic ram hunt and he christened his compound. He got his ram, but I wasn't that impressed with the penetration. I'm hoping to get him into 45lbs before his next hunt.

To be fair, he did hit a little forward and got into the shoulder a little bit. The ram still bled out. But the tracking job was harder than it needed to be.