Originally Posted by
TripleB
One thing I should have asked at the very start:
For my son (soon to be 7), should I be looking at compound bows or, what I would call, a standard bow?
Again, thank you for all the help.
TripleB
The nice thing about compound bows is they are adjustable for weight pull. The one I mentioned above I think you can set down as low as 15lbs.
Then with a compund bow you have something called let off. Its a huge advantage over a standard bow.
When a bow is pulled back the amount of weight being pulled back is reduced or "let off" by the percentage the bow is capable of. In most cases its 60% to 80%.
So in other words when you or your son pulls it back you are not holding the full amount of poundage you are pulling from the start.
This can be extreamly advantagous for hunting where you might have to hold the bow back several minutes for the deer to get into a shot. Many hunters will draw a bow back the moment a deer approaches and not release the arrow until the the deer walks into range or walks out of range. At which time they either shoot or walk the arrow back down to rest.