At what age?
 

I am sure that this has been asked a 100 times on here but, I am fairly new to this site. My son will be 8 in Oct and he says that the only hunting that he wants to do is archery. He doesn't think that it is fair to shoot a deer with a gun. That is fine with me I am just glad he want's to hunt some. My question, Is he to young to shoot a bow? I know i wouldn't let him in a loc on or a climber but I have a two man ladder that we both could hunt together. What bow would you recomend for him to learn with? Thanks guys.

RE: At what age?
 

I bought my son a recurve bow when he was 3 and now he's 7 and I'm going to buy him a compound for Christmas. 8 is not to young to shoot but he may not be strong enough yet to pull enough poundage to kill a deer.

RE: At what age?
 

Too young? Nahhh....My recommendation on bows, well you probably don't want to know.

Here is my son at age eight, bottom is 11.

RE: At what age?
 

gutshot said what I was thinking too. At 8 years old I was hunting with a crossbow, but even that my dad had to pull back for me. Now granted I was a pretty scrawny kid, but it worked. I first started with a crossbow at 6 and I loved it. Once I could pull the legal poundage back I switched to a bow.

RE: At what age?
 

I'm certainly glad to hear about your son wanting to get into the sport ,good for him .My kid's were 6 when they started shooting a bow ,I started with a small recurve and then they moved up to a BowTech Rascal which you can get down as far as 30lb's which might be a little much for him right now .I'd give hima year with the recurve and then move him up when he's strong enough to draw a small compound .

nubo

RE: At what age?
 

Whoa, them are fighting words. :D

RE: At what age?
 

No insult intended there Bob ,just myexperience withMY kid's .

nubo

RE: At what age?
 

Just messin with ya Nubo. ;)


FWIW, the longbow on the bottom picture is a 40# Howard Hill Cheetah. Rocky Mountain juniper limbs. Five pound over the legal minimum here in NY.

RE: At what age?
 

I though you might be Bob ,it's great to see the kid's picking up a bow ,regardless what type of bow it is and which they may prefer .Look's like the young lad may just have down pat ,congrat's

nubo

RE: At what age?
 

the benefits to a recurve are simple and no draw length, just get a weight he can EASILY handle. The downside to a recurve(and advantage to a compound), is arrow speed, penetration, can use a sight/release and it will probably look like yours, and easier to get accurate and consistent (though I have found kids have a natural knack for instinctive shooting.)

as for hunting, he's probably to young to bowhunt, check state regs for minimum weight etc. Also with my sons, who both gun hunt, I have told them they are welcome to bowhunt whenever they want, but they have to prove to me they can hit what they shoot at, which means to us, 20 yards at our 3D target.

RE: At what age?
 

My son Hunter, will be 8 in Oct. as well, and he has a bow. He didn't start getting serious until this year. I have him shooting a Chipmucnk .22 and .410 as well. Teaching him safety and technique. By the time he is 11/12, he should be well ahead of the game.

RE: At what age?
 

Take him to a pro shop and have the pro there fit him and test him out different stuff... Check and be 100% sure of all laws regarding age and draw requirements... A bowhunter education course wouldn't hurt either....

I personally started bow hunting when I was 10. Started shooting long before that, but couldnt pull the required weight so I had to wait. Here in Texas you can hunt as young as you want but only with an adult untill you're 12. For two years my mom would sit in a bow blind a hundred or so yds off (but with direct line of sight), so I could hunt. None of the bow stands on the property were condusive to two hunters....

RE: At what age?
 

Both of my kids started around 7. My daughter is 8 and we just bought her a Genesis Mini. She is doing well with it.

My son is now 13 and we bought him a Parker last year. He will be able to hunt in NY next year!

If he is interested, go for it!

RE: At what age?
 

I am getting ready to buy my son a Parker Buckshot for various reasons. The most important reason is for $50 you can send it back to the factory and they will put new limbs and all on it to get it bigger. Instead of having to buy a bigger one, just send it in.

RE: At what age?
 

Just about the right age.

RE: At what age?
 

i killed my first deer at age 8 w/ a gun, started bowhunting once my dad felt i could accurately shoot 40#. Shot right under my first attempt w/ a bow at 15 yrds. I think i was around 12 when it happend. I was shakin so bad the tree was moving and my dad was sitting at my feet holding my legs still... ever since then ive been addicted to bow hunting...

RE: At what age?
 

Straight Up 6,8,10,12,14. there is no set age when your child is ready. You will know by how your child responds. My son is nine and he's not ready in my eyes yet. He's been shooting for two years now and the end of last year finally started trying. Mainly due to strength I believe but stilleven mentally not ready and he's top of his class.That doesn't mean you can't teach him the other aspects of hunting. My son and I will be spending alot of time in stand this year and I take him scouting all the time. Some at six are ready, some at 14 are not. It all depends on the child.

RE: At what age?
 

shot my first doe last year with a shotgun at age 12, got a 97 on my hunters education course, highest in the class and i purchased two crossbows this summer. i plan to hunt by myself with the xbow all during bow season. i also bought a 20 gauge to hunt with my dad during gun season to fill a tag. i feel that i'm ready and prepare myself by hunting small game such as groundhogs with my xbow practicing shots and such. it's great fun.

RE: At what age?
 

Each kid is different when it comes to bow hunting. My son who is now 14 has tinkered with youth bows etc since he was 8. All target practice for 3 years. At age 12 I bought him the High Country Micro Quad and he hunted the last two years with it. I think a large part of the equation is to consider the childs size, maturity level and most important if they enjoy the experience.

My son has loved shooting the bow since he started and just loves to go bowhunting. This year I got a little surprise. About two months ago he came walking in the door and asked to shoot the PSE Nova one that a friend gave me 2 years ago when he quit bowhunting. That bow is a 29 inch draw length set at 67 lbs., I was amazed when he snapped it right back and after some minor sight twinking he was shooting 3 inch grps at 30 yards.

I turned the bow down to 60 lbs which leads me to my next point. Do not force your kid to pull a draw weight which they have to struggle with, remember they are growing and we do not want them damaging themselves. Let them pull a weight which they are comfortable with.the long and short of it isyou know your kid and if their ready or not. Just make sure you encourage them and remind them about Safety, safety , safety, safety. Make it a fun experience for them.


Dave