What bow for a starter 7 yr old boy??
 

I'm looking at bows on Cabelas website and am liking the looks of the Bear Apprentice bow. This will be for my 7, soon to be 8yr old son and its adjustable from 20-50lbs. We don't have a cabelas real close and am not sure if he will be able to pull 20lbs or not? The other option is a Diamond that goes from 10-30lbs. I'm just liking the thot of being able to have him shoot the Bear up to 50lbs. Any advice or other suggestions?? Also he is showing to be a lefty but am thinking of just buying a right handed and getting him started on that? Thank you

I bought my boy a 20-30 lb PSE bow when he was 7 and finally at 9 he can pull it back. I made a mistake and should of bought him a cheap lil bow with a 15lb pull or less to start but he's on track now. I'm making him learn instinctive first and when he's mastered that I'll move him up to rest, sights, and maybe even a release.

a good lil $50 one at dicks sporting goods, its a 10-20 lb pull, comes with everything needed.

I just bought my little girl (6 yrs old) a little brave 3. She can pull it back and LOVES shooting with daddy (and I love it too!!!!). It comes with one pin, a rest, two arrows and a quiver (45.00 at wal-mart). She wears a little pink glove on her shooting hand instead of using the tab that comes with it. This will last for a couple of years.

My son is 8 and we went with the Diamond bow. The smaller one is from 15-30 lbs and the the other is from 31-60 lbs. He is pulling 35 lbs now and shooting good. If you have to go with the smaller bow you can upgrade for like $50 or something. My nephew has the smaller one and he is left handed, they are nice kids bows. Alot of the women at the bow shop are shooting them too.

I was wondering about the Diamond bow you mention above. I guess I didn't realize it can be upgraded to add some poundage?? That might have just sold me on it. I don't mind spending up to $200 for a nice starter bow that I know he can use for 5-6 yrs or so. Thanks alot for everyones thots and advice! much appreciated

the PSE Mini is fantastic for a child his age, i just bought my 7 yr old one and he loves it!

Adjusts from 20-29lbs of draw weight and is the perfect size, definitely check one out.

Diamond nuclear ice

I just bought a Diamond Outlaw and the manual that comes with it mentions upgrading the Razor Edge and Edge models to higher weight limbs for $84.99. I'm in the same boat. Going to get a bow for my just turned 7 year old next summer when he's nearly 8. For now, though, he loves shooting instictively with his Bear Scout which cost me $30 last year. I have a treestand set up 5 feet off the ground and he shoots down at my Glendel buck and loves it. The guys at the pro shop gave me the good advice of buying el cheapo right away if he never shot a bow before and give him a couple of years of trying that out before spending a couple of hundred bucks. No sense in buying what's not needed right now. That said, if he likes archery and wants to keep doing it, it's a great investment.

This is a perfect bow. I love how it is adjustable to their growing without having to purchase another bow

So went and purchased the Diamond youth bow today at cabelas. Got the little man shooting it at about 14lbs. Prob is I'm having a heck of a time getting the sites anywhere close. However, not sure if he is completely correct on what he's suppose to be doing. What is the best way to start out getting the sites at least close. Should I be having him shoot at like 10 yrds to start out? or closer???

Mission Craze.

check out the mission menace or craze. great draw weight and draw length range and super easy to adjust. no need to replace limbs for heavier draw weights. bought my 9 year old the menace in spring, great little bow.

I would try to get a bow with a ajustable cam. This way, has he grows, you can adjust the draw leanth.

I would try to get a bow with a ajustable cam. This way, has he grows, you can adjust the draw leanth.

bought the nuclear ice for my 7yr old last christmas...he hasn't shot past 8yds yet for the same reason...all over the target....Keep explaining to them how to look at the sight and just be patient!!!

mission craze

can't go wrong with a parker or PSE starting out. that's what i did. good luck!

Please, please, PLEASE tell me you bought him the correct bow for his eye dominance and didn't just buy a righty and are trying to make him use it. If your son were right-handed, would you just buy a left-handed bow and make him start on that? If he is a true lefty (left eye dominant), making him shoot right-handed is a recipe for frustrating him and does him an injustice. He should shoot a left-handed bow. If he is right-eye dominant, then a right-handed bow is what he should be shooting. My 11y.o. is right-handed, but left-eye dominant. He shoots a left-handed Mission Menace because of that. My 10y.o. son is right-eye dominant, so he shoots a right-handed Razor Edge.

You don't mention whether you bought the Nuclear Ice or the Razor Edge. The Razor Edge is the one that is adjustable from 15-29lbs or 30-60lbs with the heavier limbs. The Nuclear Ice is 10 - 29lbs.

You should be his coach on what he's supposed to be doing, so you tell us if he's doing it right. How is his stance? Locked front elbow or relaxed? Gripping the bow tight or open hand? Consistent anchor point or anchoring all over the place?

He should start at 5yds, not 10yds. It will be easier to hit the target (boost his confidence).


The Nuclear Ice is strictly a kiddie bow, as it only goes up to 29lbs and 24" draw length. You are thinking of the Razor Edge.

Thanks alot for all the input. The bow I got is the one you can send in like $50 and they will send new limbs for it. As far as which eye of his is dominant I gotta be honest I have no idea. I'm a big golfer and I gotta say his first set of clubs will be right handed as well. Main reason being is they are much easier to get and I can teach him a lot easier as I am right handed. Might not be the best thing to do but we'll see.
As for stance and what not it looks ok. I guess just not sure what to expect from a 7 yr old ya know?? The one thing he has hard time with is consistant achor point but thats just something you can only tell them and they will have to figure it out.
Prob is at 5 or 10 yrds I cant get the sights low enough. the pins are all the way down and i cant move the whole site down much more or the fletching hits it when arrow is released. Have already lost 3 arrows in the grass. Thinking of putting him down in the basement and puttin an old mattress behind the target.
Any other thoughts are appreciated.
Thanks again,

OK, sounds like you bought him the Razor Edge. Good bow. My 10y.o. has one.

As for his eye dominance, you should have figured that out before you bought the bow. Check it now, and you might be able to exchange the bow at Cabela's if you bought the wrong one, provided there isn't too much wear on it already. If he's left-handed, my money is on him being left eye dominant. If he's right handed, then who knows (I have one son who is right-handed with left-eye dominance, and one who is completely right-sided).

lowering the pin will raise the impact point of the arrow. Are you saying that the arrows are hitting in front of the target? When I was setting my 20yd pin, I was hitting too high and had to raise the top pin in order to lower my group. It was completely at the top and I was still shooting high until I adjusted my anchor point and lowered my peep sight.

A full-body picture of your son drawing the bow back will help to assess any issues in form that may be causing this -- a picture similar to this (my right-handed, left-eye dominant son):


I hate to say it, but this is why it is better to buy from a pro shop than a box store like Cabela's/Bass Pro/Gander/etc. I love Cabela's, but they aren't a pro shop and rarely have the knowledgeable staff on duty to properly set up a bow and teach a child the basic stance, sight picture, and shooting technique. A pro shop would have checked eye dominance, checked draw length, and worked with y'all to set it up correctly for him and had him hitting paper at 5-10yds before you left the store.