Junior Archers and Compound bows?

Hi,
My 8 year old daughter currently shoots a 54" recurve, with 12lb limbs. She's struggling to get to a target at 20 yards with this.
(Although she shot it to 70 yards during a bit of clout instruction at the weekend :bowarrow:)

Would a small compound bow offer any advantages?

Thanks

Darron
 

Bald Eagle

New member
Without doubt! One of the junior compounds would suit her needs and probably keep her in the sport. There are quite a few makes out there with low poundages and draw lengths.
 
Mathews make the Genesis Mini bow which is awesome for a little 'un. Good price too. Feels like a recurve to draw as there is no let off like other compounds. Lots of colours too inc pink!
There are plenty of other bows out there too, and I'm sure someone else will recommend one shortly...

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 

fanio

Active member
Yes, absolutely. I'm amazed that kids are not given the option more "aggressively", as it would probably make a huge difference to retention numbers.

All the manufacturers make good bows for kids. PSE Chaos (it comes in a nice pink, too) is well worth a look eventually (though probably not yet for an under-10 yo
 
M

Moose

Guest
Yes, absolutely. I'm amazed that kids are not given the option more "aggressively", as it would probably make a huge difference to retention numbers.

All the manufacturers make good bows for kids. PSE Chaos (it comes in a nice pink, too) is well worth a look eventually (though probably not yet for an under-10 yo
But the majority of coaches seem to be recurves who hate compounds


Moose on the loose
 
Thanks for the comments guys.

I can certainly see the advantage of a bow that will grow with my daughter, instead of repeatedly upgrading recurve limbs.

Forgive my ignorance, but would a compound bow with zero let off, such as the Mathews Genesis, be more "powerful" than a recurve with equivalent draw weight? (I guess that's the whole point of a compound .......)

If that is the case, it would mean my daughter could progress distance wise rather than stalling at 15 yards.

Lots of thinking out loud here...

Thanks again!!
 
C

Compound10

Guest
Can't answer your genesis question but can give one thing to look out for. Most small compounds, the poundage increases with drawlength. So my son really wanted a mission bow, but at his DL the min poundage was 29 so we had to go Hoyt Ruckus.

I believe this isn't true with a genesis as they advertise it as being a more explosive recurve style of release.

Be prepared for obstruction from a few shops who will tell you your daughter has to do x years on a recurve.
 

DavidH

New member
Why would you want to move her to compound so early in her archery life? We don't start archers until they are 8 at our club. Let her learn form properly first and then, you never know, she might even like barebow or dare I say it, even a longbow, perish the thought. Kids will copy what others are doing, and compounds can seem exciting because they hit that magic bit in the middle more often. You always hear kids yelling "I got a bullseye!" at beginners, even though it was total luck.
 

ricer

New member
Why would you want to move her to compound so early in her archery life? We don't start archers until they are 8 at our club. Let her learn form properly first and then, you never know, she might even like barebow or dare I say it, even a longbow, perish the thought. Kids will copy what others are doing, and compounds can seem exciting because they hit that magic bit in the middle more often. You always hear kids yelling "I got a bullseye!" at beginners, even though it was total luck.

Why would you not, are you saying you cannot learn "proper" form with a compound?
 
Why would you want to move her to compound so early in her archery life? We don't start archers until they are 8 at our club. Let her learn form properly first and then, you never know, she might even like barebow or dare I say it, even a longbow, perish the thought. Kids will copy what others are doing, and compounds can seem exciting because they hit that magic bit in the middle more often. You always hear kids yelling "I got a bullseye!" at beginners, even though it was total luck.
Hi David,

Let me explain my dilemma:

My daughter started at 8 years old and has been shooting since July last year. Her form is superb - the coaches have videoed her as an example to others.
She'll consistently hit golds at 10m. At 15m groups spread and by 20m her sight is maxed out and she has to aim at the top of the target to hit gold.
This is obviously a limitation of her current stature and bow. As I've said the limbs are only 12lb and her draw length is about 17".

I don't want her to become demoralised by seeing all the other beginners moving on, with her stuck at 10-15m.
I also don't want to do her any damage by upgrading her recurve limbs to the point where her form suffers.

So, I'm just trying to find the best way through this. A junior compound might be one way.

I've started the Archery GB Progress Award scheme at our club as a way to try to retain some of the juniors that pass through. We also had some clout instruction, which went down well!

I'm just bouncing ideas around at the moment and thought I'd consult the collective experience of this forum.

Thanks again.

Darron
 

DavidH

New member
Hi David,

Let me explain my dilemma:

My daughter started at 8 years old and has been shooting since July last year. Her form is superb - the coaches have videoed her as an example to others.
She'll consistently hit golds at 10m. At 15m groups spread and by 20m her sight is maxed out and she has to aim at the top of the target to hit gold.
This is obviously a limitation of her current stature and bow. As I've said the limbs are only 12lb and her draw length is about 17".

I don't want her to become demoralised by seeing all the other beginners moving on, with her stuck at 10-15m.
I also don't want to do her any damage by upgrading her recurve limbs to the point where her form suffers.

So, I'm just trying to find the best way through this. A junior compound might be one way.

I've started the Archery GB Progress Award scheme at our club as a way to try to retain some of the juniors that pass through. We also had some clout instruction, which went down well!

I'm just bouncing ideas around at the moment and thought I'd consult the collective experience of this forum.

Thanks again.

Darron
I appreciate what you are saying, and its sounds like she's on the way to becoming a fine archer. Its really depends where she wants to go with archery and at 8 she's not going to know. It does get costly to keep buying new limbs. Keeping the interest of kids in a club is always difficult. Both my kids enjoyed archery for a number of years and then moved on to other things. Trying clout is a fun thing to do, shooting balloons is another. It doesn't have to be all about gold at 8, in my opinion.
 

Raven's_Eye

Active member
Ironman
Why would you not, are you saying you cannot learn "proper" form with a compound?
I think you are mis-quoting David there, "learning form properly" is not the same as "learning proper form". What I think David is trying to say is that generally starting out with recurve is because it teaches an archer to rely on themselves for things like anchoring and release, as well as form and aim. Now whilst compound teaches form and aim (esp aim), with cams locking draw length and a release mechanism its taking some (not all) of the correct method off the archer. True compounds still need to release with back tension so as to not punch the shot, but it is correct than in most cases when moving from recurve to compound the score does go up.

@Darron_Welch, though you have probably already done this may I suggest sitting down with your daughter and see if she is still enjoying shooting recurve or whether she wants to try something else. A lighter set of arrows might make things easier rather than spending on a new bow. Also see if there is someone at your club who maybe has a light compound she could try.
 

fanio

Active member
... would I be wrong in saying that its easier to group with a compound than a recurve?
No - which is the point. Make it fun for kids. No one likes to see their arrows fall short, or if they do reach the boss, a group spread all over the boss. Whilst that may be "fine" for someone who is more able to deal with delayed gratification of getting better eventually, it could well seem just too hard for many kids who might otherwise stick around and enjoy the sport for a bit longer.

There is nothing "wrong" with shooting - or heaven forbid, even learning to shoot - a compound (or a recurve or a longbow, for that matter). In my view all beginners should be given a go on all three types of bow (ignoring "super-niche" stuff like horsebows, Mongolian bows, etc for now), and should be given enough opportunity to shoot each to allow them to decide for themselves, without being made to feel that they are somehow weak or less worthy or just "taking the easy way out" if they happen to enjoy starting off with a compound. There is no inherent "worth" in shooting any style of bow - it's all about what each person enjoys most, and what they want out of their archery.
 

Insanity-Rocks

New member
I understand what people are saying about moving to compound too soon, but if you were to get a little compound for her to shoot you can always keep her recurve, that way some weeks she can shoot the longer distances with her compound, and some weeks she can shoot the shorter ones with her recurve. While it may cause a little bit of confusion at first with switching styles, I've found that our junior beginners enjoy using the clubs longbow, compound and recurves, and they choose whichever one they fancy shooting that night and really enjoy not having to stick to the same bow.
 

DavidH

New member
There is no inherent "worth" in shooting any style of bow - it's all about what each person enjoys most, and what they want out of their archery.
Total agreement on that and with kids its all about making archery fun. Use fun faces instead of always making them look at the intimidating golden circle. Animal faces might not be the best, even grown ups baulk at shooting at a bunny rabbit;)

- - - Updated - - -

I understand what people are saying about moving to compound too soon, but if you were to get a little compound for her to shoot you can always keep her recurve, that way some weeks she can shoot the longer distances with her compound, and some weeks she can shoot the shorter ones with her recurve. While it may cause a little bit of confusion at first with switching styles, I've found that our junior beginners enjoy using the clubs longbow, compound and recurves, and they choose whichever one they fancy shooting that night and really enjoy not having to stick to the same bow.
Not so insane at all are you;)
 
I understand what people are saying about moving to compound too soon, but if you were to get a little compound for her to shoot you can always keep her recurve, that way some weeks she can shoot the longer distances with her compound, and some weeks she can shoot the shorter ones with her recurve. While it may cause a little bit of confusion at first with switching styles, I've found that our junior beginners enjoy using the clubs longbow, compound and recurves, and they choose whichever one they fancy shooting that night and really enjoy not having to stick to the same bow.
Now there's a thought, get the club to buy a junior compound / longbow or two!

- - - Updated - - -

Back to one of my original questions:

Would a junior compound shoot further than a recurve with equivalent draw weight?

Thanks

Darron
 
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