Youth Archery

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akennedy73

Joined
May 5, 2006
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For a young kid learning archery for the first time, which is better - a longbow or a recurve? I shot a fiberglass recurve as a kid but I'm wondering if there is an advantage/disadvantage to learning on a longbow vs a recurve. my understanding is that a longbow is more forgiving, so I'm thinking it might be the better choice for a young archer. also, any recommendations of where to look for a good youth bow are appreciated. :thumbup:
 
i would go with the longbow..:thumbup: it does tend to be a little more forgiving, making it easier for archers of all skill levels..

both of my boys shoot longbows, including me... my youngest is 5 and he shoots an osage selfbow, that a friend made for him... him and his bow make for a deadly combination...:D
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my oldest is 10 and he has been shooting since he was 5... he's a crack shot... he shoots a 25# longbow made by black rhino archery... it's a sweet bow, he even has a bow quiver on it..... they're a great company to deal with too, they specialize in kids and light weight adult longbows... check them out.. www.bows.net

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I recommend a PSE Scout recurve. One of those, and even an inexpensive sight, and you'll be in business. Longbows are fun too, but I prefer a recurve. Of course, when I was young I was started on one of those KMART special fiberglass compound bows.
 
i'd go with a longbow and from the start shoot instinctive. it's amazing how accurate you can get with practice.
 
Really doesn't matter, just get the kid shooting. Make it fun at first and then slowly work on technique one thing at a time. You do not want to overwhelm a young archer to where they get frustrated and not having fun.
 
I prefer recurves for myself, but I say go with a longbow; more forgiving handshock, less likely to have the limbs twist up, and less intimidating looking.
 
My son is the same age as Mike's youngest and I made him a rattan longbow for his starter bow. works great. nice and slow, forgiving, easy.

start with hitting the bales, then baloons are great fun
 
I used a very basic SCA rattan bow tutorial and then made is smaller. Was easy, only about 45 minutes work. Of course, I'm 20 hours into the next 3 bows.......
 
If you are looking strictly traditional then ignore this post, but Matthew's makes the Genesis bow, which they say a kid cannot outgrow. 20 lb draw weight (variable 10-20 lb), 15"-30" draw lenght, holds the energy of a 35 lb recurve. Maybe a bit spendy, but my experience is that compound bows are more forgiving than even teh best traditional bows. YMMV.

http://mathewsinc.com/mathews-bows-Genesis-44-ViewProduct-1376-287.asp
 
There is a book or video called 'Hitting them like Howard Hill' - he teaches an instinctive style that will have your kids shooting very well in a matter of hours.

TF
 
Just a heads up... wearing polycarbonate goggles (hey, they can be fashionable too now... check out ESS or Wiley X) would help. Sometimes, there is the phenomenon of an archer who accidentally pulls back too far on the string and when they let go, the tip of the arrow hits the bow and the fletched back end tip of the arrow finds a nice home in your eyeball. that is why a lot of archers back in the day had missing eyes. You can even get them in a prescription like myself (even though people snicker at me when I wear them but whatever) and if you ever walk around near dusk, or are in any low light conditions, a dead branch to the eyeball won't really be a concern either.

Oh, and I would go with the recurve. Yeah, compound bows have all the nifty bells and whistles that make your hunting or target practice experience more successful, but it takes dedication and SKILL to handle the recurve. You can also take that skill and apply it to any bow you cut if you want to learn how to primitively make your own in the wilderness. You don't need all the gadgets that accompany a compound either.

Just my 2 cents worth. :)
 
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I teach kids a bit and I'd say do yourself a favor and drop the coin on a Genesis Compound. Lots of room to grow, easy to shoot well (they are forgiving and promote good technique) All things that have been mentioned. I like the traditional stuff, but compounds are fun, you have the option of sights, quiver or not, and to anyone who says that compounds are somehow less worthy, yeah, I've shot both, taught on both, I'll take the compound, there is no less skill needed, just less total strength to throw the arrow harder and farther. more fun. just my two pennies as well, from a coach perspective (and someone constantly watching over drawn re-curves with fear)
 
I'm also of the mindset that either is fine, as long as the instruction is good.

I think there are more options available to younger archers with recurves, but would happily admit being mistaken. I'm quite happy the longbow has made a big comeback.

Turn a skeptical eye toward any junior archery kits on the mass market as many of them are cheap and so inferior that you'll spend a lot of time correcting bad habits promoted by those same crap kits. Some of them are very good, from what I've seen, but more are not.
 
Longbow all the way. Still have my first one. It's 33 years old and I still love messing with. It's a lite weight but it's still fun.
 
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