Suggestions on a Compound Bow for our 8 year old daughter

[returnofsid]

Our 8 year old daughter is getting very interested in archery shooting and hunting.  Currently, she's shooting a POS Bear Brave II and shooting it pretty well.  Now it's time to get her a "real" bow.  At this point, I'm leaning heavily towards the Diamond Infinite Edge, in pink of course, but I'm open to suggestions.  We plan to make the purchase in the next week or two.  With your average 8 year old girl, what poundage would everyone suggest that we start with? 

[DoubleJ]

Diamond Razors Edge

[returnofsid]

Diamond Razor Edge has a minimum 30lb draw weight doesn't it? There's no way she'll be able to pull that back, yet.

[lostbackpacker]

diamond infinite bow.  i believe it goes down to like 5lb draw.  my ever growing son(15) got one last year.  I think I have it turned up to 40lbs for him right now. 

[pianoman9701]

Braxton shoots the Bear Apprentice II. He's advancing and the bow, right along with him. I would not get one of the cheap bow made for little kids. It's a $100 they grow out of very fast, within months.

[jackelope]

National Archery in School Program uses Mathews Genesis bows. I think those progressive bows are great but a little heavy for an 8 year old girl. I think Genesis would be the way to go. I'm looking for one for my 6 year old. I guesstimated by her wing span that she's got a 19" draw. My wife shoots a Mission Menace which is adjustable from 17-30" and 16-50 pounds so, in theory she could probably draw it and shoot it but she's not strong enough to hold it  up. My kid is big for her size...taller than all the kids in her 1st grade class. She's the same size as the 3rd graders in her school but she'll only be able to lift a much smaller bow. I'm either going with the Genesis or the mini-Genesis. Hopefully Todd_ID will chime in here as he is a NASP instructor and shoots with tons of kids on a weekly basis.

[pianoman9701]

National Archery in School Program uses Mathews Genesis bows. I think those progressive bows are great but a little heavy for an 8 year old girl. I think Genesis would be the way to go. I'm looking for one for my 6 year old. I guesstimated by her wing span that she's got a 19" draw. My wife shoots a Mission Menace which is adjustable from 17-30" and 16-50 pounds so, in theory she could probably draw it and shoot it but she's not strong enough to hold it  up. My kid is big for her size...taller than all the kids in her 1st grade class. She's the same size as the 3rd graders in her school but she'll only be able to lift a much smaller bow. I'm either going with the Genesis or the mini-Genesis. Hopefully Todd_ID will chime in here as he is a NASP instructor and shoots with tons of kids on a weekly basis.

Without seeing the child, it's hard to say what would be too much bow. Braxton's very small for his age and when he started, he was 9. I would say take the child to a bowshop and see if the different bows are appropriate. I know the Martin Tiger was almost a total waste of money. He grew out of it in two months.

[returnofsid]

We will be getting her into Cabelas as well as a local pro shop, Friday. Thanks, everyone, for the input! Keep it coming.

[washingtonmuley]

I would go with the  Bear Apprentice II.

[returnofsid]

I would go with the  Bear Apprentice II.

Any particular reason why?

[jackelope]

National Archery in School Program uses Mathews Genesis bows. I think those progressive bows are great but a little heavy for an 8 year old girl. I think Genesis would be the way to go. I'm looking for one for my 6 year old. I guesstimated by her wing span that she's got a 19" draw. My wife shoots a Mission Menace which is adjustable from 17-30" and 16-50 pounds so, in theory she could probably draw it and shoot it but she's not strong enough to hold it  up. My kid is big for her size...taller than all the kids in her 1st grade class. She's the same size as the 3rd graders in her school but she'll only be able to lift a much smaller bow. I'm either going with the Genesis or the mini-Genesis. Hopefully Todd_ID will chime in here as he is a NASP instructor and shoots with tons of kids on a weekly basis.

Without seeing the child, it's hard to say what would be too much bow. Braxton's very small for his age and when he started, he was 9. I would say take the child to a bowshop and see if the different bows are appropriate. I know the Martin Tiger was almost a total waste of money. He grew out of it in two months.

I agree fully.

I would go with the  Bear Apprentice II.

Any particular reason why?

That bow has a great reputation and if I remember correctly, is very lightweight relative to other similar progressive bows. 27" axle to axle or something along those lines.

[pianoman9701]

I would go with the  Bear Apprentice II.

Any particular reason why?

The Apprentice II will adjust in draw length from 15" to 27", and the adjustable draw weight is 20-50 lbs, so enough bow to hunt big game if and when the kid is ready for that. It's lightweight and also comes in pink camo!

[elkoholic]

Just bought my soon to be 7 year old daughter  a  Diamond Infinite Edge, adjusts from 5-70lbs, 13"-30 draw. Hers is set at 17"DL and 18 DW. She is super exited for the klickitat 3d shoot this coming april.

[KFhunter]

That's awesome 


Might want to work on her posture a little though, we all could use posture work though.  Just something to stay on top of.

[hunt4]

Find the one that has a solid back wall or the one that has the best back wall. A lot of these bows are.squishy the Hoyt ruckes has a draw stop.

[KFhunter]

Braxton shoots the Bear Apprentice II. He's advancing and the bow, right along with him. I would not get one of the cheap bow made for little kids. It's a $100 they grow out of very fast, within months.

My girl has one too, seems to be a good bow.

[pianoman9701]

better work on that posture Dad.....

Funny, that was my first thought, too. But it's not her posture. The draw length is too long, I bet. She sure is cute, though and a helluva shot, too.

[KFhunter]

better work on that posture Dad.....

Funny, that was my first thought, too. But it's not her posture. The draw length is too long, I bet. She sure is cute, though and a helluva shot, too.

She's a bow hunter in the making for sure 

[elkoholic]

I took the pic after about 15 shots, Also it was her first time shooting this bow so her arm was starting to drop lower and lower with every shot. she is much stronger now but we still limit to 10 or so shots and no sights anymore till her form is up to dads spec's.. funny thing is she asked me how her form was right before I took the picture and we had not even talked about it yet, she overheard me teaching my son in years prior..

[KFhunter]

awesome,  sounds like you're on top of things then 

I've found the same thing with my girl,  10 shots or so and she'll slouch into a bad form,  so I'll make her put the bow down and rest for a while and I'll shoot.   
But they'll get stronger and if you're patient a good form will "set" and she'll be pretty good to go then.
 

Just don't send them out to the back yard by themselves and pound arrows all day or they'll slip into bad form and it'll be hell to break.

same for boys,  I got a boy who's growing so danged fast I'm constantly having to adjust his bow.  He's shooting a martin blade x4 though. 


The Martin blade x4 is one dammed fine entry level bow BTW, more suitable to teenagers. 


 

[rainshadow1]

I have a 7 & 9yo, (Almost 8 and 10) I went with the Bear Apprentice 2 for both of them. Huge adjustability, and it's much smaller than Diamond. Goes to 60lb, but that's plenty, I haven't got them past 30 yet, but we're hauling firewood for Grandma, muscle is building, so it won't be long!

[returnofsid]

ARGH!  I had a really long response all typed out and hit the back button, on the wrong tab, losing it all!  GRRRR

Here we go again...

Comparison between the Diamond Infinite Edge and the Bear Apprentice 2, all info from Cabelas website

Diamond DL 13"-30"  Bear DL 15"-27"  Both would work fine.

Diamond DW 5lbs-70lbs  Bear DW 20lbs-60lbs (same ad also states 15lbs-60lbs...hmmm)  Diamond clearly wins out here, in case my daughter's not yet able to draw 20 lbs.

Diamond Brace Height 7"  Bear Brace Height 6"  No idea if this would make any difference at all.

Diamond weight 3.1 lbs  Bear weight 2.9 lbs.  I don't believe the weight different is in any way significant.

Diamond ATA 31"  Bear ATA 27.5"  With the insignificant .2 lbs weight difference, I can only see a possible stability difference, with a slight advantage going to Diamond.

The most critical criteria...Color options...

Diamond IS available in Pink Camo
Bear Apprentice 2 is NOT available in Pink Camo
Bear Apprentice 3 IS available in Pink Camo but is on back order and has been for a very long time.

Diamond Package $349.00 includes a 3 pin TrueGlo Apex sight, Hostage XL Arrow Rest and a DeadLock Lite quiver
Bear Apprentice 2 Package is on sale for $229.88/regular price of $279.99 and includes a 3 pin Trophy Ridge sight, a Trophy Ridge Whisker Biscuit and an unknown brand 4 arrow quiver.
Bear Apprentice 3 package $299.99 includes the same accessories as the Bear Apprentice 2 but is available in Pink Camo

At this point, I'm still leaning towards the Diamond Infinite Edge for the following reasons:

Available in Pink Camo! and in stock
Lower Minimum Draw Weight  This could change if my daughter tries to draw back 20 lbs and is comfortable.

[returnofsid]

Here she is, shooting the POS Bear Brave, last summer.

[jackelope]

Why is the Bear a POS? Just curious. Not sure how much it would matter with kids at this age. I know it's a cheap bow but...,

Just curious.

[returnofsid]

Why is the Bear a POS? Just curious. Not sure how much it would matter with kids at this age. I know it's a cheap bow but...,

Just curious.

Bear bows aren't. This one is. We got it at a yard sale for $15.00. There isn't a cable and string, it's all a continuous cable, so a peep can be installed. Also, the cable has been completely stretched, so at low poundage, the cable is actually loose with slack, until drawn back. This worries me because it basically simulated a dry fire...

[rainshadow1]

The bear brave series of kids bows are toys... no question.

[returnofsid]

The bear brave series of kids bows are toys... no question.

Most definitely!  It worked for her to learn how to use a release, how to safely handle a bow and arrows, how to load arrows from a quiver, etc. and the basics of shooting form.  For $15.00, I'm not complaining. It also was a tool to gauge how much interest she'd have.  Now it's time to get serious!  LOL

[returnofsid]

Ugh!  I should have stopped researching...lol

After talking to a few archery pro shops, I'm learning a couple of things.

One pro shop, who carries Diamond, Mathews, Mission and Hoyt, explained that the Diamond Infinite Edge, once you drop below about a 26" DL, the amount of let off decreases, exponentially, per inch of dropped DL.  My daughter will be at about a 21"-22" DL.  This would mean that she's holding more of the complete draw weight, at full draw.  Fortunately, it won't be A LOT of weight.

This pro shop also explained that this above situation is NOT the case with Mission or Hoyt, and suggested the Mission Craze and/or Hoyt Ruckus as alternatives.

So, I guess the Mission Craze and Hoyt Ruckus have been added to my list of potentials...Unfortunately, this pro shop only has left handed Hoyt Ruckuses in stock and also only has left handed Diamond Infinite Edges in stock. They do have the right handed Mission Craze in stock.  Cabelas is on the way to this pro shop so my daughter could try out the Diamond Infinite Edge there.

Any input?

[returnofsid]

Well, we had them set up a Mission Craze and Mission Menace, both at 20"and 16 pounds. The Craze actually ended up being set a pound heavier. Despite the Menace being set at a pound lighter pull weight and being a lighter bow, she shot the Craze much better. The draw cycle, on the Craze was definitely much smoother for her. Even with her not shooting at all since about September, she fell right back into it, with a great draw and form! While we're at lunch, they're tuning the Mission Craze, installing a peep, pink whiskey biscuit and Trophy Ridge 3 pin sight. After lunch, they'll adjust the peep for her, tie it in and she's set!
Thank you all so much for your invaluable help!

[returnofsid]