Getting Kids Started in Traditional Archery

By: Dale Karch and Todd Smith

When you put a bow in a kid’s hands, you’re keeping the spirit of traditional archery alive!

Strike while the iron’s hot! For kids, archery is a world of adventure, power, and intrigue. They’re naturally fascinated with traditional bows and arrows and their enthusiasm is refreshing. What happens when you offer to let them shoot a bow? First their eyes light up, quickly followed by a big smile. They look at their folks as if to say, “Really? Can I?” Then back at you with that expectant expression of something good about to happen. You’ve seen it, we all have. Introduce as many kids as you can to our world of bows and arrows. It will enrich their lives, and help keep the spirit of traditional archery alive.

Here at 3Rivers Archery, we have noticed a new trend with kids rediscovering bows and arrows. We’re excited to see more and more young couples with kids looking for, and buying, starter bow sets, bows, arrows, gloves, tabs, quivers, and all the other accessories. If we can introduce these youngsters to archery early on, chances are good that a high percentage will continue shooting all their lives. Fun for them and good for archery.

Before we go any further, we want to remind you, Safety First! Always stress, to both the parents and the kids that an adult must supervise all shooting of bows and arrows. Even though the smaller sets are called “toys,” lightweight bows and arrows can cause injury if used incorrectly. Never aim at anything you don’t want to shoot and don’t shoot at anything you don’t want to kill. Adult supervision is a must. Remind the adults of the up side. They get to share some quality time with their kids or grand kids. And who knows? Maybe they’ll catch the archery bug too.

For all but the youngest archers, the basic set-up needs are the same. Bows, arrows, quivers, finger protection, arm guards, etc. We’ll review each category below.

Bows are the most fun so let’s start with them. Selecting the right bow for the younger archer is fairly straightforward. The most convenient solution initially is a bow and arrow kit. At a minimum, kits come with a bow and some arrows. Some kits include various accessories like a quiver, tab, and arm guard as well. Kit selection is limited and specific kits match specific age groups. For instance, the little suction-cupped, Child’s Archery Set, is just right for kids between the ages of three to four. Another popular set, the 1st Shot Archery Set, covers kids from roughly three to five years old. The Lil’ Indian Bow and Arrow Set is suitable for ages five to 10. The 3Rivers Youth Archery Set covers ages from six up to 18 (depending on which model you get). It’s easy; simply match the kid’s age to the age range of the kit.

3Rivers Archery offers several different options in Youth Archery kits, each made for specific age ranges.

The bow in the Lil’ Indian Set is the Crusader and it pulls approximately 20# @ 24″. It’s a great little bow, solid fiberglass, nearly indestructible, and works for both right and left handed shooters. The Titan is another solid fiberglass bow for right and left handed shooters. It pulls 30 pounds at 28″, making it more suitable for kids in the 10-18 year age group. These bows are a very good way for parents to start their kids in archery, especially if they’re not sure whether or not the kids will stick with it. Think about it, for less than the cost of a video game, they can get their kids off the couch and outside! Outside! It’s the perfect place for a kid to play.

The Sentry and Titan youth bows provide an inexpensive
way for parents to introduce kids to archery.

When you reach the seven to ten year age bracket, there are more bows to choose from so finding a particular bow in a kit may not be possible. In this case, find the bow they like and match the rest of the accessories to them and their new bow.

Once you leave the basic solid fiberglass bows you enter the realm of nicer, wood and fiberglass laminated bows. These bows are built just like adult bows; they’re just downsized for young or small-framed shooters. The archery market has really expanded in this bow area over the past few years, making it great for finding the perfect bow for young shooters. The Polaris Youth Recurve comes in three lengths and six weights for sizing up any shooter from seven to 18 years old. Bear Archery offers the Bear 48″ Kodiak Cub youth recurve for a bow ‘just like dad’s (or grandpa’s). The Sky Breeze recurve is another American quality product that you will be proud to put in your kid’s hands. If longbows are more your young archers dreams, then Try a Pilgrim Youth Longbow, offered in the 34″ Squirt and the standard 48″ length (both even offered in a Pink series and Purple series), or the older model 58″ Pilgrim Buck.

Just because they are youth bows, doesn’t mean they are not made to the highest quality like adult bows.

Other than the ambidextrous entrance level fiberglass models, bows are designed to be shot either right handed or left handed. This is the time to determine which eye is the newcomer’s dominant eye. We all have a dominant eye. To determine which eye is dominant, have the child stand face-on to a wall about ten feet away and with both eyes open, have them point at a particular spot, a clock for instance. While still pointing, have them close their left eye. Is their finger on the spot? If so, they’re “right eye dominant” and should shoot right-handed if they can. If when they close their left eye their finger is not on the spot, have them open their left eye and close their right. If the finger is now on the spot, they are left eye dominant and should shoot left handed if possible.

When you step out of packaged kits and into individual bows, it’s time to match the weight of the bow to the child. Find out if they’ve ever shot a bow before? Watch carefully as they draw. Take growth factor into consideration when fitting a bow to them. Make sure it’s a little difficult to pull, but not so heavy as to make them struggle. You want them to be able to grow into the bow, but not to be so over bowed at the start that they develop bad form. Bad form is difficult to break. Pay close attention to how they shoot it, especially at the moment of release. Do they look comfortable? Did they look startled at the shot? How did the arrow fly? You can learn a lot in a few moments of watching them shoot a couple bows. Remember that as a child grows they get stronger. So, a standard 20# @ 28″ bow might be perfect for them for many years. When drawing 22″ the bow may only weigh about 10 pounds. As their draw length increases so does the weight of the bow. In effect the bow and the child are “growing” together. This means that one bow can last a kid for many years and then can always be handed down to an upcoming brother or sister. These traditional bows are much more versatile than many folks give them credit for. When this is explained to the adults, they’re willingness to invest in one increases dramatically. Teach a kid to shoot; it’ll make their day. It’s a good investment of your time. By introducing our next generation to archery you’re perpetuating our sport and ensuring a healthy ‘crop’ of new archers for the future.

For shooting their new bows all kids should be set up with finger and arm protection. Finger protection is available in three main categories; shooting gloves, finger tabs, and an excellent accessory called a No-Glov Finger Savers. A set of No-Glovs should be on every kid’s bow. Most youngsters have a hard time getting used to a shooting glove or tab at first and the No-Glov is easy to use. They eliminate the distraction of learning how to shoot with gloves or tabs. No-Glovs stay with the bow string, they’re easy to use, and they’re cheap. As a side note, many adults use a No-Glov as well, and you’ll find them on a high percentage of bow fishing set-ups.

There are many options for finger protection in Youth Archery.

As they grow older and become used to shooting, the transition to shooting gloves and tabs is much easier. Thanks to companies like EW Bateman, Neet Products, and American Leathers, you can offer gloves and tabs downsized specifically for kids. EW Bateman offers a nice Cub calf-hair tab for ages three through six years. Neet Leather Youth Glove takes over at about eight years and, depending on the size of the person involved, they can fit kids through 18 years old. American Leathers offers a couple of Little Shot Combo sets consisting of both an armguard and a glove that can cover the ages of five through 12 years. Of course there comes a time when some kids need to shift into the adult shooting gloves and tabs. 3Rivers Archery always has a great selection in stock, making the transition easy and even fun!

When it comes to arm guards, there are many to choose from. We find the leather models are the most popular. Who says kids don’t have good taste? Arm guards are very straightforward. For the younger kids, simple is better, like our single clip Kids Diamond Armguard. As they grow, they can handle the more ‘adult’ styles like our Youth Arrow Armguard with two attachment points. Adults often overlook arm guards, but kids have a tendency to overextend their elbows into the path of the string and we all know what happens then. Some of us even have the bruises to show for it! One or two string slaps will convince most folks that an arm guard is a necessary piece of equipment. After all, we don’t want to scare the child away from shooting. We want it to be a fun experience.

A good youth arm guard is important to help prevent string slap.

When it comes to arrows for kids, we recommend 3Rivers Youth Wood Arrows. They’re very reasonably priced, and since they’re full length and painted in an assortment of bright colors, kids feel like they can pick their own personal favorite and separate themselves from everyone else. These youth wood arrows are fletched with real turkey feathers and not vanes, which is important when shooting off the shelf.

These youth arrows are perfect for kids who are just getting started in youth archery.

Now that they have arrows, they’ll need a quiver to carry them in. In youth quivers the first decision is what kind of quiver to get. There are two basic styles, back quivers and belt quivers. Both are available in lower-cost vinyl and the back quivers are also produced in some classic leather versions.

For kids, the belt quiver is the most practical. It can clip to a belt or even directly to the waistband on a pair of pants. The arrows are easy to pull out and easy to get back in. Our most popular belt quiver is the Mohican II belt quiver from EW Bateman. The two-tone look and handy belt clip make it a stylish choice for kids.

The Mohican II quiver is a popular youth belt quiver.

Back quivers, on the other hand, offer the most atmosphere. Kids imagine themselves as Indians, Medieval Knights, Robin Hood, elves, and even a princess. Our most popular back quiver by far is the vinyl Youth Back Quiver from Wyandotte Leather. Its low price and availability has made this back quiver our best selling of all time. Honorable mention for leather back quivers goes to the Big Rattler Back quiver. It is good quality materials and the added pocket has plenty of uses.

The Youth Back Quiver and Big Rattler quiver are two of our bestselling youth back quivers.

As the late Howard Hill said, “Archery may not be the sport of kings, but it is definitely the king of sports.” The time for introducing kids to the ‘king of sports’ is now. Plant the seed of archery in as many kids as you can and our next generation of archers will be guaranteed. Traditional longbows and recurves are the logical choice. They’re easy to shoot, easy to understand, and easy to get started with. Since kids can grow into a traditional bow, the ‘fit’ will be good for quite a few years and there’s always the added benefit of handing them down from generation to generation.

So, pull your kids away from the video games! Get ’em outside! And open up an entire new world to them! The rewarding, timeless, and exhilarating world of traditional archery!

Keep Hunting
Dale Karch and Todd Smith

For more information contact:

3Rivers Archery
PO Box 517
Ashley IN 46705

1-260-587-9501

info@3riversarchery.com