My 9 year old is wanting to get involved with 4H archery this year. He has grown out of his old bear brave and I'm wanting to get him something that he can grow with. Any past experiences/thoughts on what bows to look at would be appreciated

I've been out of that game so long, I have no idea what options are out there for compound bows these days.

Does 4H still have a recurve class? If yes, is he wanting to compete in that class as well?

The Diamond Atomic is perfect for a 9yo. When he outgrows that look at the Baer Cruzer G2 and the Infinite Edge.

We were in 4H archery a few years back and lots of kids had the Genesis bows. We opted for a Mission by Mathews bow (don't recall the model) as it could grow with him. Our son has now moved to rifle and doesn't touch the thing, however, we have an 8 year old that may use it, and even my wife could shoot it if she'd like as she's expressed interest.

You can find some really good used deals so I'd recommend that route if it's in good shape as you don't know how long these kids will be interested in the sport. Our oldest shot for four years.

There is a recurve class. At the moment he is wanting compound, but as you can imagine what he wants changes with the wind

What kind of set ups are most kids using? Are they using release aids, peeps, etc?

In Montgomery county, we seem to have a bunch of barebow recurve shooters. At least we did before the COVID. I'm not as involved right now, but am a certified coach. I know we have at least one compound archer left (my 15 yo). I have the Mission Radik she started with a few years ago and it's for sale. It's a complete package bow, sight, wrist strap index trigger, a dozen and a half aluminum arrows, and a Plano hard case. Bow has brand new, never shot strings and cables too.

If you are in the area, we can get together and chat. Montgomery County 4H Shooting Sports has an open house coming up in a few weeks too. We have archery, bb, air rifle & pistol, and 22 rifle & pistol projects.

I'm in Matagorda county, but could probably make it up there in the next week or so

My email is [email deleted]. We can figure something out.

If he changes his mind and decides to do recurve class, get in touch with me.

We had both aided (peeps/sights) and unaided shooters. Our son shot aided in prep he may want to bow hunt.

The Diamond Infinite Edge is an excellent choice. My boy started shooting one at 6, and he's still shooting the same bow at 12.

The reason he was wanting compound is because that's what I shoot. If it makes more sense to start recurve and work up that's something I'm sure I could get him to do. What's typical for kids that age?

Barebow recurve is probably the easiest to get started with equipment wise. However, since there's no let off with a recurve bow, it's physically harder. Also, teaching aim with a barebow can be difficult. (String walking, if it's allowed in the division in 4H I don't recall off hand aiming off if it's not)

Compound brings mechanical let off at full draw. That usually makes it easier to get arrow speed up. Aiming is also "easier" with a peep and bow sight. Certainly more familiar if there's any firearm background.

That all said, barebow recurve is very popular right now, so there's no reason not to try it. Finding a shop or club that has gear to try can be difficult. Gulf Coast Archery in Webster is a good shop that does intro stuff and has equipment for that purpose. Texas Archery in Spring is another good one, it's also the shop that sponsors our USA Archery club. They have some equipment for trials/lessons too.

no idea whats "typical" in the sport these days. I grew up shooting both compound and recurve but haven't shot competitively in over 20 years.

Reason I asked about recurve is I have a rigged out Hoyt Gold Medalist I would gladly give to a kid getting started in the sport.

Shot a 240 in his first match last night at the 9m distance. Thanks again for the great set up. Now I'm going to have to find another in 2 years for the next kid

My daughter used a Genesis for years and loved it. She's college bound next year, and might be willing to part with it.

Awesome! Tell him congrats for me.

You may be passing that bow down to the younger one if the older one needs something better by then! It's amazing how fast kids can pick it up.

My boy competed in 4H in Recurve and did well. When you start putting on accessories it changes the class. His classmate was always pissed that he could not place in tourneys, but he was shooting a $700 setup and in another class. My son shot a loaner from the 4H club. He is into rifle now, but wants the $700 setup to hunt with.

John Cocktolstoy said:

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My boy competed in 4H in Recurve and did well. When you start putting on accessories it changes the class. His classmate was always pissed that he could not place in tourneys, but he was shooting a $700 setup and in another class. My son shot a loaner from the 4H club. He is into rifle now, but wants the $700 setup to hunt with.

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Mine's doing compound to transition to hunting. At the moment he's badly wanting to protect the pecan tree from squirrels.

Currently his 240 puts in first place, but there's still another group of kids to shoot on Sat

BCO07 said:

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John Cocktolstoy said:

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My boy competed in 4H in Recurve and did well. When you start putting on accessories it changes the class. His classmate was always pissed that he could not place in tourneys, but he was shooting a $700 setup and in another class. My son shot a loaner from the 4H club. He is into rifle now, but wants the $700 setup to hunt with.

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Mine's doing compound to transition to hunting. At the moment he's badly wanting to protect the pecan tree from squirrels.

Currently his 240 puts in first place, but there's still another group of kids to shoot on Sat

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I wish he could have made a better connection with a few of the kids, it was difficult to get him to go since there were a few bad apples. I don't want him to get hung up on just the rifle, the bow is just too damn exciting. My favorite kill of my life so far was a white tail in Montana and it took over two hours of hide and seek on foot. I had not felt that heartbeat and rush for many years and it still takes the cake, I want him to feel that. He has shot deer and never gets excited...it is an easy nonchalant thing that bugs me, he plays it like it's too easy. He needs to be challenged and that's what the bow brings. I hope your boy makes some good friends there and keeps up with it.

I thought I saw your info listed you in College Station - if so, the Brazos County has a great 4H Archery club - check out their FB group, they practice on Saturdays at The Brazos County Archery Club on Hwy 21 at Louis St (north Bryan). There's lots of years of teaching kids to shoot in the club. Would definitely be worth visiting and asking for their input.

We are, Just didn't work out. I will leave it at that.