It's been literally decades since I've held a bow and now that my 10 year old grandson has expressed an interest in archery, perhaps I could get a few hints before deciding to give him this gift for Christmas.

Morgan is 10 and while slender in build, tall for his age (does that help any, I wonder).

Tips re what to look for re deciding on archery teacher/range, bows, etc would be wonderful ...

Thanks, Mara

Hay there Mara
Are you wanting something in a target bow ,or something with a hunting theme ? (basicly depends on how "pretty" it is ) How much money are you talking about ? As far as ranges or instructors I'd think you might do well by checking out the local sporting good shop(s) and see what they say. You could get wrapped up in some real money quick if you get carried away (bells and whistles), and you should try to find out how serious he is about this.( is it just a passing infatuation that he will try for a couple weeks and never want to do again?) an Archery Club would be a real boon to you if you could find one. I'd suggest a "stick bow" either a recurve or longbow for starters (15-20lbs? something that can be pulled back to anchor at least 10-15 times before he gets "tired" and needs to rest ) If Morgan (or you) wants a compound (more expensive and complicated ), I couldn't stress enough a decent shop where Morgan could be properly fitted for his draw length and arrows, you might also want to look into something "used" again beware of something too heavy. Also to get good, Morgan will need to practice 2-3 times a week ( that could happen in the back yard ) A large burlap bag and a bunch of plastic grocery bags stuffed inside make a pretty good target , just spray a large "dot" on the bag with spray paint. A decent side quiver can be made out of a leg from a pair of old jeans that are no longer "wearable" plus a couple plastic golf tubes. It can be a lot of fun as long as you don't start with too heavy of a draw weight to begin with.
some thoughts
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/template...dexId=cat600270
http://www.3riversarchery.com/Product.asp?i=2376
http://www.pse-archery.com/cat.php?k=60394...7e55ec5acf2707b

Sorry if this is way more than you wanted

Wonderful ideas, No one, and I especially loved the idea of setting up a huge suffed plastic bag as a target in his back yard. And it wouldn't be for hunting, only accuracy practice so guess a target bow would be perfect. (This child doesn't deliberately stop on bugs either ).

The only local place I could find selling bows, etc is a department store and suspect they will know little of fitting it to his arm length etc. Because I suspect it may be a passing phase (how sure can one be with a 10 year old - grin), I'm off to read all the info at the links you were kind enough to add and then search for the nearest archery club and just cross my fingers it's not an hour or more away - ugh.

Really do appreciate all the wonderful tips and am beginning to wonder if I should ask Santa for a similar gift - huge gentle smile.

Dear Mara,
Whatever your grandson decides to do with his bow it will be worth the time and expense to visit a pro.
You don't have to buy new because many youngsters find that after getting "bit by the string" they don't want to shoot bows anymore.
The length of his "pull" is the most important of all and it should be measured by a pro or a really dedicated bow shooter who knows what I'm talking about.
If your buying a christmas present for him, you might just want to go to your closest sporting goods shop where you can purchase a gift certificate in the amount for what you want to spend.
This way when he goes to redeem the certificate they will fit him properly.
By the way I have a neighbor who's son is going to be trying out for the olympics, and Rob has spent over five grand in accessories and stuff to get him to those levels of competition.
But Rob Jr started out with a seventy dollar used bow from cabella's with forty bucks in arrows.
I've shot against Robby and when I make a bullseye, he breaks my arrow by shooting off the nock!
HE'S GOOOOOOOOD!
May I warn you that if you buy him an inexpensive twenty five dollar bow with a set of arrows, he will grow tired very quickly due to the lack of preformance of such cheap equipment.
I'm not sure that I remember where you said you hail from, but it would be in your best interest to take a ride to the big city, to a real outdoor sporting goods store to make sure your investment will be worth your effort to make him happy.
You should be able to give the salesperson a guideline of what your limits are as to what you want to spend, and they in turn should have no problem fixing you up with exactly what is right for your grandson. ( you can walk away for right around one hundred dollars and have some mighty fine equipment)
p.s. a couple of bales of straw work just as well as a fancy target

This post has been edited by unjustjohn: Jun 13 2008, 10:36 PM