Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting Youth traditional bow recommendations ?

My 11 year old daughter has expressed interest in shooting a traditional long bow. I've googled them and seems to be a lot of options, but looking for any recommendations from people that know what would be good. My preference is for something handcrafted by a small shop or owner, but not over the top fancy for a first bow and something she would grow out of. Any info greatly appreciated.

Does it have to be a longbow or would she shoot a recurve? I ask because the Samick Sage is a pretty good bow and the interchangeable limbs will allow it to grow with her if she enjoys it. If she decides it's not for her you are not out a lot of coin.
Longbows for kids are tougher to find but depending on her size, keep a look out for a Mad Dog longbow. The guy that built them specialized in low poundage, short draw bows for kids. Unfortunately I don't think he's still producing them.

Not sure on the recurve. She is pretty little as well. lol
Think it is going to be tough to find something and appreciate the heads up on the one make.

I build my own longbows but have been away from it for 10 years or so. I'm anxious to start building again and have 9 and 11 year old grandsons chomping at the bit for bows like what I shoot. My 11 year old is currently shooting an older Ben Pearson 25# @ 26" recurve that I bought as a youth a couple of lifetimes ago. My 9 year old is shooting a solid fiberglass bow and needs an upgrade. For him, I've been considering these youth recurves from Lancaster Archery until I can get bows built for both of them:

https://lancasterarchery.com/products/galaxy-bullseye-54-takedown-recurve-bow
https://lancasterarchery.com/products/samick-little-fox-54-takedown-bow

They show options for bow length (48", 54" and 58"), left or right hand risers and a choice of draw weights on limbs (10 lbs up to 25-30 lbs). There should be a combo there that will work and a phone call to Lancaster should help match up the right size for her.

http://maddogarchery.com/bows.html

My kids love theirs.

Appreciate the info. I'll check them out

I would also recommend checking out St. Joe River bows: https://stjoeriverbows.com/ They have a youth program for growing kids where you can get credit for trading in a working older bow when purchasing a newer one.

I know Stalker Stick bows also make some nice takedown bows for kids, can upgrade limbs as needed.

My daughters have a Bear Archery 'Bullseye X' model that is not bad for an affordable option; it reminds me of the Samick Sage that I started with about 10 years ago except it's scaled down for kids. It comes in a few poundage options and is a takedown, but I'm not sure if they sell the limbs separately so that you can upgrade.

You can get some affordable Genesis aluminum arrows from Amazon or various other places as starter arrows.

Didnt Bear make a " cub " recurve?
Brought it back out a few yrs ago?

Take her to a local big box shop or bow shop and have her shoot some bows. It is best to have her shoot the bows, as there is no other way to honestly know what she likes and what fit her.

I agree with giving her exposure to several different types of bows.

The other thing I would do is determine which is her dominant eye.

I wouldn’t get a bow too heavy a weight of draw at first either. Proper anchor point memory is key IMO.

Good luck.

My plan for my crew is an ILF riser that way I can swap limbs as they get older and their needs change