Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting Bow for young shooter?

Hi all. I have an 8 year old son who is currently shooting a Barnett lil' banshee bow whenever I'm out shooting. It's becoming obvious that he is interested in archery, and I want to see about moving up to the next level of archery with him.

He has a 22" draw length and can pull back 25#. I was in at the local Cabela's (YEAH! One in Canada!) and the associate pointed out the Diamond Razor Edge. I was wondering if anyone here has played with this bow or if they have any other brand/model suggestions.

Appreciate any input. Thanks.


SS

Hey Sam, I'll watch this one with interest. I have a 7 year old that desperately needs a real bow, too. I have heard lots of really good things about the Diamond Nuclear Ice. I think Cabela's has them on sale for $199 now.

Also, my b-i-l just bought a Mission Craze for his daughter and it is awesome.

Maddog Pup

http://www.maddogarchery.com/

Great to hear your young 'un is catching the bug!

The razor edge is an awesome bow. Also the mission craze. Bowtech also offers a good bow for the younger ones. Cant go wrong with any of those. You just gonna have to see what fits him. Although he can pull 25#, it will be important to find a bow with the proper physical dimensions to fit him. The edge and the craze are basically short axle to axle bows with the ability to be set at lower poundages but also crank on up as the shooter grows or strengthens. Draw back is mass weight. May be a tad "heavy" for an 8 yr old.

I bought one of the Mathews Genesis Pro's for my son a year ago, he is 11 now. It is the most easily adjusted youth bow so far. I like the lack of let off for teaching him a proper release. The adjustable poundage is a plus as well. As he grows I just keep adjusting to him. Maryland allows 30 pounds for a minimum bow for deer, so when he is ready he can use it for his first hunting bow as well.
I went a different direction for my 7 year old daughter. It was all about color (pink) for her. Whiskey Creek made a youth bow adjustible from 10-20 pounds, adjustible for 5 inches of drawlength, included sights, rest, bow quiver, and three carbon arrows for $99.00 from one of my wholesale suppliers. She absolutely loves it.
I looked at the Nuclear Ice. It is a nice bow as is the mission craze. I just felt the Mathews Genesis was going to last longer before I needed to buy another set up. And if we can get the NASP program started in this area he can use his own bow. So that was the direction I went.

Throw the Hoyt Ruckus in there if you have brand loyalty. Nearly infinately adjustable and well made, not just a throw-down kids bow.

Mission Craze, he can shoot it the rest of his life and not need another bow.Bought 2 this spring for my twin boys,very,very impressed.
BBJ

My 14 y/o boy has been shooting a LH Diamond Razor Edge for the past 2 years. Bought it new as a package and he shot it for a few months. Then we set it up with a Spot Hogg Hogg It 5 pin large guard and QAD Ultra LD rest. Can't say enough good things about the bow, its draw weight/draw length ease of adjustability, & very smooth draw cycle. It is fast enough for him to hunt with and should serve fine as a primary for several years to come without the need to buy additional cams for adjustment.

Having said that, my 12 y/o boy has outgrown his PSE Spyder and wants something different than his brother (I tried steering him toward the Razor Edge), so I'm looking at the Mission Craze for him. Incredible range and ease of adjustment on draw length & draw weight also, but with the Mathews name behind it. I personally don't like the asthetics as much as I do the Razor Edge, but it is performance that counts anyway. We're heading to a local archery shop this weekend to give it a try out. It is also comparably priced to the Diamond Razor Edge at about $300 for the bare bow.

New York passed a law lowering the bowhunting age to 12 so dad was pressured to buy a bow two weeks ago. $350 Gander Mt Edge just needed to get arrows so I put it on hold. A guy at work told me to take a look at the Craze bow. I have three dealers within a hour drive. Found one dealer that had one. To make a long story short, Dad's paying. It cost me $400 set up like the Edge. Like everyone else said he can use it the rest of his life. But what really sold me was the 80% let off compared to the 75% on the Edge this bow is made for anybody to use. Hell Dad loves it so much there may be two Matthews Mission Crazes sittin in the ground blind this deer season. Well good luck to your son, I hope he enjoys whatever bow you decide as much as my son has. GOOD LUCK THIS HUNTNG SEASON!!!!!!!!

Not sure where in NY you are but if in Eastern NY I would checkout Flying Arrow. They have a store in Wappingers Falls, Carmel, and another somewhere near Albany. I would go to the Carmel store if not to far for you. The owner is a good guy and they are very knowledgable.

Mission Craze, it can stick with him for his whole life.

15 pounds all the way up to 70.

http://missionarchery.com/Craze-bow.asp

i gotta say hoyt ruckus it is an awesome bow i use it for bowfishing and my 7 yr old uses it to shoot in the backyard i think in afew years he will be ready to go hunt with it. it adjusts to 28 inches mine is 20lbs to 45 but cranked all the way up it hits 53 lbs i chronoed it with a easton infused carbon 400 it shot 253 not bad for a kids bow

my dad got me an easton youth bow some 25 years ago, it went from 15-40 lbs I think. I used it for several years until I was old enough to hunt with it, 40 lbs was the minimum for MN so it was legal for my first season out. once I had decided that I did infact like to bow hunt, then we looked into a new bow for me, it was a PSE Nova and I had to pay for it, dad bought the arrows and broadheads and such, but it made me really value that bow because I had put my own money into it, I earned it. I used that Nova right up until it got a warped limb a couple years ago. now I moved up to a PSE Stinger this year as I'm getting back into archery hunting. I would recommend this as a way to go. it was fairly cheap and it worked me up to a full size bow

Thanks for the info guys. I'm going to have to check out the Mission Craze as well!

SS

I agree the Hoyt Ruckus might be the better way to go.