Archery question

[caorach]

Any suggestions for a archery setup for a 12 year old who wants to give it a try?

The background is that the son of a chap I work with has announced he wants a bow for his 12th birthday with a view to taking up archery. They have some ground (his dad has a rifle over it) so I suspect the interest is casual and will probably involve targets on his own ground at present but on the other hand dad would like to get him something suitable without breaking the bank in case he loses interest in a few days.

 

[bogtrotter]

Not sure on prices but what he needs is a training bow, a straw boss would be a good idea but you could make something with heavy duty foam rubber or even polystyrene,and some sort of net to catch the arrows that miss the target, as arrows are probably the most expensive part of the setup as they are very easily lost.

A training bow should not cost a great deal , and all the other stuff is readily available but full kit could cost a bit especially if it maybe just a passing faze.


Oh and for a young lad better get an arm brace and finger tab, as a bow string hitting your arm can leave a nasty bruise, finger tab for a young lad with soft hands as bow string will leave his finger tips raw after a bit


If you have a good sports shop near they should be able to help with a starter kit.

 

[pheasant sniper 1]

Instead of shelling out why not join a nearby club ( assuming there may be one )

The instruction will be tailored to them and if after a few lessons their keen as mustard maybe that's the time to invest..

There are three Archery clubs in my area yet if asked most people wouldn't have heard or known of them.

 

[BSAvale]

If he is left handed my mrs' starter set is for sale...PM me if interested.

 

[Claret_Dabbler]

Philip, you can buy a serviceable setup in Decathlon for £30 - £40. Something with a 20lb draw weight. My boys have one, its good fun.

 

[pj1]

my ten year old daughter did a course last september and loved it. i was also surprised how many clubs were around when i started looking. we ended up getting her a longshot trainer ii bow and set of eight arrows. think bow, sight, string finger tab was about 58 quid and arrows were 48 ish. the club where she did her course were great. it cost 48 quid for the course she went on. it was four 3 hour sessions in which you could use the club equipment. after this she joined the club which cost a small fee to join then just 6 pounds a month to shoot as many times as you like. you can use the club equipment for as long as you want which is also good to give you time to decide whether its a goer or not. obviously this is just our local club but look around and there will be a few to choose from im sure. would really advise finding a club even if its just for advise

regards pete

 

[Shabz]

Definitely a good idea to join a club. Nfas is a good place to start if he's into field sports. They shoot animal faces at unknown distances so its pretty accurate simulated hunting

You can find your local club at NFAS (National Field Archery Society) - Clubs

 

[caorach]

Thanks for all the suggestions, my first suggestion was for him to join a club but I think maybe the lad just wants to mess about to start with. With that in mind and following Brian's suggestion I think the father is off to Decathlon tomorrow morning for a look

 

[norma 308]

Mrs Norma has just taken a training course with the local club and then joined they leant here a bow and targets after she passed the safety test and goes once a week ,eventually she will get her own bow I expect .living on a farm she can practice with the borrowed bow till then .
norma
ps it was very cheap to participate

 

[KBar1970]

Depends whether he wants to start with a recurve or a compound; if the latter, then you cant go far wrong with a Mathews Genesis...no fixed draw length or draw weight so it'll last a while (good resale value if it turns out that archery isn't his thing...but you tend to find that once he's hooked, he'll get in to it)

 

[Moray Outfitting]

The redoubtable Ronnie Sunshine will have starter gear.

Quicks are the doyen of UK archery retail. Their catalogue was essential reading, probably online now . They will very likely have starter sets - and ones that you can trust.

 

[BSAvale]

Out of all the archery shops I found Alternative Sporting to be by far the best...Merlin customer service is awful, Quicks are expensive as are Custom Built Archery.

 

[Shabz]

The archery company are fantastic!

The Archery Company - Starter and training bows

 

[Radar_UK]

Another vote for Tony and the Archery Company - always used them for all my archery needs and they never let me down !

The archery company are fantastic!

The Archery Company - Starter and training bows

 

[gary]

Tony at The Archery Company will sort you out, he also has a 3d course set up behind his shop.

 

[Brithunter]

The best way to start out with a youngster is find and join a local Archery Club. Use their equipment until he is set to stay with the sport/hobby then and only then get a bow. The club if it's a decent one can advise on the different bows used for different disciplines. If he wants to have a go at Olympic type archery then Compounds are out. Recurve is the way to go in that case.

 

[KBar1970]

+1 on the Archery Company; Tony and his Team provide first rate service

 

[tackb]

+ another one for the archery company ! great people to deal with and very knowledgeable.