My wife and I have been trying to find a new activity for us to do together, and both of us think we would enjoy archery. I know almost nothing about archery, basically just what we've gleaned from Maya's adventures. Additionally, my daughter, almost 6, really wants to try it out as well. I think it would be great to do as a family, and there is a store here locally that has a shooting field and offers lessons. I think we would all go take a couple of lessons and then decide if this is something we want to really pursue before buying any equipment, however I don't know anything to even start considering what we would need. Can you guys begin my education? Thanks!

I’ve been a bowhunter for years. But when I started my first stop was a pro shop that made sure that my bow was properly fit for me and they gave me lessons on proper form. That’s where I would suggest starting. I would take a look at something like Genesis bows as a starting point, especially for your daughter. That’s what my son started on, he had the mini Genesis.

Second the Genesis. I picked one up for my (at the time) 14 y/o daughter, and it worked fine for me as well. I found it on Craigslist, in mint condition for $60 with a hard case and bunch of arrows.

Excellent pursuit! There is a lot to learn, so the hobby will not get stale.
I prefer recurve bows. They are beautiful weapons. Longbows are wonderful. Compound bows are engineering marvels.

My suggestion is to find a local club and have a look around. Link below to the club finder site for JOAD clubs on USA Archery's website. JOAD stands for Junior Olympic Archer Development. Don't let the name scare you off, it really is a program for first timers up to Olympic hopefuls. Some clubs have adult programs as well.

http://www.teamusa.org/usa-arc...ent/find-a-joad-club

The other thing is to find a good local shop. Not the same as a club, some shops have clubs and some clubs are run out of rec centers, parks, etc. Keep in mind with shops, bow hunting is what pays the bills and target archery is a very distant second in their sales and knowledge.

Look around all clubs and shops have their own personalities. Some go from the hard core hunter to a few that are moonbeams getting in touch with the inner child from a former life in a simpler time using the bow as their method of transcendence (don't laugh I know of a club that is archery, yoga and tai-chi studio all in one). Find a place where you, your wife and possibly your daughter can get some private lessons, try out different equipment, etc. Definitely try before you buy.

If you get into it, all 3 of you will have to decide to go down the road of recurve or compound. I admit when I first got into it, the appeal of the simplicity of recurve was strong. But then the speed and accuracy of compound won me over to the dark side. There's an allure and tradition to recurve, but there's a much faster learning curve with a compound.

The Genesis bow was mentioned previously. It's kind of a hybrid between a recurve and a compound. They're a great bow to begin on and at times a great training aid. We quickly transition beginning archers from them to either recurve or compound.

As far as your daughter, 6 might be a little young. It all depends on her physical and mental maturity. Maya was 7, almost 8 when she started in JOAD. She has to be mature enough to understand and practice range safety. She has to be strong enough to physically hold and pull the bow back to full draw repeatedly.

Hope my rambling helps, let me know if you've got specific questions.

It's been a while, but I shot archery for several years in my youth, starting when I was 11 up through my teen years.

About the only advice I could give would be to echo the posters recommending a visit to a pro shop for proper equipment fitting. That's what I did. My parents took me to a shop and I got to "try on" several different bows. I ended up with a Martin Tiger compound bow (do they even make those anymore?). They made the necessary adjustments to fit my size/strength, recommended accessories, and gave me a place to shoot (they had an indoor range I could use any time, free of charge, since I bought the bow from them...they also taught me shooting fundamentals and how to maintain the bow for free). Over the years, as I grew up, they would re-adjust the bow to accommodate my size and strength, also free of charge. I did have to pay for arrow repairs (I got good enough to punch holes in fletching and breaking off nocks...never did split an arrow, though...damn aluminum shafts... ). I have no idea if this store was unique in the services they offered or not, but even if I had to pay for their services it wouldn've been worth it.

Get this book. Great info on technique and equipment. Use it before and after lessons. Author is also a great resource on one of the archery forums.
Shooting the Stickbow: A Practical Approach to Classical Archery

Support local but here is a decent online vendor. They make their own line of recurve bows as well which are quite good.
http://www.lancasterarchery.com/

My best advice would be to stand behind them.

Family wants to try archery, what do I need to know?......It can get expensive real quick...

Don't tell the pediatrician.

Buy some apples.

Well, the local store, DropTine Archery, actually has a JOAD Team. I will drop by the store to talk to them this week.

quote:

Originally posted by hvyhawler:
Family wants to try archery, what do I need to know?......It can get expensive real quick...

It can, but every time I think my daughter is getting expensive, I talk to my buddy who has 2 boys playing youth league hockey. Every year he dreads new skates, pads, sticks, etc., then there's league fees, ice time, travel budget, etc., etc. Archery is relatively cheap compared to that and other youth sports today.

I shudder to think how much money is tied up in my daughter's tournament case. Then I think, it wasn't all paid for at once. She didn't start with 2 bows, only one. Her starter bow was a package bow that came with all the accessories. Gradually as her skill improved we upgraded her accessories. When she was ready for a new bow, all the upgraded accessories came off the old bow and onto the new bow.

barndg00,

The 2018 JOAD Outdoor National Championships are going to be held in Raleigh, NC July 14th & 15th. Great chance to see what a big national tournament looks like. We're planning on being there.

I'll reiterate the professional fitting of your equipment. Kinda like a bicycle, you can make an ill fitting bike go, but you'll never enjoy it.

Don't get too caught up in the power or speed thing, especially at known ranges indoors. Yes, at some point and level it is important, but not the first few months. Remember how useful a .22 rimfire is when learning and training. You'll not be happy if everyone is tuckered out after just a few minutes.

Barndg00,
Archery is a wonderful family activity. Yesterday I bought a used Genesis mini bow for my 6yr. old son. It is adjustable from 6-12 pounds draw weight.

For adult bows, find one that is adjustable for draw length. The rule of thumb for draw length is your span from fingertips to fingertips / 2.5. (measured in inches)

This is a picture of the draw length adjustment for my Mission Archery Craze II.
http://i561.photobucket.com/al...RA49_zpsxybzlqmo.jpg

It's a great first bow. I originally bought an older Mathews Outback Solocam, but the draw length was too long. It required another cam to make it fit me.

Arrows are generally carbon and are around 6 grains per pound of draw weight. For the release, look on eBay and Craigslist. I just bought a Scott Talon. It is fantastic.

One more piece of advice, make sure the draw weight is low enough that no one is straining to shoot it. It is common for people to want a 'manly' draw weight, only to find themselves with damaged shoulder muscles.

Moderate draw weight is a lot more fun.

Bows
http://i561.photobucket.com/al...abel_zpso8casttq.jpg

New Release
http://i561.photobucket.com/al...RA49_zpsphuhdz9o.jpg

Archery has proven to be a great family activity for us. I bought both of my kids diamond infinite edge bows a couple years ago. They will adjust to fit them as they grow. Aside from putting a set of replacement diamond bowstrings replacement diamond bowstrings on each they have been hassle free.