my son wants a recurve or longbow to hunt with..BUT,I dont know if he can pull 40 pounds for next years hunting season..he is 12 and i think he can only draw about 20"...i dont want to start him with a compound..becuase that might be the only thing he would shoot..has any one else have this trouble..thanks john

I took my son to Rocky Mountain Specialty Gear and they let him try  all the light weight bows. I bought a 44# longbow but at his draw it was only 40#. They told him to do pushups every day so he could shoot the bow comfortably. So I made him do this for several months. He shot his first elk this year. See the thread I just posted. 2 For 2 Elk Hunt.

There's not a lot of 12-13 year olds that can handle 40 lbs comfortably, but it he really wants to he can probably build into just fine.  Work on his strength for a while until he can handle some weight.  It is also important to work left and right sides equally to keep his structure in balance.  He still has a lot of growing to do.

Maybe an inexpensive  3 piece bow with 25# limbs?  You can upgrade to a higher pound limb easily next year before hunting season.  I bought a new archer a Samick Polaris last Christmas because I didn't now what draw weight would be right.