40lb Recurve for 11 year Old

[Coach Jones]

Guy on the Nebraska Outdoor Forum is looking for a 40 lb recurve for his son.  I suggested that 40 lbs would be way to much for a kid of that age shooting his first bow.  I am missing something here?  People on that forum think I am nuts for suggesting a much lighter bow.

[Ybuck]

I agree with you.

[Encino Man]

I have a 14 year old son who plays football, wrestles and works out 5 days a week. He can barely muster up the strength to shoot a 44# Browning re-curve. I'd say your right on.

[Andrew Wesley]

well, i'd say 40lbs could be to heavy... but we've got a 13 year old that's a regular at our range, and he shoots a 45lb Bear Montana all day long like its nothing... so it depends on the kid i guess.

[NoCams]

Coach,
Depends on draw length.... Is the bow 40lbs @ 28" draw like most bows are measured ? If so and he is 11 I bet his draw may be as low as 22-24". If so then subtract around 3lbs per inch less than 28" draw. In other words if he is drawing 24" then he actually may be pulling only 28lbs.

My son who is now 14 and drawing 27" had a 52lb bow when he was 12 and shot it just fine cause he was only pulling about 40lbs at his then 24" draw. Check the bow and see if it is indeed marked 40 @ 28 or not ? If it is I bet that 11yr old can draw and shoot it just fine. JMHO

[stevewills]

i was shooting a 45lbs.at 12,but i was a big 12 year old..was shootint 70 at 15,but the 70 was a cheater bow...is the 40 at his draw length or at 28...my 11 yr.old pulls 20 inches,that would make it about 20 25 lbs.

An eleven year old will not be pulling the 40 pounds.  They have in my case drawn about 25 inches with 40 pound bows which is 33 or 34 pounds depending on which bow I had them use.  With a Grizzly or the small Zwickey Eskimo on a 5/16 cedar arrow it is enough to fly through a yearling whitetail.  I have always told them to not shoot at the deer far away and leave the big ones alone.  The number of deer and turkeys a kid can get into, of course, depends on the work of the parent or supervisor. I like them to be on the ground just in case they get totally overwhelmed when game shows up, it also gives a better shot angle for the light bow.

[Thumper Dunker]

What NoCams said .

[last arrow]

I have to agree with you, unless you are talking a 40 lb bow at 28 and he draws 22 or 24.  Then it may work for him, depending on the kid. If he has a growth spurt and gains in draw length the bow may become to heavy for him until his strength catches up to his new length.  I seen it happen to a kid that went from being under 5 foot to being over 6 foot in about a year.

[jason1040]

I shot a 50lb bow when I was 12 (that was with a compound though); I was also pretty stout (I was 6'3" and weighed 195lbs when I was 14). So I would let the boy try, and if he can then why hold him back.

[Arwin]

I think it depends on the kid.
My daughter has been able to pull bows in the 40ish range at her draw since she was 12. She has been shooting for a while though, so a newbie may want to start a bit lower.

[gregg dudley]

Jimmy is spot on ...and...it depends on the kid.  My daugher is 11 and she can pull back plenty of bows marked 30-35 @ 28.  I brought her home a 40 @28 kodiak magnum to try and she could shoot it about three times.  SHe is probably drawing about 23 inches.

[Bjorn]

40# @ 28 would be about right-probably perfect in fact. When my kids were 11 that weight and a tad more is what they were shooting. My son killed a hog with a 53# bow and he turned 12 two weeks prior.

[highPlains]

Kids vary greatly in strength. Draw length also has a lot to do with it. If you were playing it safe I would say 40# is on the upper end. The right kid who has shot his whole life would have no problem with a 40@28 bow at 11 years old. I shot heavier at that age but wasn't drawing anywhere near 28.

[alex b]

I am 14 now and I regularly shoot a 50 lb selfbow at 26in.

[Tom Leemans]

The best thing to do is have him draw a lighter, say 30-35# bow and see how steady he is. If he can hold steady, then try a 40#er. If there's no shaking at full draw, then I would go ahead with it.

[Buckwheaties]

There's alot of difference between 11 and 14.

[mahantango]

Definately depends on the kid, and not so much on size. My 13 year old is 5'0 and barely 100#, athletic and wiry. Been shooting since he was 5 or 6 and can shoot his 50#@28 recurve all day long. His draw is about 25 1/2". Surprised some of the vendors at Denton Hill by easily drawing 56#-58# bows.

[bawana bowman]

Started shooting when I was 5. At 7 Dad bought me a used 45# 1955 Kodiak. Don't have any idea what my draw was but I shot that bow until I was 12. Killed my 1st deer with it at 9. At 12 I bought a 65# Kodiak. Still doubt I was drawing 28", but by age 15 I was shooting 75#. At 23 90-108# was the norm.

At 40 I sold everything over 80#. Just recently bought Matt Hamiltons (Raging Water) 102#@28 Bamabow. Having a lot of fun with it and am considering doing a pig hunt with it next week. I'm now 56 years old.
Oh, that 45# Kodiak, it's hanging on my wall as I type this reply.

I think the kid can probably handle the 40# bow because he probably won't be drawing the 40 to begin with. But he will eventually work into it.
Personally I think it will be good for him in the long run.

[Covey]

My boy is gonna be 12 the 26th of this month and his bow is an old bear kodiak mag 40# @ 28" and he has been shooting it for 2 years. Considering you take 2 or 3 pounds for every inch of draw under 28 I figure he's pulling 32 or 33 pounds and he shoots it just fine. Jason