How to teach a kid to shoot properly

[indyefi500]

In cub scouts, my son got to shoot his first bow.  He was hooked immediately and so we bought him a Bear Brave.  He loves it but I go almost nuts in trying to teach him(not one of my better suits anyway).  I don't want him to get discouraged but last Sunday he lost two arrows in the snow because he doesn't take the time to anchor properly(in my opinion).  Anyone have any tips?  I am going to try and get him in the archery class at Wolf den this summer but I would like to get him going in the right direction before then.  He is 11 and not real big for his age.  My 7 year old daughter wanted to shoot last weekend but I wouldn't let her because I am betting she would out shoot him and he would be mad.  I am debating if getting a better setup would help with an acutal peep.  Any tips, ideas or know of other classes for kids?  I really think he would listen to someone else better than he does to me.

[Pegg]

My son is 9 now and when he was 6 or 7 I started him into shooting bow. He loves it. Thats good that they want to shoot but trying to get a good  achor point on that bow is hard. I had to go out and get my son a good bow just because it is hard to find left handed kids bows. If they are into shooting that much I would go get a good bow and have tham both use it.  Yes you will spend a lot more money but you will get a lot more years out of it. But with a bow that they will have for a long time you can teach them how to use it and get really good with it. When I first started my son into shooting a bow after about a good two weeks he was on the target most of the time. To me it is hard to teach on any one of the braves or warrior bows. They are not the same everytime you draw back. I had my son shoot a release and have him put it in the same spot over and over. All I can say is keep working with him. I used to sell bows and when we would sell to kids or parents came in with the kids I would set the kids up and have them shoot and by the time they left they would love to shoot. The first few shoots they would be disapointed but by the time they were ready to leave they were happy.  Good luck. It is a great sport.


I can give you a few names that I know that still work where I used too and get you all set up. Great guys to work with.

[indyefi500]

Pegg:
I would appreciate the help.  One other thought was last fall, one of the guys I work with and I went to a gun show.  He saw a Brave there for $15 and asked if I wanted to buy it.  I said no, that my son already had one.  He said he would buy if for a relative.  After he did, we noticed it had a different string with an actual peep sight in it.  Does anyone know if that is cost effective since we already have the Brave?  My bet is that would still not be cheap.  I did get him a release and that has helped a little.  He is really all over the place on anchoring though.  I know the guy that taught me really stressed that and I have never forgot it.

[mathews4ever]

Pegg is right, getting a quality bow setup for him and having a trusted proshop guy help him will take years of of his learning curve and might save you some Tylenol.

Where are you located?

[stevejedlenski]

when i started out i had a cheap pse bow and i never shot very good groups and would lose an arrow now and then. it just got to the point that i would try for 20 min and get mad and give up cause no matter how hard i tried i couldnt get them any tighter. after i upgraded my bow and got some nice arrows my groups are great and i can actually enjoy shooting. but when i started out i almost just gave up bow hunting because of that.

[indyefi500]

Matthews:
I am in Brooklyn Park.

Steve:
Thanks for the tip.  I'll just keep draggin him out until he gets it or I can afford a better bow for him. Had I not just bought a different bow myself, I might have a little extra to put towards one for him.