NEVER TOO YOUNG

For Reese’s third birthday, one of his gifts was a New-Ray Wild Hunting Bow and Arrow Playset with Deer Targets that my sister had found at the local Runnings store.  This may have just been a little plastic bow with suction cup arrows, but I believe it was one of the key ingredients that got Reese interested in archery and hunting.  Through the winter months he spent hours shooting arrows at our sliding glass door trying to get the suction cups to stick on the glass.  His enthusiasm for flinging arrows was just the beginning!

Once the weather warmed up, I took Reese to the Fargo Scheels to get him his first bow and arrows.  He was only three years old, but they set us up with the Barnett Lil Buck Recurve set equipped with two arrows.  Now Reese was ready!

The arrows that come with these types of archery sets usually have dull tips, which makes it challenging to get the arrows to stick into your typical archery target.  Lucky for me, I had an old, beat up black hole target that even dull tipped arrows shot at low poundage could penetrate.  If you have an old target laying around, don’t throw it!  They are great for kids who are shooting these types of setups.  Believe it or not, it is a big deal to a young archer when the arrow doesn’t stick in the target. It can even get frustrating to the point where they may no longer want to shoot.

 

Reese really enjoyed shooting his new bow, but like all kids with short attention spans, playing games, having contests, and even spicing it up with balloons are really all it takes to keep them interested for longer periods of time.

Also, if you are a member at a local archery club, take them with you. Reese was having a blast shooting his bow in the back yard, but his interest in hunting increased ten fold the first time I mentioned bringing him to the archery club to shoot 3D targets.  They may have just been foam animals to me, but to Reese, we were hunting!  Not only did this increase his overall interest in hunting and archery, but it was a great opportunity to teach him about all of the different big game species he was slocking. Even now that Reese is four, trips to the archery range remain one of our favorite summer activities.