Fitting young hunters to a bow, crossbow and rifle

By: 
Ross Bielema
Correspondent

Not so many years ago, there was a hunting tradition to hand down Dad’s or Granddad’s rifle to the son or daughter joining the hunt. These full-size rifles, often lever-actions (which carry their own set of safety issues), would be an ill fit for a small body with shorter arms.

Today’s rifle and bow manufacturers have pounced on the need for youth weapons like a barn cat on a mouse. It’s easy to choose a rifle or compound bow that will fit your child, grandchild or even small adult like a glove, although small and light crossbows are still relatively rare, according to Justin Steinke, general manager of Butch’s Archery near Embarrass.

Steinke not only sells a full line of bows, crossbows, rifles and shotguns, but went through finding the right hunting tools for his three kids, too.

Alyssa Schultz shot her first deer with a crossbow at age 10, Kassidy Steinke shot her first buck last year with a crossbow at age 7, and now son Logan Steinke is cutting his teeth on a Diamond recurve bow at the tender age of 4.

The Parker Challenger crossbow Kassidy used was a light, compact crossbow ideal for kids and women, but no longer made. There is definitely a demand for a youth crossbow, but most current models are 7-10 pounds with scope and cranking aid or quiver with arrows.

“Kids never shoot freehand,” Steinke said. Crossbows are typically shot from a rest. “The crossbow is not a recreational tool.”

But kids certainly can have fun shooting traditional recurve or compound bows as they sharpen skills for hunting. Most bow makers have several options for children, small adults and those who may not have the arm and back strength to draw a heavy bow (Wisconsin law requires a draw weight of at least 30 pounds for bowhunting).

Decades ago, a child quickly outgrew a low-powered recurve or compound bow. A new design in compounds allows a huge range of bow draw weights and lengths, allowing the same bow to be used as the shooter grows taller and stronger.

“You’re one and done with buying a bow for your kid,” he said.

For example, the Bear Legit package, which includes an arrow rest and a sight, can be set from 15 to 70 pounds of draw weight and 14 to 30 inches of draw length. It’s a great value at just over $400, considering it can be used for a lifetime of bowhunting.

To quickly get a rough idea of a shooter’s draw length, measure their wingspan with both arms outstretched, then divide by 2.5, Steinke said.

Even smaller bows are available, such as the Diamond Infinite Edge, Diamond Nuclear Ice and Bear Royale, the last of which weighs about 3 pounds with sight and rest. Kids just starting archery need to be able to hold the actual weight of the bow easily to build confidence.

The Nuclear Ice maxes at 26 inches of draw length and 40 pounds of draw weight. (Adults will often have a draw range of 26 to 30 inches and shoot a weight of 45 to 75 pounds).

At Lena Swamp Archery in Oconto Falls, owner Wade Jeske caters to youth archers. May is his busiest time for kids, with about 900 shooting bows at his shop. Physical education students from Oconto Falls and Abrams schools shoot there, as do Pulaski Middle School Archery Club students.

He keeps a variety of used youth compound bows so that every kid gets to use his own bow, regardless of ability to pay. Kids under 18 always shoot free at the shop range, and Saturdays are hectic as it’s the unofficial “Kids Day” there, Jeske said.

Like Steinke, he is a big fan of the Bear Royale and Legit models as great starter bows.

“For every adult bow we sell, we sell a youth bow or ladies’ bow,” he said, noting that he did about a million dollars in archery sales last year. They specialize in bows and crossbows, with his son James Jeske serving as sales manager.

The elder Jeske also likes the Diamond bows for kids, including the Edge and Prism models. The Prism, for example, has a draw weight of 5 to 55 pounds and a draw length of 18 to 30 inches.

The Diamond Atomic can handle even smaller children, with a draw weight of 6 to 29 pounds and a draw length of 12 to 24 inches.

The made-in-Wisconsin Mission Hammer is another great choice for kids, sold with arrow rest, sights and release aid for about $370.

About 98% of Lena Swamp Archery’s young customers shoot carbon arrows, because they are stronger and won’t dent or bend like aluminum shafts, he noted.

Jeske agreed that most crossbows are too heavy and bulky for kids to carry, although Wicked Ridge makes a light version that works for some kids and women. The compact high-end crossbows like Ravin start at around $1,200 but are still pretty heavy.

Young kids are typically not ready for peep sights or shooting release aids, so probably should start out with a recurve bow and shoot with fingers, Steinke said. Be sure to get them an armguard to avoid string slap on their arm before they learn to properly hold the bow to prevent this.

Choosing a youth rifle for deer is easy today because there are three main options. There are short-stocked models with 18-inch carbine barrels, short-stocked models with removable spacers and 20-inch barrels and full-sized models with longer barrels and removable stock parts, Steinke explained.

The first option is for short-term use, while the other two can be modified to fit a child as they grow to accommodate their length of pull (distance from the end of the stock to the trigger).

Value-priced rifles like the Ruger American and Savage Axis combos with scopes provide accurate deer guns for $500 or less. The Mossberg Patriot Youth Super Bantam is one example of a centerfire rifle with spacers that can be removed and then added as the child grows.

CVA, well known for its muzzleloaders, entered the centerfire rifle market in recent years and offers some good kid-friendly options, including the Cascade bolt-action with removable spacer, and single-shot Scout and Hunter.

While the .243 has been one of the most popular calibers for youngsters, due to its mild recoil or “kick,” the newer .350 Legend cartridge offers about 20 percent more energy and 20 percent less recoil than the .243, Steinke said.

With the proper bullet, the .300 Blackout and even the .223 or 5.56 in an AR-15 semi-automatic platform can be an ideal deer gun for a young hunter, because the stock can be adjusted and a semi-auto soaks up the recoil, he added.

Be sure you protect young ears from muzzle blast with a set of electronic earmuffs, which allow kids to hear normal conversation while protecting from the shots. Ear plugs often don’t fit right and can be hard to put in or take out when the deer show up, Steinke said.