We took a recent trip to Cabelas to get a archery target for my new Bowtech Reign7. Imagine the excitement of a brand new bow and on my first two shows, they blew directly through my old, dilapidated Block. Even Amazon was not fast enough to get me a new target to my doorstep. I immediately had to go to the store to get a new target so I could actually shoot. While we were there, we came across a $10 youth bow. I lit up with excitement as I really hadn't thought much about getting them into shooting yet, but this was a no-brainer. The toughest decision was whether to get one bow or three. We're working sharing and on not having triples of everything, so we opted for one.
Now, that I had my new target, I finally was able to shoot my brand new bow at home. But the funny thing was all I wanted to do was shoot the little orange bow with the kids. I was so excited. We started with a thorough safety lesson and I could hear my father's words coming out of my mouth. Somewhere I knew he was smiling.
The kids took to shooting like a duck to water. Clara was the first one up and once they got the concept of what a bow and arrow was doing, it was pretty natural. Even Hunter at the ripe old age of 3, had no issue with launching an arrow 15-20 feet down the hill. Success at this point is not a bulls eye, but rather forward momentum of the arrow. Of all the kids, Jack was the one that really got it quickly. Once he got comfortable, he would pull his bow back, pause to anchor the bowstring, adjust his pitch and launch into the air. They all loved watching the arrow sail with amazement.
Now, every time I got shoot, I have a few little shooting buddies that go with me. Of course, now they want to do that whole thing themselves and it takes them some time, but they gain confidence and a sense of accomplishment with every arrow flung into the air. I am glad I kept all my youth starter bows, as they will grow into them in no time at all.
