CenterPoint Archery ABY1721 Elkhorn Youth Compound Bow

Can't say enough about this bow at this price point; this is a good, usable bow. My kid's previous plastic bow cost this much. We've used this bow at the range for several weeks now; it's difficult to get him out of there, it's that much fun. I added a cheap 3-point brush arrow rest and sight to the bow (then removed the sight, see below), a D-loop and brass nock points to the bow string, and bought him a cheap (but safe) release. (Thanks YouTube). The bow is pretty light, and strong enough to hit targets reliably at 30 yards or less (with better arrows, see below).Two safety tips: At the right angle, this bow can send arrows out 100 yards. The attached cable guide (rod) goes BETWEEN the balance cables and shooting string to keep the balance cables out of the way of the arrows as they are released.Several things to keep in mind: there is no adjustment on this bow. Draw weight of our bow is 19 lbs. I assume that when the specs say 17-21 lbs, it means that the bow you get will be within these limits. Draw length is also set, I think accurately stated at a max of 26 inches. With a draw of 24-26", a person 5' to 5'6" should be able to shoot this comfortably. For your child to use this bow, s/he should be able to pull about 20 lbs, not just once, but many times. Of course, they don't have to hold 20 lbs while they are aiming because once past max pull, the pull weight of the string drops to about 7 lbs. It's not an age thing, it's a size and strength thing.Much has already been said about the accessories. Can't comment on the included arrow rest. I had to shim the after-market arrow rest bracket because the bow riser is too narrow. The included arrows are low quality and cannot be used with our 3-point arrow rest because the fletching doesn't line up right, and the nocks are glued. No matter what rest you use, it's worthwhile to get extra arrows with a rotatable nock so you can line up the indicator fletching correctly for your rest. I recommend arrows (26") with points much sharper than the dull points on those that come with the bow; at 19 lbs bow draw weight, the included arrows mostly bounce off the target at more than 10 yards.Comments have been made about the bow and balance strings. I could be wrong but they don't seem to be metal cable. But they are plastic coated something. An earlier review stated that you couldn't nock arrows safely or add nock points. I found both those statements to be incorrect; arrows nock and hold just fine, and adding nock points was easy (thanks YouTube).Our bow has an integrated sight bracket, counter to videos about the bow. I don't like it because you can't add a multi-pin sight without it being too far out in front of the bow. Most kids will probably shoot intuitively anyway, and not use sight pins, but to shoot more accurately, some sort of work-around is necessary. The arm protector is cheap, but works. And the bow-mounted quiver works fine. We don't use the finger tab. Not all common accessories will fit on this bow.Again, excellent value, even with its limitations, and it can be used as is, or upgraded for a little extra $$ to be pretty competitive/accurate.

I have two teenage sons that are constantly in front of a computer, so when one of them had a birthday last week, I wanted to get something that would get him out of the house. I knew if he could shoot at something, I'd have a chance. This is a well-made, easy to shoot and ready to shoot out of the box, target bow for beginners. My boys are practically grown, but not too muscular, so the 20 pound pull is just right for them at this point. They had a ball yesterday sharing the bow, so now I'm going to get another to keep them both outside. The only draw-back was the substandard arrows (and only two of them!). Luckily, I read the reviews beforehand and purchased additional arrows at a better grade. The 26 inch arrows are ideal. I also found an affordable school-type target at another location that is working great! We don't have access to hays bales, Amazon was out of the 'bean bag' style I wanted, and we can't afford real archery targets (running around from $100 on up), but the one I found ran about $40.00 and stands on its own (does better if leaned up against something). We found it at [...]; it's called the Morrell Youth Archery Target.Be sure you know that you are getting a bow to be held with the left hand and the strings pulled with the right hand (usually for right-handed people). Unfortunately, this bow doesn't come for lefties (like my eldest son), so I found him a similar bow to the Elkhorn that is made for either right/left hand shooters--I hope it is as good as the Elkhorn (it is a Martin Tiger Bow--I will update this review if there are problems with the Martin). Archery is great fun but be warned--this bow is NOT a toy and CAN cause serious damage--be sure your child or young adult knows how dangerous shooting a bow and arrow can be! My boys are old enough to be unsupervised, but I would suggest adult supervision at all times for younger teens and tweens (or unreliable people at any age). This could cause serious injuries or even worse--so be VERY CAREFUL with instruction and supervision.