My kids girl 10 and son 8 are getting antsy on the weekends and I was thinking about putting up some hay bails in the backyard and setting up some targets for them. Any suggestions for a couple of first timers? I have a compound bow ( I hardly ever use) and was thinking it would be a good way to spend some time together. Thanks...

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Thanks for the info.

I have two kids of my own and they put things down as quick as they pick them up. With that in mind I would suggest if you're going to buy a bow make it something that isn't too expensive encase they do lose interest. With that being said, I think the best compound bow you could get your kids is the Infinite Edge. The bow fits almost any archer so as your kids grow up the bow wont need to be replaced because can be adjusted to fit them. A great resource I have found for compound bow reviews is this site. You can read about the Infinite Edge there and I think they also have an article on youth bows as well. Best of luck to you and shooting with your kids

another is the quest radical- it can "grow" with your kid.  Just out the cost of arrows as DL lengthens as they grow.

Picked one of these up for my son last year and we liked it so much I got one each for the wife and daughter this year.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003RXOOQI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Would you say the 45-60 lb draw would be a good entry level vow for someone like myself? I'm interested in archery and bow hunting but can't bring myself to spend 500+ $ on something that may not end up interesting me all that much

 

Go to a local archery store.

They'll have more than enough deeply discounted beginner bows and will help adjust draw length to suit your span.

Arrows are as expensive as you want them to be but regardless, pretty pricey if you have a tendency to strike hard objects or lose them My only suggestion is if they are not brightly colored, go ahead and spray paint the arrows with a light coat of fluorescent pink or orange to stand out. Bright fletches too.

My local academy is my archery store. You would think there would be one here in my town in KY but ibhave yet to see one after living here for 3 years.

 

Where do you live? There's gotta be an archery store in the next town over. Small towns tend to have 'em, at least when I was there. I had to drive an hour to an archery shop to get mine when I first started. Well worth it. An hour of drive time is nothing. In fact, I'm about to head out the door to drive 40 minutes to an archery store to get mine restrung. If I had the press, I'd likely do it myself. Alas, I don't.

I learned a lot from some good ol' boy and he helped me loose some arrows on different bows and get the feel for it. YMMV but unless you have someone to show you, I'd avoid throwing $125 down the drain for a bow that will likely be undersized and never shot. Good luck.

Edit: Damnit, dude charged me $5 to restring it. Oh well, the ratchet strap trick wasn't working and I'd rather not break/twist a limb. Dude was huge, he asked if it was my son's bow. I was all "no, it's mine..." It's only 60lb bow, which is around normal. He probably shoots 85 lbs or something.