In general, the teenager who buys a compound bow will be a little older than the one who buys a first recurve. The way the youngster uses the bow will be different, also.

"There's a very strong possibility that the person will hunt with that equipment," Bentz says. "That's why adjustability is so critical, so you can take that bow up to the required legal hunting poundage. Retailers should check that, because it varies from state to state." Generally, state minimums are somewhere around 35 to 45 pounds, and most bows designed for women and teenagers bottom out in that area.

The other consideration is axle-to-axle length. The break-in comfort and size cut-off occurs right around 5 foot 6 inches.

"Anyone smaller than that should be comfortable using a shorter bow," Bentz says. "Even some smaller men who are small-framed should like them."

The problem with full-sized bows is not the length of the bow itself, according to Bentz. It's a combination of the longer draw length necessary to shoot a longer bow, plus the higher draw weights the bows attain.

"Draw length is in proportion to height," Bentz says. "Generally, when someone is 5-foot-6, he or she has a draw length long enough for a full-sized bow."

The range of draw lengths for the smaller bows varies and depends on the manufacturer, she says.

"On ours at Golden Eagle, we tend to be quite liberal. On our 36-inch bows, we go from 23 to 27 inches, a full 5-inch range. Some other manufacturers just do 3 inches, or even 2. Some are not nearly as adjustable as others," Bentz explained.

On the smaller bows, manufacturers are creating bows with a wide range of draw weights.

"Manufacturers tend to make them in lower weights," Bentz says. "But you can also get the smaller bows with higher draw weights."

One other feature of smaller bows is the lower price of some models.

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