Darton Ranger 1 Compound Bow

The Darton Ranger I is the stripped-down entry rung of Darton's Ranger youth series - a 2.9-pound, 32-inch single-cam built around one idea: the simplest possible real compound for a small child. It skips the draw-length modules of its siblings in favor of a single forgiving 17-to-25-inch valley and a 15-pound starting weight, so there is nothing to set wrong and nothing a child can't draw. Darton sold it dealer-direct at the entry-level rung of the youth market without a published retail price, and it carries the build quality owners trust across the Ranger line. It is not a hunting bow and never pretended to be - the 29-to-30-pound ceiling is a learning weight, by design. In my years around first bows, the ones that actually keep a child shooting are the simple ones they cannot set wrong, and that is the whole of the Ranger I. An excellent first bow for the parent who wants a genuine, durable, no-fuss compound in a small child's hands, particularly strong for the youngest shooters stepping up from their very first arrows. Families who need the bow to reach a 45-to-50-pound hunting weight should step up to the Ranger II or III, and parents starting a much smaller child should look at the Diamond Atomic... read full review