Darton Ranger II Compound Bow

The Darton Ranger II is the value heart of Darton's Ranger youth series - the full nine-module, no-press adjustable platform of the top-tier Ranger III, in a black-riser-and-camo-limb finish at the middle price. At 2.9 pounds on a long, forgiving 32-inch frame, with a 15-to-45-pound range (15-to-50 from 2010) and a 17-to-28-inch draw, it is the bow that genuinely follows a kid from early target work toward a young hunter's weight without ever needing a bow press. What strikes me most handling it is how little a family gives up by skipping the camo - mechanically this is the same bow as the Ranger III. Darton sold it dealer-direct without a published price, at the middle rung of the youth tier. Hands-on owners describe it the way the design intends - light, forgiving, a bow a young-to-intermediate shooter keeps enjoying - with the only real caveats being a budget factory sight worth upgrading and a youth-weight ceiling a serious big-game hunter will eventually outgrow. An excellent one-bow-for-several-years pick for the household where a young archer will grow across target shooting and into a first youth hunting setup. Buyers who want the same bow in full camo for the woods should look at the Ranger III, and those who want a complete Ready-to-Hunt package reaching 50 pounds should also look at the Bear Apprentice... read full review