Leader Accessories 19-29 Compound Bow Review

Contents

Welcome to this Leader Accessories 19-29 Compound Bow Review! This one is a well built beginner’s model for testing the waters and for pulling your offspring into the world of archery. You won’t lose an arm and a leg for testing if your kids may or may not like shooting compounds – which is a big advantage in my opinion – and you can make sure that they will keep at it before buying more expensive gear for them. Just imagine them joining you in the field, bowhunting side by side … great thoughts, right? I think it’s worth every penny to get them away from the TV, videogames or tablets and with a model like this, you may achieve just that. Convince them that it is way cooler to shoot outside than to watch Merida or Hawkeye. Now read on and decide if this one might be an option for your kids or not. See you at the end!

Bow Package Contents

The Leader Accessories 19-29 is available for right handed archers only at the moment. This means holding it in your left hand and pulling the string back with your right hand. I have a beginner’s guide here, in case you need to educate yourself a bit about these models => Beginner’s Guide.

Along with the Leader Accessories 16-29 come two fiberglass arrows that are crap. Fiberglass tends to splinter and crack, so I would suggest you get something like aluminum or carbon for your kiddos. If you want to learn more about finding good arrows, I have an article about doing just that here => Choosing The Right Arrows.

Two arrows are not enough anyway. Get a bunch of good ones right from the start, because they will get lost over time. That’s something you cannot prevent from happening. Some will get lost, some will break. That’s quite normal.

The quiver is a bit flimsy but it is enough for starting out. On the other hand your kids probably won’t need a quiver at all when shooting in your backyard, so there is no need to get a better one right from the start.

The finger tabs that come with this model are a bit small. Instead I would suggest you get an archery glove for finger protection, as it is easier to learn to shoot with such a glove than with finger tabs.

This model is intended to be finger shot, in case you might wonder, as kids might prefer doing it that way. If you would like them to shoot with a release aid, D-loop and peep sight, I suggest you look for a different model like the Barnett Vortex Lite or the Diamond Atomic.

Shooting with a release aid prevents their fingers from twisting the string at release which might result in missing the target. On the other hand, I like to keep it simple for kids. Fun should be the most important factor when learning to shoot the Leader Accessories 16-29, so if they like shooting this one with their fingers, that’s just fine. You can buy a release aid further down the line.

There is also an armguard included. Just check that it fits your kid’s forearm. If not, get one that fits it. An armguard prevents the string from slapping the forearm of the shooter. Those slaps can hurt like hell and leave some bruises that your daughter won’t be proud of. Apart from that, it is not cool to connect ‘pain’ with something she should enjoy doing.

Shooting with proper form might prevent string slaps from happening too. If you don’t know what that means, I have an article about that topic here => Proper Form For Archery.

You can get the Leader Accessories 19-29 in two finishes: Black and Blue

All you have to assemble yourself is attaching the cable guard and the bowsight. The cable guard prevents the cables from getting in the way while shooting and the sight makes aiming a lot easier. If you want to know how sighting in a sight basically works, I have a guide about doing it here => How To Sight In A Bowsight.

Even if you might have the impression that the Leader Accessories 19-29 is rather a kid’s toy, be very careful when your kids are shooting with it. It definitely can kill a rabbit or a cat and its 129 fps is enough to penetrate through a 1/4 plywood at 30 yards, so it is indeed a dangerous weapon.

Always make sure you have an adequate backstop when shooting in your backyard or elsewhere (hay bales are a good and cheap option). Never let ’em aim at things they shouldn’t shoot at – like your granny or your neighbor’s dog. Teach ’em to treat it as a weapon and to handle it in a responsible way – this will be a good lesson for their entire life.

Always check the string of the Leader Accessories 19-29 before shooting it. Parts of the string can get wear and tear over time and you need to switch it out before it snaps while being shot, which can result in injury and kids that won’t touch a model like this ever again.

To elongate the life of a string quite significantly, it is absolutely recommended to wax it regularly. Wax it before using it the first time and then once a month. As soon as you find worn areas, switch it out.

Another important thing: Never ever let your kids shoot the Leader Accessories 19-29 without an arrow in place! This is called dry firing. It can damage the compound or – in the worst case – your kiddos severely. If you have never heard that term before, I have an article about it here => Dry Firing And Its Consequences.

Noise Level / Hand Shock Of The Leader Accessories 19-29 Compound Bow

This one sounds quite normal for a kid’s model. As you won’t be able to hunt with it anyway, I think you don’t need to make it much quieter.

There was also no recognizable handshock.

Bow Specifics / Limbs / Riser / Grip / String

The bare model itself seems to be well manufactured and of a rather high quality. It has a machined aluminum riser that feels very solid and durable. It has cool looking cutouts, just like Daddy’s riser has, and some pre-drilled holes for attaching add-ons like stabilizers.

The solid ABS compressed limbs look like they can take some beating, the cams look sturdy and durable as well.

The axle to axle length of the Leader Accessories 19-29 is 32″vb . This is quite compact and should fit your kids or tweens well. Even small built females could use this model for testing the waters.

Its net weight of 2.2 lbs is light enough for kids and tweens to carry it around for hours.

Draw Cycle / Shootability

Thanks to the flawlessly working cam system, this model draws rather smoothly. The valley feels wide enough and the back wall quite solid.

The let off of 65% is generous enough to learn shooting without having to struggle with holding back a lot of weight all the time while aiming. With a let off of 65% you only need to hold 35% of the peak weight while aiming at full draw.

The draw weight ranges from 19 to 29 lbs. It can be adjusted with an Allen wrench by loosening or tightening the limb bolts that connect the limbs to the riser. One full turn equals about 5 pounds, so never try to do more than two full turns, or the limbs might detach from the riser. The number of full turns need to be the same on each limb bolt. If you can’t remember, just tighten both to the maximum and start over from there.

The draw length ranges from 24″ – 26″. This is not too much but it should cover a lot of draw lengths of kids and tweens. If your kid’s personal draw length is already longer than 26 inches, you need to look for a different model. If you don’t know how to measure your draw length, I have a guide about doing it here => How To Determine Your Draw Length.

The downside of this draw length is that this one won’t grow along with your kids forever. As soon as their personal draw length will exceed 26″, you need to get a different model, because they are not able to shoot with proper form if their draw length exceeds the draw length of the Leader Accessories 16-29.

Shooting Speed Of The Leader Accessories 19-29 Compound Bow

The manufacturer states that the shooting speed of the Leader Accessories 19-29 is 129 fps. As we don’t know how this speed was measured (arrow weight, arrow type etc.) it is not really comparable to anything. If it sends arrows downrange with 129 fps, that’s of course quite good for a 29 lbs compound.

Suitable For Hunting / Kinetic Energy (KE)

I say no, it’s not strong enough for hunting. It might be able to kill a rabbit but I would not try to do it. I know this might be a personal thing but I think this one is way too weak to kill small game.

Just take a look at Easton’s Field Chart to get an idea about how much kinetic energy is recommended for which type of game.

And remember that the kinetic energy can go down rather quickly. By decreasing the poundage or using lighter arrows, the KE can drop rather quickly. Bad weather conditions and longer distances decrease it as well.

Also check your state’s legal requirements for hunting. Some demand higher poundages than others!

If you want to learn more about kinetic energy for hunting I have an article about it here => Kinetic Energy For Bowhunting.

Suitable For Bowfishing

There are some pre-drilled holes in the riser of the Leader Accessories 19-29, so adding a bowfishing reel should be possible. The 20 lbs might be enough for penetrating the water and hit the fish well. I would prefer a higher poundage, though, but that’s just good old me. 🙂

Pricing

The Leader Accessories 19-29 is a very affordable but very well manufactured starter bow. For around 60 bucks you will get a solidly built, sturdy and durable compound for testing if your kids might be interested in archery at all without breaking the bank completely.

In case you already know that your kid will stay in archery and you want to spend more, feel free to take a look at the Barnett Vortex Lite, the Diamond Atomic or the Barnett Vortex.

Pros & Cons

Pros
– very affordable
– good quality
Cons
– crappy arrows and quiver
– not that adjustable

Summary

The Leader Accessories 19-29 Compound Bow is a great entry level model for strong kids, tweens and small built females. It has a decent quality and enough power for testing the waters and making the first steps in the world of archery with joy.

Its very affordable price makes it a great choice especially for kids and tweens that are not sure if shooting compound bows is for them at all, so the loss is not that devastating in case it is not.

A downside is that this one is not that adjustable, which means that it won’t grow along with your offspring forever. Because of this, it would be a good idea to buy it when your kids are still young enough. A teen might already be too old for it.

All in all, this one is a good choice for starting out.

Thanks for reading and shoot straight!