Contents
Bow Package Contents
Before we start, I would like to recommend to parents that have no idea about compound bows to read my beginners guide to get a quick overview of the whole topic. It makes no sense to buy something without knowing anything about it – at least in my opinion, so if you are completely new to archery, feel free to start here => Beginner’s Guide To Compound Bows.
The SA Sports Majestic youth comes strung in a right hand version only, at the moment. It is sold by SA Sports, which is based in Allentown, PA. I assume the Majestic is manufactured overseas, because it is available at a very low price, but as long as SA Sports takes care of their customer service, that should not be a problem at all.
The accessories are more or less cheaply made and you will need to switch out some of them for sure. The arrow rest is flimsy and tends to break sooner or later, thus I would suggest you replace it with a Whisker Biscuit or other ‘brush style’ arrow rest. This will make shooting a lot easier for your kiddos, because the arrows will have a better hold, so they won’t move up or down on the string all the time which makes shooting accurately very hard, especially for younger children.
You could also switch out the adjustable Brass Single Pin Sight. On the other hand, maybe it’s not worth it, as thie Majestic does not cost too much anyway and will be outgrown by your kids sooner rather than later. For testing if they’d be interested in archery it should be enough. You may need to sight it in, though. If you have no idea how to do that, please feel free to read my guide here => How To Sight In A Compound Bow.
But again, I would definitely switch out the arrow rest, as it makes a big difference while shooting, which may spare your girls a lot of frustration later.
Pink camouflage? What else! The finish looks quite good and should fit your little princesses well. I would suggest you don’t buy this one for your sons or grandsons, as they won’t be that amused about it. Maybe take a look at the Barnett Banshee, Barnett Lil Banshee or the Barnett Vortex (if they are a bit older already), instead.
You will get 2 target arrows along with this model. Those are target arrows for youth archers, which means blunt tips and probably made from fiberglass. The blunt tips are okay and your neighbor‘s cat will thank you for them, but the arrows are crap nonetheless. As they won’t last long anyway, I would suggest you get some carbon arrows 26″ – to 27″ inches long (maybe take a look at the Carbon Thunder Express Youth Arrow Pack 52014 or the Easton Genesis 2). Don’t buy arrows that are shorter than 26 inches, as the maximum draw length of the SA Sports Majestic youth is 26″ as well, so if your child is stronger, a shorter arrow could land in her hand at full draw!
The Full Size Integrated Quiver can hold up to 4 arrows and is mounted on the opposite side of the arrow rest (arrow rest is on the left side, the quiver on the right side).
What sucks a bit is that there is no instruction how to set up the bowsight and the quiver. The arrow rest is on the left side of the riser, the sight goes to the right (you need to attach the sight holder first). The quiver needs to be installed on the same side as the sight. If you have no idea about how to set this up, bring it to a professional shop. They can set it up for you for a small fee. This will save you some nerves and prevents the compound from getting damaged in the worst case 🙂 .
The Majestic Youth also has a cable guard that keeps the cables out of the arrow’s way.
I would replace the Finger Tab with an archery glove. It’s not that easy to shoot with a tab and especially younger children should not have to mess around with it while learning to shoot with proper form – which is way more important to get consistent and good results. So shooting with a glove is easier, in my book.
An Arm Guard prevents your girls from getting string slaps to their forearms. Bruises don’t look that well and experiencing pain while shooting might lead to not wanting to deal with a model like this anymore. So yeah, that one makes sense. Basically, string slaps are a result of not shooting with proper form, so they are an indicator that something is not right. If you want to learn more about ‘proper form’, please read my article about it here => Proper Form For Compound Bow Shooting.
The string on this model is solid, which means that it’s not possible to serve a peep sight in. As it is meant for introducing children at the age of 9 – 12 years to archery, that is no big deal in my opinion. If they like it you can get them more full sized models later, when they have outgrown this one.
A bit of a downer is that there’s no nocking point installed on the string. Such a point (usually a small metal ring or a D-loop for release aid shooters) acts as a reference point, so the archers are able to nock the arrows in at the same spot every single time they shoot. This is important to achieve some consistency and to be able to detect mistakes while shooting and to correct those. You can wrap some tape around the string or you can bring it to a pro shop for having a nocking point set up. Getting a Whisker Biscuit will make shooting a bit easier already, getting a nocking point as well will make it perfect!
Another tip: get some bow wax and wax the string and cables regularly. This will prolong their life, so you don’t have to switch them out too early.
You will get a one year warranty not including replacable parts (arrows, string, cables and other moving parts) from SA Sports. The warranty gets voided by improper use, abuse or modifications by the customer. Think drilling some more holes into the riser or dry firing (Need to learn more about dry firing? Start here => Dry Firing A Compound Bow ).
Noise Level / Handshock Of The SA Sports Majestic Youth Compound Bow
As this is a kid’s model, I don’t think it is important to judge hand shock or noise. It should introduce your girls to archery, which means having fun and being outside, as far as I am concerned.
Bow Specifics / Limbs / Riser / Grip / String
The SA Sports Majestic youth is quite sturdy. It looks well made and durable enough to survive your little princesses and it is a really accurate shooter at close distances. Some parents stated that their girls were even accurate up to 20 yards, but I would at least buy a Whisker Biscuit and add a nocking point for those ranges.
The limbs and the riser are made of a rather lightweight material (could be composite) like a lot of the full sized models out there, which is pretty standard nowadays.
Its total length is 34.5 inches and its net weight is 3.5 pounds which makes it a short, compact and light model that your kids can carry around for hours easily.
Draw Cycle / Shootability
Overall this one is smooth to draw and shoots as accurately as it gets for a kid’s model.
The draw weight of the SA Sports Majestic youth is set to 20 lbs, non-adjustable. This means it should work for most girls that are between 9 and 12 years old. There might be younger ones that are able to draw it, while at the same time there might be older ones that cannot. So a closer look at the individual archer won’t hurt 🙂 . If the color is not that important to your girls, you could take a look at the Crosman Elkhorn as an alternative. If it is, the Bear Brave would be an option as well.
The draw length range is 24″ – 26″. If your kid has a longer personal draw length the SA Sports Majestic Youth is not for her. If you want to know how to measure your kid’s draw length, feel free to read my guide here => How To Determine Your Draw Length.
Shooting Speed Of The SA Sports Majestic Youth Compound Bow
There is no info out there, as this one is a kid’s model.
Suitable For Hunting / Kinetic Energy (KE)
Surely not! This one is way too weak to kill anything. Apart from that it won’t meet any legal minimum draw weight requirements of any state. It is a children’s model, after all. Use it for target practicing and to show your girls how to deal with a weapon like this. When they outgrow it (when they are 13 to 15 years old), gift them a better one with more power or one that is widely adjustable and can grow with them for years. Then it’s time to go bowhunting.
Suitable For Bowfishing
I would not try it, even if I could attach a bowfishing reel to it. It’s too weak to penetrate the water and hit the fish well.
Pricing
At around 60 bucks the SA Sports Majestic youth is a rather affordable option to test if your daughter might like archery at all. The compound itself is really well made and sturdy. If you want to get the most out of it, you need to invest in a better arrow rest and better arrows, though. But even then you are way off cheaper than with similar higher priced models of the big brands.
Pros & Cons
Pros
– very affordable to test the waters
– cool color for girls
Cons
– cheap accessories
– cheap arrows
Summary
As the SA Sports Majestic youth compound bow is recommended for children from the age of 9 – 12, I would not expect too much of it. It is a model that will introduce your girls to archery, nothing more. It is not for hunting or bowfishing and it is not meant to be shot by adults (I found some complaints by grown ups about this model, but hey, they were trying to shoot a kid’s compound, after all, so what did they expect?).
Of course there are better models out there, but those are also priced a lot higher than this one, so at the end of the day, it is a decision that you have to make for your daughter. I would stay with a compound like this as long as until the kids have outgrown it naturally. Until then, they will learn how to deal with such a model, how to handle it in a responsible way and how to maintain it. If they would still like to stay in archery after that point in time, I would gift them a better compound bow for tweens or teens, as they have proven to be ready for it.
Thanks for reading and shoot straight!
Just purchased a majestic youth bow for my daughter and it didn’t have instructions to put it together I can’t figure out where the two small screws go
Unhappy with this bow came without instructions and I don’t know where the 2 small screws that’s came with it are supposed to go how about some info and instructions . Please respond