I have access to a lot of nice hunting area, but never been bow hunting in my life. I'd like to get started without paying too much money, but at the same time don't want to pay too little and not get good quality. What in your opinion would be the best bang for your buck (pun intended) bow for a novice?
I would look at brands like mission, bear, diamond, and pse. I believe they all offer ready to shoot packages that can be had for 330-500 bucks. Regardless of what some might tell you, there really isn't a "bad" bow manufacturer. They all kill deer. Find one you're most comfortable with.
Great advise. 22 years ago I started with a piece of crap Whitetail 2 (Preacher Tony ran over the "cam" after he told me a German Shepard was running after me and I forgot to put the bow in the vehicle), then moved to a used Browning (killed a few with) until I finally bought a new Alpine Silverado (that was a while ago!). Now I shoot a Hoyt that I bought used on a forum for $500 totally outfitted with a dozen ACC's). Some of the lesser expensive Bear's are really nice. Just go after it and kick butt!!! Sal
ALOT of great deals on "top of the line" equipment right now as well. New bows (2011) are coming to stores and guys are selling their "old" bows to upgrade. As Slab said, you can find slightly used 1000 dollar set-ups for less than half that. Check the classifieds here and AT for good deals.
As was also stated, there really are no "bad" or "cheap" bows anymore. Are some better, well yeah, but you just need to figure what you want to invest and go from there.
