I am sorry this is almost a "What gun is good for deer" type question. But sooo much has changed in 20 years. I posted here a while back about target panic and had a lot of great comments. Seems more civil here than other topics as of late.

A huge problem is I am a lefty shooter. I know EVERYONE will say "Go shoot as many bows as you can and pick the one that feels the best". Not really an option. In past experience, it was not hard to get a LH bow, but it was always ordered. Not many on the shelves. And will the shops really throw a rest and sight on a bow and let you fling a few with a bow off the shelf anyhow???

I am going to wait until I find out if a drew the multi-season tag, which will ALLOW me to hunt all 3 weapons. Washington is such a backwards state.....whole different topic.

But I am starting to research now.

And I am Die-Hard rifle fanatic, so I am almost torn to even considering a bow. I feel like I am "cheating" on my true love even having thoughts about bows. And with soo many rifle projects I want to finish, appropriating funds to archery will be tough.

But conversly, I am going to get my 11 yr old son into it, and my wife shot a bow at a Outdoor Expo and loved it. She wants to get into it. So there is some good, family time to be gained.

I shot a ton as a kid. Had several bows.

But what I am reading now it that it's hard to get a BAD bow. Any truth to that? And the prices, honestly, are outrageous.

Can a decent bow be had in the $500 range? Seems every bow on the rack is plus or minus $10....they are all marked $899.

I think I would be fearful to try any small named brand. Seems any clown can make a bow and stick their own name on it.

I know Matthews has been popular and Hoyt has been the big name for years. Forgot PSE and Martin seems to have clung on for some time. Living in a rural area there are only a handful of Archery shops in a 100 mile radius, however, there is a Hoyt dealer just 3 miles from me, so that may be my answer right there.

I usually shop online for the best deal possible, but I think in Archery, it would pay bigger dividends on the back end to buy local and have the service on hand to back it up? Will need tuned, peeps, maint, etc? Thoughts?

So the overall question....what do I look for?

Without being uber-Macho, I am close to retard strong. But with my prior target panic issues and poor form, I think the last thing I want to do is try pulling max weight. Bows used to range 20 pounds or so. Now it looks like there is no range in draw weigh. A 60 is just a 60? Thoughts on this? I don't think I will ever hunt elk with a bow. Probably typical tree stand of white tails.

And from what I've gathered the longer axle to axle and more brace height, the easier it is to shoot or is more forgiving?

Opinions or thoughts on $500 bows?

Will appreciate any advice you all can give. Help me with somewhere to start and I will do additional research.


Please God, give me some good tags this year....