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I am looking for a moderately priced bow (for a beginner); something in the $400 range.

My local pro shop carries the Parker line, which has models at $300 (Wildfire) and $400 (Trailblazer).

What do you think? Do I really need a Hoythews at $800?

AAhahhaahhahahahahaha. Mee too, looks like a decent (New) bow starts somewhere around "more than I wanna pay".
I was told to look in the pawn shops and have not yet, the White Tail Hunter still works but I do want a new one.

I actually have a WH I took from my neighbor's trash...but by the time I put money into it for all the accessories I figure I might as well start new...just hate the idea of spending the equivalent of a new gun on somethign that will be obsolete in a few years.

Can't wait to get in a stand though.

My friend shoots a Parker and it is a nice quiet bow. I have a PSE and i like it alot. It is a little louder than his though. But mine is faster so i guess it's a trade off. I have to try a few more things to see if i can get it a touch quieter. You can get a lot of Bow for $400 or less. If you are a beginner you may not appreciate the high end stuff. Save your money and buy more stuff

You are in LUCK!. If you can forget about the bragging rights associated with the Hoythews hype there are lots of very nice bows out there. The new Reflex line is very nice - but there are a few of the last year's models still available for deep discounts. I am personally very interested in a new Mission X3(made by Mathews)- These have the features from Mathews' bows that actually count and sell for $339 Retail, usually they can be had for a bit less. I don't really need a new bow as my '03 Hoyt Ultratec is still a very good shooter, but for ~$300 that X3 is really on my mind. Other great bows for a budget are the Bear Truth and the Diamond line. Try to get out and shoot as many as possible, use your own judgement (not necessarily the pro shop owners' wanting to sell the high price stuff with higher margins) and get yourself a great shooter and still be able to gas up the truck and go hunting.

I as a beginner too, went to the pawn shop bought a $75 P.O.S. shot it for the first year spent some money on some accessories, next year bought a PSE set up out of the paper, spent some more money changing some things that didn't work for me, All in All could have went and bought the modern kit for less than I messed around with old crap for. Just go get what you want. But good luck on figuring out what you want.

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I have a Mission X3. I spent a total of $400 on the bow package. It's nothing fancy, but it works well. I have mine set at 58# draw weight (28" draw length). It launches my 411 grain arrows at 260 fps. I whacked a caribou with it a couple of weeks ago, so I can't complain with it's performance.

I have a parker too. I got the sights, quiver,and whisker biscuit rest for $449. I like it just fine.

I just got my first bow in about 15 years. I didn't want to spend a bunch of money either. I ended up buying a Bowtech Tomkat package. The bow is nice. It's compact, shoots smooth and is quiet. It also seems to be pretty fast, but I have not shot it through the chrony yet. The package was $499. Came with all but a stabilizer, release and arrows. 3 weeks into this new venture and I've replaced all of the accessories except the quiver and the wrist sling. The quiver will be next to go, as I despise the cheap piece they stuck on it. It's a camo bow and they put a black quiver on it for god's sake. Overall, I love my bow, but would have been just as well off buying a little more expensive bow and outfitting it from the ground up, which is what I was trying to avoid. Bottom line, you can get into a bow for not much money. Whether you're happy with that bow depends on you and you alone. I'm tickled with my bow, and now I'm pleased with the accessories that are on it. Don't regret it a bit, but I'm might could have had a little better bow for the money I've spent, but this one slings arrows just like all the rest.