Been looking at bows for a few years now. I think I'm going to break down and buy one soon. This will be my first bow so I'm giving you guys an opportunity to school me on the best way to get started, a good bow for beginners (youngish average sized male, no real size or strength obstacles to overcome), things I don't know I should, how to pick arrows, etc. Won't consider hunting until I know what I'm doing, so basically target shooting at first. Done some research and was thinking about a Bear Species since I've heard it is a good starter, if I love it I'll upgrade to a serious bow later on. Right now trying to get my feet wet. Thanks.

Edit

if you can do it, get to an archery shop. Tell them your budget, and your approach. Your approach is correct, get a basic mid-level bow, then later move up to a better bow. At that point the correct bow will choose you.

Shoot as many bows as you can. It is ok to go spendy on sights, quivers, rests, etc, because you can move them to your next bow.

even just starting out, a bow should stand out as feeling right for you. This will change over time as your shooting evolves, assuming you stay with it.