Im looking for help on buying a bow for hunting. Im not wanting the top of the line bow. IE not a $600 bow. This will only realistically be used 2 or 3 times a year. I have went to a store locally and they recomended the Pearson 440 Quad package. I thought I would post here first to get input from ARFCOM first. Also Im a left hand shooter and I know some makers only make RH bows. Thanks for the advise.

My vote would be for a nice, simple recurve, the ol' stick n' string.  All those fancy compounds look cool but just remember, the more crap ya' got on your bow the more that can go wrong with it.  I picked up a nice 45# Ben Person "Rogue" recurve, used for $75 bucks.  It's quiet(something you've got to work on with a compound) light weight(never did see a light weight compound) and I can carry an extra bow string in my gear and change it in the field as easy as pie.  Trust me, I've owned both recurves and compounds and the recurves are much eaiser to set up and shoot.  Sure, you won't be burning up the grass with an arrow at 300fps but you'll not have all the problems either.  

Get a PSE. My buddy just bought one at a pawn shop for $125 with all the goodies.  I love mine.  Last year I bought a top of th eline Matthews and ended up selling it.  Just take it and have it restrung and paper tested.  Paper testing is critical to having a consistent shooting bow. Also have your draw length measured.  One inch makes a lot of difference.  There is no use in paying for  a new bow.  You don't need fancy sights they will just break, trust me.  I ended up putting a single steel pin for mine.  Then jump on th roof with a dozen arrows and paractice about 10 minutes a day.
Happy hunting

I second PSE. I know several people who have PSE bows and all are happy with them. I've actually shot a couple of them and it was enough to convince me that my next bow will be a PSE.

They can't be beat for the price.

After having PSE bows for 15 years, I have switched to Martin Bows. My friends have nothing but problems with their newer PSE's. We even took them back to the Factory in Tucson and could not get repaired correctly. So we all bought different bows that are loghter, faster, easier to shoot, cost less and the factory sends you tons of spair parts for FREE and in quanity if you even suspect something MAY be amiss! Screw PSE! I'm not paying for any more of Pete Shipely's African bow hunts ! And my son has a Fred Bear V-300 split limb that is the same bow as a Jennings Carbon- something for 4 times the cost of the his bow! Get something that fits you and is comfortable to shoot.

If you are only going to use the bow 2 or 3 times a year, I hope that you aren't going hunting with it.  You need to practice, practice, and practice some more before you are even minimally proficient.  It does a real disservice to the game & to us bowhunters to have some rookie out there just flinging arrows around.  You don't want to wound game if you can help it & the best way to prevent that is to befome proficient with the bow.  Unfortunately even the best archers loose game sometimes & you want to minimize the chance of that happening.

Besides, once you really get into punching paper there is sometimes a "zen" to it.

You could also join a club that has an outdoors range in the woods, so that you get some realistic practice.  Some of the clubs have life size targets.  Good luck.

I've shot many bows, and most have been already mentioned.

I shoot a Mathews now and love it.

Check around, find your sizes, fit preferences... etc.

Check e-Bay!!!

Semper Fi

I'm a rabid bowhunter and gear guru and been so since I was a teenager, I think I can help.  

There are plenty of good, quality bows out ther for every price range.  Consider that the $250 bow today is light years beyond the top of the line from 10 years ago.

I shot PSE bows for many years.  Never had any problems and took deer with all of them.  Shot an Onieda bow for one season.  Sold it promptly.  Sounded like a rifle going off and was very heavy.  Started out on a Bear Whitetail.  I used to shoot squirrels with it at 25 yards all the time in my back yard using fingers and KMart arrows!  Graduated to the Bear Whitetail II.  Same thing but was a bit harder to shoot with fingers as it was a bit shorter axle to axle.  I now shoot a Mathews Q2@70lbs 30" draw a Scott caliper release, string loop, Fletcher Tru-Peep, Gloden Key Futura Premier rest, and an X-Ring stabilizer.  yes it is expensive, but it is the first bow that "fit" me well enough to stop trying to find one that was easier for me to shoot accurately.. Interestingly enough I gave my brother my 1 year old PSE Thunderbolt LC and I shot very well with that bow but I disliked the lower brace height.  He shoots it very well also.

My best advice is to go to a pro shop and give the guy your price range and try every bow in that arena.  You are gonna hear all the stuff like Hoyt blows, Mathews is better, Martin is great Pearson sux, Jennings rules, Golden Eagle is shit and vice versa.  Don't listen to ANY of it.  Every manufacturer out ther makes a quality bow nowadays and they are all capable of outshooting the beginning archer and all good enough to take deer at all practical archery ranges with ease(practice not witholding).

I do have some suggestions.  First buy a package deal if you must but unless you get a good sight and rest you might as well upgrade.  Get carbon arrows if possible.  Trust me.  A beginner with go through a dozen aluminums in short order and carbons are not that expensive anymore.  What brand is up to you, I shoot Beman ICS Hunter 400's.  Next most important is the rest.  If you have a shitty rest that is not adjustable you will have fits getting your arrows to group well, espescially broadheads.  The NAP Quicktune 1000 is a great rest and not real expensive at all.  Or you can try the Whisker Biskut.  My buddy has one and loves it.  YMMV.  Bottom line is the stuff on the bow is more important sometimes than the bow itself.  A shitty rest and you'll never shoot good.  Cheap arrows and you'll bend them all to hell real quick.  One more thing.  Most package deals come with halfway decent sights and that's fine you will have to figure what you like best there, I can't say what the best all around set up because the sight thing is a personal preference.  However, you most likely get a cheap stabilizer made from bar stock steel.  It serve as only a counter balance and a torque reducer at best.  Look into a shock and recoil reducing stabilizer from one of the name brand makers out ther like X-Ring, Sims, etc.  These really work and are not gimmick money makers.

Most of all practice as much as possible and become familiar with your equipment to the point where you notice every little detail.  This will help you learn what to look for when you get a small noise upon release or a tuning problem that pops up.  

Hope this helps.

One more thing.  Walk away from any shop that will not let you shoot several models.  IM me if you need more info.  

Listen to everything Valkyrie had to say!!!

After you go to the pro shop.  Go to your local pawn shop and buy the whole package for 1/4 - 1/3 of the price.  The deals on bows at the pawn shop can't be beat.  

If you feel guilty, send me the money that you saved.

my .02,

Jeff