[Chunky]

I normally tell people when they ask to get an entry level bow at low weight (still good to hunt with) and learn form. They upgrade to something heavier that they like.

Since you said that you don't want to go that route, I will give you some different advice. We have lots of excellent bowyers right here in Texas and they all make good bows. It really comes down to personal pref and what feels the best to you.

You could go to one of the big shoots and ask guys to try there bows, and shoot the bows from the vendors. Even if you pick say Bob Lee or Bob Sarrells, who I own both and are excellent bows, they have different models, grips, and woods to choose from.

A couple of quick points, trad bows hold there value much better than compounds. If you buy a nice used bow, you can recover most, if not all of your money when you upgrade.

The one thing to watch out for...for most shooters switching...is they get to heavy a trad bow and then can not get consistent and give up. Do not over bow youself. I was shooting an 80 lb compound, and I started with a 50 lb trad bow. It is much better to shoot a lighter bow and hit exactly where you want, that shoot a heavy fast bow that misses or worse makes a bad hit.

Good luck. I have about 20 bows, if you want to come shoot sometime.