I've been kicking around the idea of bowhunting for quite some time now and have decided that now is the time to decide. I have some archery experience. I used to shoot an old Bear Deer Hunter compound with open sights at local varmints (raccoons and opposums)

Which bow is a good light, quiet bow for a beginner?

I see Cabelas has quiet a few on sale. I think I like the Parker Frontier, but without access to a display I'm unsure.

When I was shopping I found quite a few bows and varing prices.
The Bear Truth was/is a pretty good bow for the price.
Best thing to do is go to as many places that sell and let you shoot bows and make up your own mind.

There are a lot of great bows out there to choose from, just gotta pick the best for you!

If you know what features you like in bow, write them down and do some research. If not, I'd suggest either finding some friends to help you or find a good proshop for suggestions. If you shoot a release it's hard to go wrong with any of the newer bows.

One suggestion...don't pay hundreds more for a bow because of the advertised speed of it. Speed is not that important for most bowhunting, it's just a conveniant way for advertisers to compare bows. More speed also requires more tuning to get a broadhead tipped arrow to shoot straight.

I think if I was like you and just getting back into it, I'd consider buying a cheaper used bow then learning with it. By the time you're ready to lay some serious cash down you'll have a better understanding of what you really want your bow to accomplish.

I took a look at the local stores and just by handling bows I discovered that most of them fit in my hands nicely, but several brands stood out to be better to me. I found Bear/Primos bows to be a little longer and heavier than I would like, but they were nice. Matthews bows (I handled two models) were very nice and light in my hands. PSE Bows at the store were a little heavy and were not available in my draw length or weight. Scheels Predator Xtreme G3 was the heaviest and was a kit, but was also $300 less thant the others. Bowtech's Triumph in 28-29" 70# draw weight felt the best and seemed lightest.

I was unable shoot any of them today since it was getting late. The "Bow guy" said that the Bowtech would be his choice. I'm going back tomorrow to fling some arrows.

I was in the same situation last May. I ended up with a Diamond Black Ice and am very happy. I did, however, buy the bow as a package and ended up replacing everything but the quiver. Anyhow, the bow is smooth, fast, quiet, and very easy to shoot-what more could you ask for. I tried many different arrow and settled on Easton ST/Axis FMJ 340's.

Lightweight bows are nice but there is a tradeoff of sorts.

While a pleasure to carry and hunt with, in windy situations they blow around more than heavier bows. This can make even chip shots run afoul if not careful.

I have a couple of Parker FeatherMags and it's about the only negative I find with them.

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btw, I don't buy new model bows but if I did, I'd have a Bowtech Commander.

Hey just read your post now hope have not bought a bow yet because i need to recomend the Mathews Range they have the new slim lims out and they really light and quiet. they are also beautifuly built and very fast with forgiving brase height. really have a good look at them if you can.

My suggestion is to go to a good archery pro shop and work with them. They can answer all your questions, fit the bow and accessories to you and get you started right. This will save $s and effort later on. You may find a few $ savings at BassPro or Cabela's but having a pro to help, coach, teach, and maintain your equipment will pay off big time.

Personally, I use a Martin Cougar III customized and fit to me about 4 years ago and it has been great. I tried half a dozen and his one seemed to be the best - light, quiet, an accurate.

I went through this last year myself.
After a life time of hunting with a gun I needed to learn alot so that I could make a resonable choice so that I could buy a bow that would give me close to top end performance while not buying the premium high doller equipment where I would be spending a lot of money to split hairs on performance.
What I learned is that what you want is the technolagy of ether a solo cam or bio cam. This is not exclusive to mathews or Bowtech. Although they invented the technology everyone else copied them and make a simalar bow.
I finally bought a archery research mod 37.
It was on clearance for $250.00 (about half price) and that afforded me a little room for extra money for the sights and other acceseries wich I belive are as important as the bow. Also I'll be able to transfer the acceseries to my next bow should I decide I need an upgrade later although I've been very happy with my choice so far.

I habe bowhunted for alomost 30 years. I love it like no other hunting. My first bow was a Bear Whitetail all since have been Oneida's until recently when I bought a recurve. There is nothing like the discipline in shooting a recurve. I can't wait to hunt with it this fall. Try one

I agree with Chain...go traditional.
I gave up my compound 10yrs ago and have never looked back.
For me, it wasn't any fun anymore when I was shooting. Practice time with the compound wasn't enjoyable. 60yd shots were too easy.
When I changed to Trad...everything changed!
I have more fun roaming the hills, shooting stumps and pine cones...stuff I never did with the compound...stuff most folks don't do with a compound.
Now me and my son have too much fun with the recurves!
I've killed Elk and Deer with them too.
Whatever you decide...make it fun!!!!