ORIGINAL: Wingbone

Here's a couple if features I generally look for in a bow:
I stay away from bows that advertise having "hardwood limbs" as opposed to "Maple" or "Red Elm". I don't know what I'm are getting.
I Look for a bow with a low, radiused shelf. This puts my arrow right on top of my hand. Unless you plan to use an elevated rest, this makes shooting off the shelf easier. A radiused shelf makes a better launch pad for an arrow. My personal preferance is for a short riser on a bow. This gives me longer limbs on the same length bow and, I think, a smoother draw and better cast. I also look for longer hooks on the recurves. This makes for minimal stacking at the end of the draw.