If you are not sure what you really want to do you may want to buy a used bow from a place that you can trust. If you are going new and don't want to spend a lot of money you can buy combo deals from a lot of manufacturers. Bear, PSE, Diamond and Bowtech come to mind. A place like Basspro also has bows made by Parker, Reflex and Bowtech that they sell under the Redhead name in combo deals.

The best thing you can do is go shoot as many bows as you can and choose the one that you like the most. Even if itcost you more money you won't even think about that once you start shooting good groups and the first time you are in the woods during the season.

I spent about $200 more on just my bow than I expected to and at first was apprehensive. Now, I'm glad I bought my Allegiance.

As for crossbows. I find them actually harder to shoot unless you are sitting with a good rest. They are heavy and hard to hold steady while standing. However, there are a lot of people that either use them because of health issues or because they do not require as much practice and they are ready to shoot after you cock the string back. They are also a little louder.