I agree. Someone that has enough stuffin' s to draw 80 pounds on a compound should be able to get by with something in the 50 pound class for a first stickbow. Even so, it' s FAR better to start out too light in draw weight than it is to try starting out too heavy. It' s more important when starting out to get your form and technique down pat than it is to get raw power into the arrows. And, like GarMan said, 50 pounds is more than enough for deer.

It used to be standard practice that going to a recurve from a compound was the way to go, since recurve and compound grips were so similar. Actually, many of today' s compound grips are more similar to longbow grips, so I don' t think that old rule of thumb pans out any longer. Still, a recurve is a bit easier to shoot well than a longbow, since it' s more centershot. A non-centershot longbow is pretty critical on arrow spine. I' d recommend starting out with a recurve for that reason. Since you' re a fairly big feller, I' d say stick with bows that are AMO 60" or longer at first.

Check out the used bow market first. I was in the proshop the other day when a guy walked in with a no-name recurve he bought at a thrift store for $7. Added a $12 string, nock point and a rug rest and he was set up for flingin' arrows for less than $25. Old Pearson, Shakespeare and Wing recurves are often found in good shape for $50-75 and still shoot very well. Actually, any time you find a stickbow for less than a hundred bucks that is in good shape, it' s a bargain. That' s less than the cost of materials to make a bow.

Unlike compounds, there is very little that can go wrong with stickbows. The main thing to watch for are twisted limbs, delaminations in the glue, splits at the inside corners of the nocks and fractures in the glass. Even most beat up bows can usually be sanded down and refinished and look made to look like new again. Even twisted limbs can be cured, more often than not. I' ve revived many junker recurves over the years. The only fatal damage is delamination, transverse fractures in the glass. Split nocks can sometimes be repaired by adding limb tip overlays, back and belly, but you have to know how to do it yourself to be cost effective.

If you' re looking at buying new, I' d recommend either CheckMate or Martin' s Damon-Howatt bows. Bear, I feel, is a little pricey for what they make these days.

Check out the books ' Instinctive Shooting' I and/or II by G. Fred Asbell and ' Become the Arrow' by Byron Ferguson. Two totally different shooting techniques but lots of great info. You can either emulate one style or the other, or pick and choose elements of each style that work best for you.

Good luck, keep it simple and enjoy!