I'm in the same boat as you Chadro. Long bow season and short gun season has got me looking for a bow this year. Now since I'm new and haven't been around the block like these guys have you may take my advice with a grain of salt, but I don't think used is a bad way to go as long as you examine the bow carefully and are able to shoot it a bit. I've looked at some new entry level packages, and then looked at some "ready to hunt" setups that are higher end bows in the same price range, just a couple years old. I'm actually going tomorrow to look at a Mathews Q2 which from my understanding was one of Mathews best bows a few years back that is set up ready to hunt for $300. The guy said it's in great shape, he was just ready to update. If it's as nice as he says I plan on getting it, and feel that it is probably a better bargain than a new "lower end" setup.