If your only going to spend $500 then I would look for used bows more so than new ones. Craigslist for your area or any other place you may be able to find them would work. I say this because a top manufacturer Mathews/Hoyt, etc. is going to cost you over double that by the time you set it up. Just make sure you goto an archery shop first and get your draw length measured before you just go get one. That way you can figure out if you wanna shoot release which you will wanna do and what kind to shoot. Good luck.