Well ODH....im 17 yrs older than you & quite frankly your line of thought is a little screwy....I agree safety is #1 but buying a cheapie crossbow will make your hunting experince less than desirable....don't know about down in Ohio, but up here in Canada, a good safe treestand can be had for app $200 CDN which works out to, what about a buck fifty US...anyway, you should definitely expect to pay more for your crossbow & along that lines, why not just start with the best....EXCALIBUR!!!! I have an Exocet & love it & highly recommend it to anyone....at 30 yards I was able to put the bolts right in the 10 ring right out of the box and having arthritis a compound was out of the question for me.....spend the money on both...a quality treestand & an Excalibur Crossbow....you will not be sorry!!!! Brampton Mike [8D]