At this point, don't worry much about which one. ANY recurve will do to get you started. Start hitting the flea markets and pawn shops. Watch Ebay and the classifieds at www.women-outdoors.com Keep an eye open for something in the 40-45 pound range at a price you wouldn't mind paying. Good bows that are very common - and less expensive than most - are Pearson Colt, most anything by Shakespeare and Bear Grizzly.

You should be able to pick up any of those for less than $100. Often MUCH less, especially if they've got holes drilled in them for mounting sights and such. Even bows with filled holes are not worth what an undrilled bow is worth. Just as shootable, but not collectable. My pick of the litter would be the Grizzly.

Put the word out among your friends that you're looking for a recurve. You never know. Somebody's dad might have a recurve hiding in a closet that has been gathering dust for 30 years.

And there's always the option of making your own stick. I didn't get my first 'store bought' bow until I was about your age. Before that, I hunted small game and varmints with many bows I made myself. I'm not talking the green stick and kite string kind. My bows were a bit more advanced than that. I was taught bowmaking by my grandfather who, in turn, had learned from an Apache. (Imagine that... a Cherokee making Apache bows. LOL )

It's just within the past 5-6 years that I've gotten reinterested in making my own selfbows again. It IS satisfying, like you say. It also keeps the memory of my grampa alive. On the financial end of things... Selfbows are FREE!