Thanks Trapper. Yeah, there are many bows out there; that's exactly the "problem"! Where the heck do you start without breaking the bank. (And I don't want to buy from outside of Canada b/c Customs is backed up 4-5 weeks).

Here's something I found on Cabelas regarding a newcomer choosing a compound bow:

"What John needs is the best of all the worlds, with as little trade off as possible. I would recommend a reflex (to straight) riser design, coupled with a solo cam. He would need the power of a 70-pound bow for elk but could tune it down to the low 60's for practice and whitetail hunting. A short axle-to-axle length would be nice for tree stand hunting and carrying up steep hills and through brushy draws, but it is not as necessary as accuracy and speed (especially for the walking and stalking elk hunt). If he could afford it, I would choose to have a machined riser over cast, to get the smaller grip and lighter weight. Now that we have narrowed down the traits desired, several bows can fit into this criterion. Now it is up to style, price and name brand. For example, the Reflex Xtreme, PSE Quantum, and the HCA Powerforce XL all would work well."

The Reflex and Powerforce can be had for reasonable $$$ but finding them is the problem. I'm looking for something like these in the $200-$300 range.