RE: Experienced bowhunters- Please help with my list!
Find a shop that treats you well and has a range first, there are plenty of great bows out there.
I made the mistake of buying my first bow "off the rack" at an Army/Navy store that had bows on sale. After struggling for a month, I took it to a regular Archery shop who showed me the drawlength was too long. He switched the string and adjusted the cables as much as he could but he(we) could never get it quite right- expensive lesson[&:]
It took me some $ and a ton of practice to unlearn the bad habits I developed shooting that bow.
UR