RE: how tradtional are you
mms, it sounds like you are in the same situation I was four years ago. I didn't know anyone who shot a traditional bow, and no local archery shop offered anything in the way of traditional supplies. To make matters worse, compound shooters who owned the local shops thought I was nuts. They kept saying things like, "why do you want to shoot a longbow? They aren't accurate and you will never kill anything." I had to order everything online, and visited numerous message boards, but it took me about two years to finally understand the dynamics of how an arrow flies, etc. I'm still getting there. I've even managed to find a few traditional shoots, and found that many of the people at these events were no different than myself. Most of the people into the primitive and traditional scene are very friendly and helpful, but as you said, finding them can be a challenge. I would still reccomend learning from somebody else, rather than going my route. I spent a lot of time frustrated and unhappy with my shooting. Of course, I have never shot a bow, of any sort, when I bought my first longbow. In fact, I bought a fifty lb bow, and injured my rotator cuff after three months.
I think that there are two ways you can go with this route:
1) You could tell us where you live, and somebody might know a good custom bowyer in your area. I've found that locals who make longbows in their spare-time are often cheaper to shop with than commercial vendors. You can also visit them and try out their equipment, they should be able to help you out from there. Give advice on what weight bow, build it to your draw, take into consideration things like practice and form, etc. They can even advise you on what spine weight to use. This is ideal, but to do this, you might have to travel a couple of hours out of town to meet one of these guys. I would search the yellow pages in surrounding towns for archery vendors, and call every one of them and ask about traditional equipment. Lots of archery stores, even compound shops, will offer good made by local craftsman. Try to get that craftsman's telephone number if you find a store that offers these wares.
2) You could look for a good used bow, and if you do this, I would reccomend a less expensive model with a low draw weight. I started too high and hurt myself. I would spare anyone a rotator cuff injury, and if your muscles are new to archery in general, and you go out and shoot 100 arrows, it's very easy to injure yourself with even fifty pounds of weight on the bow. If you can't find a traditional style bow to shoot, ask yourself what style of bow appeals to you the most, and look for that style. You could ask the previous owner what type of arrows it likes. You could also ask around here. One thing I have found with spine, is that the lower the better for me. This is not true for many people I know, so it's probably going to take some experimentation on your part before you find just the right sort of arrow. If you choose to shoot wood arrows, Three Rivers Archery offers a spine tester set of arrows. This is good because you can get eight arrows spined in four different categories of weight. You can even pay a little more and them assemble the arrows for you. I reccomend you do this if you haven't built any arrows on your own. Others may disagree.... You may of course, decide not to use wooden at arrows at all. I have never shot a carbon or aluminum arrow, so I can't help you there.
3) Get a couple of books on the fundamentals of archery. It's best if you don't have to pay for them; the library is a very good option. Failing that, Three Rivers Archery offers books, as well as some other sites on the net. I believe that HorseFeathers.com offers a pretty good selection of books on shooting. Aiming, or lack there of, is not an easy thing for me to reccomend to anyone. Some people will swear by Asbell or Fergusson, or whomever. I will just say this, I really like Byron Ferguson's book, Become the Arrow. It basically teaches you how to gap shoot, and I might take flack for this, but I think it was easier for me to grasp instinctive shooting only after I had understand how my arrows were flying. I no I am not as good of a shot as sommanyof the guys on this board (judging from the group sizes I've seen mentioned), so hopefully they will give you some advice. Both Ferguson's and Asbell's books will give you tips on stance, bow cant, etc. I would read as many books on shooting as I could before actually purchasing a bow (I didn't do this either).
4) Stick around and let these well seasoned gentlemen give you some tips. They probably have a lot more to say on the subject than I do, and I've learned a lot by simply lurking on this board.