When I first started shooting, I was about 10 years old. I found an old recurve in our attic, and since my dad never bow hunted, I had no guidance at all. You guys are gonna laugh at this, but I shot that old recurve with the string on BACKWARDS so the string was actually super loose and everytime I shot it, it stung the heck out of my fingers.
A few years later, my dad got an old Bear compound bow and I started using that. Long story made short, it wasn't until last year that I bought a "real" bow and began bowhunting. I practiced as much as possible and held pretty good groups at 10-15 yards from the get-go. Third time out hunting last fall, I killed a doe and I was happy as heck.