Okay, i'm new to the bow hunting world. I'm looking to get a bow or a crossbow. First question, which would you all reccommend, a bow or a crossbow? Secondly, what would be a good FIRST bow or crossbow? I'm trying not to break the bank. I've been trying to unload some softball stuff that i just got this year. I was interested in maybe trading some of it for a bow. Well, somebody please help me out. Not much time and i need to practice, practice, practice, etcc.....

The first thing you need to do is see if crossbows are allowed during the archery only season in the state you are hunting in. I knowfor a fact crossbows aren't allowed in the archery only season in Texas. Bows make it more challenging anyway so I would go with a bow. There are a lot of good bows out there but the ones I would recommend are in the $700 range. If you are on a budget, go to your local bow shop and shoot whatever they have in your price range and pick the bow that FEELS THE BEST TO YOU. I think Diamond and PSEhave some pretty nice bows in the $400 - $500 range. For your first bow, look for a good package deal with a sight, quiver, and rest(probably a whisker bisquit). It will be hard to get everything you need for this season for under $500. You are right, you need to make an educated decision soon because becoming a good shot doesn't happen over night. Congrats on your decision to pick up bowhunting and don't worry, if you put forth the effort, you'll be ready come October. I must warn you though, once you start bowhunting you wont want to gun hunt anymore!

If you are not sure what you really want to do you may want to buy a used bow from a place that you can trust. If you are going new and don't want to spend a lot of money you can buy combo deals from a lot of manufacturers. Bear, PSE, Diamond and Bowtech come to mind. A place like Basspro also has bows made by Parker, Reflex and Bowtech that they sell under the Redhead name in combo deals.

The best thing you can do is go shoot as many bows as you can and choose the one that you like the most. Even if itcost you more money you won't even think about that once you start shooting good groups and the first time you are in the woods during the season.

I spent about $200 more on just my bow than I expected to and at first was apprehensive. Now, I'm glad I bought my Allegiance.

As for crossbows. I find them actually harder to shoot unless you are sitting with a good rest. They are heavy and hard to hold steady while standing. However, there are a lot of people that either use them because of health issues or because they do not require as much practice and they are ready to shoot after you cock the string back. They are also a little louder.

I think that you should also look at Martin Bows. Martin does not save there good technology for there expensive bows. I shoot an 05 Martin Jaguar that I paid about $400.00 for, it came as a package. A good friend of mine just purchased the Martin Bengal and I am blown away at it's performance and looks. He paid around $500.00 and I would rank it with any $700.00 bow on the market today.