Hey I'm new to archery and I want to start archery as a hobby. I am not necessarily hunting this season but I just want to get a feel. I'm seventeen, but I am having trouble picking a bow. There aren't any specialty bow shops for hundreds of miles, all we have are Dick's Sporting Goods, McSports, and Wal-Mart. Should I just start with a youth bow or go with a $100+ bow?

I got mine from ebay. It's not the newest or fastest by any stretch of the imagination, but the price was right! It's a Bear compound and it's currently set at a 30 inch draw and 42# draw weight. I've put a sight, rest, and quiver, and with lots of help it shoots pretty good. It's kind of a risk buying that way, so if you don't know much about bows it would help to have someone who knows about it check out what your looking at. If you find something interesting, the people here could most likely steer you in the right direction.

Until you get experience I suggest you buy new.
You will be surprised what kind of junk some people will pawn off on you and not even have an ounce of remorse for ripping you off, But if you have an experienced person that knows what they are doing and you can trust them you should be ok. I have found that if I buy cheap, I pay twice. Where in Illinois are you?
Good luck

I'm sure you can handle a regular, non-youth, bow. Hopefully, the guy at Rick's can get you into the correct one, and all I mean here is the correct draw weight and correct draw length. If those 2 things aren't suited for you, then you won't have any fun giving it a shot. I believe my first bow cost about $150, was nothing fancy, but I had fun and now I'm still at it - but with a slightly more expensive bow .

I have a Bear Instinct that I bought in 2004 I believe. I spent around $400 for it from Bass Pro. Great bow for the money. I have the 60#limbs cranked down and should be somewhere in the neighborhood of 280-290 fps if my string hasn't stretched too much. Some of the newer Bear models are more expensive but are nice bows, but there are still some around the $400 mark that should be a good place to start.
Get measured for draw length, and pull a few different weights to see if you'll need to 60 or 70# limbs.

I wouldn't trust a place that can't help you get set up the correct way, by this I mean with the correct draw length, poundage, and that can aid in helping you with correct form. I think it would be a good idea to do some searching and find a bow that you like, its also really important to shot as many bows as you can in order to find one that you are comfortable with. Not only will this make you better shot but will also be more enjoyable then searching your yard for arrows all day long.

I'm no expert, just getting started. I picked up a Diamond Rock from Dick's after trying a few. They helped me get it setup and I got a huge discount because they are running clearance deals right now. About 60% off.