First, take a gun and bowhunters safety course- more practical experience in a couple eveneings than you can gain anywhere else. Next,if you want to learn to hunt and not just aspire to shooting, learn the basics: how to sharpen a knife, start and maintain a fire in an emergency (hypothermia kills more hunters than anything else), gun safety than marksmanship.
Buy a good compass (not a gps) and learn to use it. they are still reliable without batteries. The basics are very cheap. Next, spend all the time you can outdoors observing.Turn off the TV and computer. You will learn darn little on them, especially the TV shows. Zero hunting skills are taught, only merchandising. The time spent sitting could be spent in the woods. The most succsessful hunters spend far more time in the woods off season than in the woods during it. The Boy Scouts Field Book (not Handbook) is a great source of all the basics of outdoorsmanship. Hunting comes later. The best part about it is most of the basics you can teach yourself at home, then apply later in the woods.

Just curious, roughly where do you live and what is your age? I started hunting with my grandsons when they were about 12 years old and although they are now 17 and 19 they depend on going with me hunting most of the time. You need someone you can depend on for a few years. As nobody in your family hunts, do you have a boyfriend that hunts?

im 18 and i live in canal fulton ohio i dont know if you know where that is sorta near canton. and no i dont have a boyfriend that hunts i did and thats where i first started liking hunting cause he had taken me with him and i was always with him putting up trail cams and checking them, putting up tree stands, etc. but i dont really have him to help me anymore.

I would check if there is an archery shop in your area and try a few used bows out to see what would fit you proparly. Some of the shops have indoor archery ranges and can give you some great advice. Also visit the archery forums as some great advice will come from there as well. There is nothing wrong target practicing while waiting to take your hunter safety course. Just keep asking your questions even if it may appear kind of stupid to you as there is no such thing as a stupid question here. Good Luck on what you decide.

By the way welcome to the forums.

I have yet to see a pro shop that sells used bows, you can find used bows on ebay and forum classifieds, but personally, Im not a big believer in used compounds, you have no idea what the previous owner did to it, or how they maintained it, and by the time you have it re strung, which i would definitely do when buying used , its really not worth the few $ youll save. I would look for a new low poundage bow 40-50# with adjustable drawlength Ive seen pretty nice ones in the 300-400$ range. have a pro measure your draw and tune it for you.

I never told her to buy one at a proshop.. I do think it is a good idea to try a few different ones out though.. Some do have trade ins though that may or may not suite her needs..

...The only used bows Ive seen in a, "archery shop" "pro shop", whatever you wanna call it, are the ones people drop off to be worked on. How is she gonna try one out? What the point in trying out a used one anyway? Shops usually have a demo bow for most new bows they sell.

Like I said most used bows are sold privately, not in stores, bad avenue for a begginer looking for a rig.

For a rifle or shotgun, used is fine, for a bow Id buy new.

Yup i gotta agree DBH. Go to proshop and get a bow that is meassured to you.They'll measure you right,get you setup with the right poundage and you might even run across a hunting partner if you hang around the joint awhile

okayy thanks i know theres one or 2 around me for sure.
i believe my friend has a bow that she used to use but she no longer hunts and i think she'd let me use it do you think that'd be ok?

As long as you're the draw length as she is.If a bow doesn't fit you properly you will not be able to shot it accurately.I would take the bow from your friend and head to the proshop and see if it fits you right.From there the proshop could advise you.