Used bows and used cars always make me nervous. And with the quality of bows being made these days at a price point less than $500 there really is no reason to go used. You get a full warranty and the bows will shoot better than you or I can. In a lot of ways most of the new $299 bows available today are easier to shoot and more enjoyable for novices because of it. And with few exceptions they out perform the $1,000 bows of just a few years ago.
I think of bows a lot like cars. While it is cool to own a race car or a Maserati it makes no sense to own one until you first learn to drive. Find out if you like the sport first. Concentrate on the shooting basics. And then if you find yourself fully enjoying the driving experience donate the Ford Focus to charity and buy what ever your budget allows. By then you will know what you like and what you don't. Affording a second car as a backup incase your primary set of wheels ends up in the shop isn't such a bad thing either
I see way too many folks who break the bank, sell their first born child, and give a pint of blood as a down payment on a $1,000 Hoyt or Mathews before they even know how to strap on a release properly. And they wind up with a bow that shoots fast and looks cool, but ends up being too much for their experience level. They think the high priced social status and chronograph will buy them success. And when it doesn't they get frustrated and leave the sport. Meanwhile, guys who think form and function first and social status later tend to enjoy themselves, add better accessories
that do make a difference, catch much less flack from the spouse, and enjoy success much earlier in the learning curve.
Check out the "Hunter Photos" on Bear Archery's website. There are 1595 photos last time I checked. Well over half of those happy and excited bowhunters took their animals with bows costing less than $499. And you will immediately notice that horn size and trophy quality does not directly relate to dollars spent on the bow. Look at how many young kids there are having the time of their lives - successful with $299 bows. I'd like to shoot as good a quality animal as half those kids are shooting! And more than that I wish I still had as much fun as they seem to be having in those photos
Guys laugh at me for losing $100 worth of arrows shooting grouse. I just can not help myself when a big old fatty blue sits on a branch and dares me to shoot him! I have an absolute blast clanging arrows through the branches!!! But I can usually lose two dozen arrows a year on grouse and still spend less money on my equipment than most of the guys I hunt with. I preferred to spend my money on arrows and not miss out on the fun life because I over spent on my bow.
BTW - That bow in my avatar...$599 MSRP!!! My first mountain caribou with a 61 yard shot through the heart...priceless 
