do you have any big dealers with lots of bows you can demo? even better if they have trade ins or bows on consignment. that's what i would do. living in a place that had no dealers for a long time I certainly have been burned once or twice buying before trying. it's very subjective so if you can shoot lots of choices it will help you get a feel for what you like even if you have to drive a ways I'd do it.
I personally try to find something that I can anchor repeatedly with my release and face structure and is really quiet as the deer are very skittish where im at. you can narrow things down a liittle by asking yourself some questions. what's your draw length? do you like short ata? long ata? longer draw you probably want longer ata. would you rather have it easier to draw or is speed and tighter pin gaps more important? are you certain about your draw length? something like the mathews swithcweight cam is really easy to change draw wieghts and lengths with a 50$ mod if your unsure when first getting into archery.
I personally like anything from mathews from the last 3 years (vxr, v3, vertix) as they seem do everything thats important to me pretty well (very easy to change draw weights/lengths, very quiet, pretty good draw cycle @28, pretty repeatable grip, pretty efficient, tune pretty easy, no handshock). I had a vertix then went to the v3 31 then went back to the vertix it just fits me perfect with its string angle. I also have an 8 year old bowtech experience thats dead in the hand, really quiet, and easy to tune with its od binary cams. its just a little longer and not as efficient as the vertix but its a great bow and the deee dont know any better. just find something that fits you well and to do that id find a way to get out and shoot as many bows as you can find.
as for sights and rests you'll be hard pressed to find something better than a hamskea trinity rest and spot hogg for sights. both are made by reputable companies and very rugged and dependable.
