Like you, I have wanted to try archery for years and I just picked up a bow this this past summer with the intent to hunt this past fall. Due to unforeseen circumstances I wasn't able to get out to hunt, but I have really enjoyed practicing with the bow and am looking forward to the 2018 hunting season.
I researched bows for awhile and finally decided on the Diamond Edge SB-1, and I couldn't be happier. It's fully user adjustable for draw length and weight. from 15"-30", and 7lbs-70lbs. There's a multitude of compound bows on the market, and once you start looking at the specs they're all extremely similar - I think it just really comes down to personal preference. My bow cost me $350 using a 10% off coupon at OpticsPlanet. I've browsed through the Lancaster archery catalog and have seen other bows that cost $1000+ and at least on paper have virtually the same or sometimes worse specs. There are some more expensive bows that will gain you another 10 or 20 feet per second - but for me personally, that speed advantage is not worth another $200+
I did upgrade a couple things on the bow and that was the arrow rest, and the sight.
I went with a Vapor Trail LimbDriver Pro V drop away arrow rest, for no other reason than it was in stock at my local archery shop and was suggested by a couple of the guys there. All I can say is it seems to work great. I can't speak to any other brands, but I think most of them get pretty good reviews. From my research the drop away rest was one of the best ways to achieve more consistent velocities from shot to shot vs. any of the full capture, Whisker Biscuit style rests. The Vapor Trail rest cost me about $120.
The sight I went with is the GWS AR-19 single pin adjustable sight. I didn't have the budget for a $200-$300 sight, so this did the trick at $60. The sight works really well, and has really helped my accuracy compared to the 3-pin sight that the bow came with. I have a 30" draw @ 60lbs and the sight gets me out to 90 yards. Lancaster Archery shipped me a sight with a broken sight bubble, so I called up GWS and they sent me an entire new sight housing free of charge with no hassle. Nothing but good things to say about them.
This entire package has proven to be very accurate. I'm no Robin Hood, but can group 5 arrows into about a 1 foot circle at 80 yards. and about 6 inches @ 60 yards. At 40 yards all the fletching are basically touching.
Links to all the equipment:
https://www.opticsplanet.com/diamond-edge-sb-1-bow-package.html
http://www.vaportrailarchery.com/product/limbdriver-pro-v/
http://www.lancasterarchery.com/gws-ar-19-sight.html
- Can't recall the name of the release I have -
Hope that helps!
Here's a 60 yard "cold bore" shot.