hunting bow values

Can't really say but I know I would buy used.On the other hand trad bows hold value fairly well and vintage often goes for more than it's original price.There are no more garage sale $25 recurves.

I'd second buying used - particularly after the season is over. If you don't want the latest and greatest you can save a lot too. My bow is a Bear Buckmaster 2000 that's about 10-ish years old but it works absolutely fine and I bought it fully outfitted used for $80.

I've been shooting archery for the last 20 years and have watched the progression of the compound bow tech expand. Good news is it seems in the last 5 years it is reaching or has reached it's peak. So if you buy a good used bow from the last 5 years you should be fine to be on the newer end of the tech. Any bow that is over 2 years old will be very affordable, DO NOT BUY NEW! The reason that the bows are so expensive new is they try to eeck out every FPS of the bow because Whitetail hunters want the fastest and quietest bow they can buy. If you can get a bow that shoots over 300 FPS you'll be fine. I have an 8 year old PSE Brute I paid $180 new but was last years model on sale I got the full setup minus arrows and hard case (306 FPS with light arrows that I do not use), Fiber Optic sights, and a wiscker biscuit arrow rest, and use a caliper wrist release and my dad shoots his 23 year old Browning bow with the old school painted pin sights, rubber flipper arrow rest, and leather shooting glove. His eyes are getting bad but he schools me every time! Technology cannot out perform proper technique, practice, and confidence with your shooting abilities. Technology only makes bad shooters better and masks bad form and shooting issues.

I agree, the compound bow technology expands every year.
Your BEST bet is to find a DEDICATED archery shop in you area.
By this I mean an "archery only" shop.
In a shop of this nature, several bows AND price ranges are available and someone will be more than glad to help you with your choice.

A bow that is a few years old will not loose any tension in their limbs.

If a compound bow that has been dry fired will have broken limbs almost a certainty. If you go to draw a bow and hear a clicking sound. Stop drawing the bow as its about to get real real exciting. Also when a bow is dry fired the string is trashed. They are real easy spot.

Go to a pro-shop and look around. I have purchased used bows from pro-shops and have felt real good about the purchase. Also bows do not have to cost 1200 to be effective. Mission Archery, PSE, Diamond, and others offer darn nice bows in the $350-$400 range. Check out Mission Riot great bow for $300 ish

I'm new to archery in general, I just bought my first bow, it's a recurve pse stalker. I'm going to play with it and learn from it. Then I'll spend the big bucks and get a more challenging one. With ammo prices so high and qty so limited, I'm liking the reusable ammo for the bow. Got to have a decent hobby right? Especially one you can afford to partake in.

Email or pm me.

I'm an avid archery working for a shop and yet I can do almost all archery related work at home as well. I have been a 5-10 new bows a year kind of guy. We currently carry Bowtech, PSE, Strother and G5 Prime bows.

Let me know any question you have or what you are looking for and I can help point you in the right direction. I also have access to several new/used bows and many can be found to match a budget.

There is always some new "wow" and some just nice to have that gets released each year.

Speed wise bows are topping around 350-360fps
Noise wise, some of the latest are damn quiet
Vibration is down to almost nothing and there is tons of customization out there.

Good luck!