Recommendation for a good ladies bow

[Spiker]

You are sort of over thinking all this. What you need to find is a bow that fits you - that you can draw comfortably - and that you feel at ease and confident with.
Arrow placement is the key factor in humanely taking down a big game animal, not arrow speed or kinetic energy.
Here in Colorado, where we have the largest Elk populations of any state (over 43,000 Elk were harvested in 2011) the minimum draw weight required for a hand held
bow is 35#.
My wife has been hunting for the past 20 years with bows in the 45-50lb range and almost always gets pass-thru shots.
The Indians that hunted here before us took down Buffalo and Elk with 25# stick bows...
I use a 60# bow for Elk and 50# bows for everything else. However - it would not concern me at all to just use the lighter weight ones on Elk, or Bears, or Moose...
I use 60# just cuz I have them and can.

Find a bow that fits you - practice with it until it is just second nature to put an arrow right where you aim - and you wont have any trouble hunting
whatever your heart desires.

Also - if you are new to archery and it does become a passion - you will be amazed at how much more dw you will be able to gain in a short period of time.

p.s. I am far from being a Mathews fan but the Mission Craze really is a great bow for a young and/or short draw person.

[Ford]

I would like to weigh in on this thread if you dont mind. Being that I was in your situation about a year ago. I got into archery after having no experience what soever, other then little kids boys as a kid, once or twice. I also have a short draw length around 26". I didnt find out my true draw length until I bought an exile bow from martin. The calculators give you a close estimate of drawlength, its not perfect, because they are counting on everything being average according to your height. I'm 5'9" but my draw length is between 25 and 26". No one believes me until I'm at an archery shop and they measure my wingspan. Anyway with that said I bought my first bow thinking I was around 27 or 28" according to all the calculators, got my exile took it to my martin dealer and they found I was at 26 on that bow.
My idea of the 2011 exile is mixed. I had warranty issues with string wear because of the 2011 design. I wont go into it but martin fixed that and gave me an sst string stop, but it cost me some money, and left a bad taste in my mouth about the whole situation. But with all that said, the martin was quiet, smooth drawing, good back wall, and I was pretty accurate with it right off the bat. It is user adjustable which I love. Keep in mind the draw length modules are plastic, and not all of them are properly drilled and tapped. That annoyed me a bit. The bow is light easy to handle and comfortable. Also keep in mind with a 25 or 26 draw length that bow is going to be very slow. I had 350 gr arrows, 62lbs draw, and 26" length and it was on the chrono around 215-225 fps. Now if you can pull 70lbs comfortably you may get more speed. I'm not a speed freak, but 215 isnt great.
If your sold on martin I would look into the jaguar as others have mentioned. I've heard good things about the 2008-2010 models, in fact I was close to buying on during my exile issues. I havent followed martin closely this year so I dont know about their new bows. My understanding is they have fixed the warranty issues of 2011. And if the guys on this site promote the new bows I would trust their opinion. They are knowledgable and honest.
I did end up purchasing a bowtech equalizer, 2008. I payed 225 for it, and it had a 5 pin sight, and a drop away rest that was valued over 225, so I got a bow for free basically. The pull builds quickly and the back wall isnt as firm as I would love, but it isnt bad. Its like a speed bow for people with short arms. I pull 54lbs at 26" with a 325gr arrow and I'm getting 275 fps. Shoots pretty flat, very quiet, more so then the exile. I love the bow. And it came fully equiped, with no need for extras or accessories. (I did put a few things on it, but that was personal preference it would have been fine the way it was)
They dont make the equalizer any more but the heartbreaker is its replacement. I have a friend that has the diamond bow you described and likes it.
To each his own. Find out exactly what your draw length is by measuring it, and see what poundage you can pull. Buying a used bow is a risk, but sometimes you get a great deal, and it gets you into archery cheap. I have found that one bow is never enough, and when you buy one you will want another thats better. biggest things is practice practice practice, be good with what you have no matter how slow, fast, or quiet it is. a fast miss is still a miss.