I guess I'm on the other side of "young" at 33. That being said, I feel better than I did at 23. I started with a t/d longbow about 10 years ago. After missing the same deer twice at less than 15 yds. and another a couple of days later, I gave it up for a while. I decided I just wasn't ready. In reality, I had no one to show me the ropes and could have lessened the learning curve.
A year ago I bought a lightly used Black Widow and haven't looked back. I started shooting seriously last winter. I have some very die hard hunting friends and they had many, many things to say about me using a stick bow........especially since I told them I was going to start by taking a turkey. Most of those comments aren't proper to post. LOL
One turkey (Delawares' first by trad) and two deer later, a couple have bought recurves.
The one I am most proud of, however, is my younger brother. He's in his mid 20's and has never had the desire to shoot wheels. He hasn't taken any big game yet, but he's ahead of me on rabbits.