No problem. Just needed some more time to take into consideration your circumstances. Putting together the information from that thread and this (and speaking as a target
recurve shooter and coach), I would offer the advice below.
[I note that you have firearms experience, so presumably you understand about eye dominance, and shooting stance, etc. Not to mention the safety aspects. That all gives you a big step up. But I'll go over that anyway just in case you're not aware of it.]
Taking just one aspect: even after being shown how to shoot, on the first arrow of any given beginners course some new archers will stand tall and straight and some will lean back. It's impossible to tell from a few lines of text what level of natural talent and body awareness you have. You may shoot well from the get go or you might have some form problems which you are unaware of which will become ingrained with untutored practice.
So while it is certainly possible to shoot purely instinctively, or to learn from books and videos, your
chances of ending up able to shoot
well will be significantly increased by early coaching.
Three hours (and another three hours back) is a sizable chunk of time but if you could fit it into a weekend (and the store you mentioned was able to arrange an hour or two's coaching) then I would strongly recommend you do so. Or perhaps you could arrange your next holiday around a Beginners Course or some qualified private coaching at some club somewhere.
I would also recommend a lighter weight bow to begin with. We start (average sized adult male) beginners on 18 to 22 pound bows. It is easier to refine shooting form with a lighter weight bow than it is with a heavier bow. It is also safer (in terms of preventing injuries to archers using muscles they are unused to exercising). Establish good form and then increase poundage.
Most archery clubs (at least here) provide equipment for beginners and one of the main reasons is that equipment suitable for beginners will no longer be suitable for them after just a few months; but equipment suitable for archer who knows what they are doing is generally not suitable for beginners.
i.e. I would recommend getting some coaching BEFORE you buy any equipment.
But, assuming you're going to go ahead and buy something:
First, work out your eye dominance ( e.g.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udQXBICNj4o ). Note that your dominant eye won't necessarily be the same as your dominant hand. If it is, that's great; but if it isn't, you will
probably be better off with a bow suitable for your dominant eye rather than your dominant hand. i.e. if you are right handed but left-eye dominant you will likely achieve better results in the long term if you learn to shoot left handed.
[Something that sometimes causes confusion is when we say shoot left handed it means you hold the bow in your right hand and draw the string with your left hand. Don't trip yourself up thinking "I will hold the bow in my left hand so I should buy a 'left hand' bow" (or vice versa) or you will end up with the wrong thing. When you buy on the internet or in a shop a "right handed" bow is a bow you hold in your left hand.]
As for bow length, 68 or 70 inches will be fine. Even 66 or 72 inches, if you happen to come across a great bargain, would be OK. Note that if the forest you are planning to shoot in is particularly thick then a shorter bow is easier to carry.
30 pounds isn't outrageous if you are reasonably strong but, personally, I would never start a complete novice on a bow that heavy. [But I'm a target
recurve shooter.
Longbow/flatbow is a somewhat different discipline where you generally don't hold for as long, or shoot for so long, so the higher weight may not be so inappropriate. A
longbow shooter may correct me on reasonable draw weights for a total novice but I don't see that you could go wrong erring on the side of lightness.]
For arrow length, I'd suggest getting arrows a bit longer if you can. For two reasons: firstly, safety, because if you overdraw, and beginners draw lengths vary significantly from shot-to-shot, then a too short arrow can drop off the back of the rest/shoulder and result in you shooting yourself through your wrist; and secondly economy, because long arrows can always be shortened but short arrows can never be lengthened.