Both have great seasons. I rifle hunted until I was 28, but switched to archery 20 yrs ago and have not regreted it. Traditional equipment takes ALOT of practice to be proficient. Shooting a compound with fingers/sight will take the next most time to master. Shooting a compound with a release aid and sights will take the least amount of practice and will be more like shooting a firearm, but when I say the least amount of practice I don't mean very little practice. All methods require shooting on a regular basis to get/stay hunting ready.
I would suggest starting with a bow rated from 50 to 70 lbs, and go to an archery shop to be measured for draw length accurately. I am not familiar with any archery shops over there in PO, but Great Northwest archery in Puyallup is fairly decent. They are located on the South hill of P. on the Skookum archery range.
I agree with Dogfish, seeing an animal drop within sight is cool. It doesn't happen very often archery hunting, you'll have to track it, which sometimes makes you decide whether you should shoot it or not, depending on the weather(rain) or nearness to posted private property.
Good luck.