I am located in VT, what would be a good tree to harvest for my first selfbow???

If you have any kind of hickory in your area that would probably be the best. though maples and oaks are also good. Seems like most people don't have a successful first bow, I know I didn't. So I would look for any white wood that is straight and clear, split out a bunch of staves and expect to get through the pile learning as you go and look for a real good bow at the bottom of the pile, and have a bunch of fun on the journey.

I second razorbacks suggestion.  Hickory is a great first bow wood because it is nice and straight.  it is plentiful here.  You could also do a board bow for the first one.  Simple with a reasonable chance of success.

pete

Any straight grained white wood.Or any kind you can get your hands on.

hickory; straight, dense, and forgiving of tillering errors.

My first couple of tinkers were oak and it was a fun learning process but I am more partial to hickory than oak.  That is just me.  The limbs are scraped thinner for hickory for the same poundage than oak.  You should have both where you are at.

Hickory I have recently cut in VA is full of knots and hard to split, meaning the wood fibers cling to themselves and really don't want to come apart.  Is that common or should I try to find another species of hickory?  Grain twists a lot too.

I will find a nice straight hickory tree. When Should I cut it down, and how wide should it be...6 inches dia. or larger? I will let it dry out for three or four months. I am going to pick up a bowyers bible. Also, is there a device you can attach to a drill to make arrows, what is that called and where can I find it.

George, A knotty hickory is uncommon as far as I know. There are still bows in it however. Might seem impossible but in a year or 2 you'll wish you still had at least one stave of the knotty stuff. Look a bit more for a better tree. You can read the grain from the bark as to whether it has knots or the tree grew twisted.
 Fox, I have made good hunting weight bows from hickories from about 2" in diameter and up. A tree of 8" to 10" is relatively easy to drop and cut into staves and your staves will have fairly flat backs. When you drop it cut your logs and split them in half. Seal the ends and let them sit in a protected area for a month before you split out staves. 3" across the back of the stave will give you a good bow. At this point peel the bark off. I would seal the back with shellac but others don't seal the back of whitewoods with good success.
  It is best to wait until spring when the leaves are out before cutting whitewoods but cut early in the spring. That way, the bark will peel off easily and the wood under the bark has had a year to mature and will be the best back you can come by.
  You can buy a cheap thumb plane from your local hardware store for about $10. You can make good arrows with it and a simple jig to hold your shaft stock while you cut corners...so to speak.
Here's my set up...

your first selfbow maybe should be red oak from Lowes, you can actually make it the day you buy it and then go get your self a tree to make a bow from. IMHO

maple and red oak make great woods to practice on, once you gain more expirience you can move up to the better woods like osage,hickory ect