Hey guys,
I used to shoot a bow (albeit recurve) quite a bit back in Boy Scouts, and shot quite well. Took an archery hunting safety course in my mid teens, and then never really shot a bow much after that.

In the interim, my shoulders started acting up, particularly my right one (I'm right handed). I have the wonderful "pleasure" of subluxing quite often and on rare occasion, actually dislocating. This, typically, has happened with loading against the joint, as in a pushing motion. Last 4th of July, my uncle got a new bow (PSE compound set up at 65lbs, draw length not known to me) and I figured I'd give it a whirl. Bottom line was I shot quite well out to about 40yds. At 20 and 30 I was grouping great (touching arrows, almost), opening up to about a 6-8" group for 5 arrows at 40yds. On my last shot at 40yds, I drew back and right before hitting the let off point in the cam, my right shoulder subluxed on me and was quite the uncomfortable time letting off on the draw without wildly launching and arrow (thank god for mechanical releases!)

So now I'm a little hesitant to shoot a bow again, but really interested in doing so. The better half's mother is a physical therapist and has provided me with some strengthening exercises for my shoulders, and her orthopedic PA sister is trying like hell to get me into the OR to have my shoulder tightened up (fighting this one!).

Could anyone make some suggestions as to a good bow to start out on for me? Would a compound vs long vs recurve be easier on my shoulder? How low of a draw weight can I reasonably go and still deer hunt with? What are the practical limitations of hunting with a lower draw weight bow? I'm all ears and eager to learn.

Thanks in advance!

Get about a 10lb dumbell and wrap some therabands around it. Hold the dumbell like it's a bow in your left hand and draw on the therabands as if you are drawing a bow. It's important to draw as slowly as you can and let down as slowly as you can. If you do it too quickly you won't strengthen the whole joint evenly.

Start off with a low power bands and keep the left arm up between draws. You should be able to do 20 reps slowly without stopping. If you can't, then go to lighter bands and a lighter dumbell and work up to it.

I dislocated both shoulders in a car accident in 2003. This exercise helped me a lot!

You should be able to draw your bow slowly with the arrow pointed at the target for the whole draw cycle. You should also be able to let the arrow down slowly while pointed at the target. If you can't do that the bow is set at too high a poundage for you and your risk of getting hurt increased.

Thank you for the response, big guy. I do have some of the therabands. I'll have to try the exercise with the dumbell. Most of the exercises I've been doing with them have been lateral movements with both arms concurrently (ya, tough to explain). I haven't had an issue with the shoulder since last year's bow incident, but I've only been doing the exercises for a week or so now.

You do not need to worry to much. There are many bows on the market today that will not hurt you or your shoulder and you can still hunt comfortably with them.
A softer draw will do well for you. Look at some of the bows in the 50 - 60lb range and start off at 50lb.
You will probably get good therapy for the shoulder from it.

I used to shoot with a 100lb bow until I broke my right shoulder 7 years ago. The doctor told me that my bow hunting days were gone for ever.

I could not live with that and started practicing with a 20lb bow. Within one year I was shooting at 60lb and today I am quite happy with my 92lb Bowtech Beast and I shoot it comfortably the whole day.

50#, or even 45 should be more than adequate for whitetails. A compound should be easier on your shouolder than a recurve or longbow, since you will be holding much less weight at full draw (I am a physical therapist also, shoulder strengthening is an excellent idea - surgery may be necessary, but I would go with a good comprehensive strengthening program first to see if you can avoid an operation).
I shot PSE bows for 20 years or so - love them, but there are "smoother" bows on the market - my PSE bows all tended to be a little "harsh" to draw & shoot, with a late let off, & a short valley. Try several brands and pick the one that feels easiest & smoothest to you. With your shoulder problems, I think you would do better with let off early in the draw cycle, a long "valley", and a solid wall at full draw, particularly if you need to let down from full draw without releasing an arrow.

Thank you all for the thoughts. Went to Cabela's today just to get fitted and give a bow a whirl. Shot a PSE Stinger 3G set up to 40lbs. The draw weight wasn't a problem at all, I think it's the motion in general. I was fine drawing back until just before the let-off point, and then my shoulder would "click" as I drew back further. Once I got past that "click," everything felt fine. I was able to hold draw for >30 seconds without problem. I also tried a Bear Outbreak set to the same weight with little difference in "clicking" conundrum.

I'm going to give the therabands a bit more time and actually make an appointment with an orthopedist to see what's actually going on with my shoulder.

A 50 lbs bow with a good CoC broad head and a fairly heavy arrow will be plenty for deer.

As eliscomin says. Find a bow that is very smooth to draw and just rolling gently over in a long valley and has a solid wall that doesn't creep on you.

Well, went to see the to-be-MIL in her office today and got a formal evaluation. I have bilateral multidirectional instability in my shoulders, as well as a probably labral tear in the right. She went over my technique with the exercises with the therabands and made a few tweeks to the exercises for me. Hopefully a few months of this will help. She doubts this will require surgical intervention, at which I gave a great sigh of relief!

Can someone explain to me the terminology as far as valley and wall? Any suggestions to bows with these particular qualities?

The force required to draw recurves and longbows generally increases as the distance that the arrow has been pulled back increases. It may not be a linear relationship, but if a longbow that has been drawn back 28 inches requires a force of, say 50 lbs to hold it back - draw that bow back to 31 inches, and the force required will be around 60 lbs.
With modern compounds, the pulley system creates a different "force/ draw" curve. The pull required to draw the bow builds up more quickly, and reaches it's peak somewhere short of full draw, then drops off ( usually by 60% to 80%) unlike a traditional bow where the peak draw weight is always at full draw. The advantage of a compound, then, is that when you get to full draw, you are using much less force to stay there, making aiming and using proper technique much easier.
If you saw a graph with the force required to draw the bow on the vertical axis, and the length of draw on the horizontal axis, you would see a "peak", like a mountain top at the point where the cams roll over and the force required to draw back further decreases. From that peak until you reach full draw is the "valley". Generally, a bow will feel "smoother" if the peak is a little earlier in the draw cycle ( leaving a long "valley"), and if the build up to peak weight and the drop off on the other side is not too abrupt.
Bows that have the peak back closer to full draw (narrow valley)and then drop off very abruptly generally shoot a bit faster, but feel less comfortable to draw & shoot, and can be really brutal if you have to let down without firing. They usually have " radical" , or very elliptical, less round cams.
The " wall" is simply the end of available draw length, beyond which you cannot pull the bow. For me, it is easier to shoot a compound that has a well defined stop right at the end of my normal draw length ( a well defined wall). Best way is to shoot several bows, you should be able to feel the difference. Try a few that have smaller, more round pulleys, rather than the large hatchet shaped ones.

Thank you much for that explaination. I'm probably going to head to a local archery shop here in CT (Hall's) the end of next week and get a better fitting and try out some different bows.

Have a look at the new MAtthews Heli M bow. Light as a feather, and very pleasant little bow to shoot.

Back in the days when all we had were recurves, a 40-50 lb. bow was what nearly everyone shot for deer hunting. Todays compounds will shoot the same weight arrow considerably faster. I personally believe any good bow shooting 40 lbs. or more with a moderate (read: not super light) weight arrow will shoot clean thru any deer that walks. I worked for many years in the archery business and have known quite a few woman and kids that have had good results with less. The key is a good cut on contact broadhead, good shot placement and keep the range moderate. Just my honest opinion, but I've seen it done many times.
Keep up the excersizes and I wish you much success

Cross bow

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:
Cross bow

This has crossed my mind more than once. I've been doing a bit of research on Excaliber's.

Seriously check out the Mission Riot (a Mathews product, I think.)

Very tuneable as to draw length, draw weight, etc.

It can grow/shrink with your condition.

So after 2 months of daily theraband use, my shoulder stability has improved minimally. I went back to Cabelas today to try a few bows and had to stop after the very first one. I feel fine for the first two shots, and then I can barely draw back 3-4 inches before my shoulder starts to sublux. I talked with two of the archery outfitters there for quite a while. They were fantastic. Knowledgeable and very willing to help. One even got me some motrin after a big time subluxation that ultimately ended my session with verticle bows.

On that note, I've decided to table the idea of a verticle bow for at least another season while I work on my stabilization of that shoulder. The outfitters suggested trying some crossbows. I checked out a few offerings from Barnett, Stryker, Parker, and Excaliber. It seems this is going to be my viable option for bowhunting this year.

I ended up purchasing a Parker Hornet Extreme package. The package included the bow, scope, bolts, field points, broadheads, a cocking string, wax, sling, and soft case. To boot, it was on sale. It was a bit of an odd feeling at first the pull a trigger and not hear a "bang" or feel any recoil.

Anywho, just printed out my application for use of a crossbow for the state of CT and should be seeing my doctor this week to have it filled out.

Thank you all again for the suggestions, I'm sure I'll have more questions soon!