Not sure where to post this but I can make a small link with small bores. I was in an accident two weeks ago and broke my collar bone pretty well. The doctor suggests 3 months before I start to really stress it. I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with this and shooting? I'll start out with my 22LR but i need to site in my new 25-06. It shouldn't have too much recoil, but I don't want to tempt fate either. It is on my shooting shouler.

Roger

I broke the end of my collar bone completely off one time. Do what the doctor says and even then start small and work up slowly.it was about 6-9 months before I'd even think about picking up more than a 223. P.S. shooting off the bench is like shooting on the top of your collar bone.

Install good, recoil absorbing, recoil pads that do not slip. On all your guns. Hold tight, and wear soft, insulated shirts. A few push ups, skipping, light weights, etc, to build up some muscles before shooting would be a good idea anytime.

Lead Sled

quote:

Originally posted by .429:
Lead Sled

+1! That was also my first idea. They are not cheap however.

For the 25-06 you could also have a friend who is a decent shot sight in the rifle for you and then you would probably only have to take 3 shots to confirm that it works for you. If you pay for the range time and the ammo, most shooters would be more than happy to try out your new toy.

I had to have the last inch of the collar bone on my shooting shoulder removed a few years ago, which left the whole thing kind of floating around. I wouldn't recommend shooting 375 H&H or 3 inch 12 gauge loads for a few months unless you really like pain.

I picked up a shirt from allsportsarmour.com and it really helped, as it spread the recoil over a much larger area and protected my collar bone.

quote:

For the 25-06 you could also have a friend who is a decent shot sight in the rifle for you and then you would probably only have to take 3 shots to confirm that it works for you. If you pay for the range time and the ammo, most shooters would be more than happy to try out your new toy.

I'm working on a torn rotator cuff right now. I had my BIL sight in my new 4x4 Mossberg Sunday, and this weekend he'll get my Ruger Hawkeye. He's a better shot than me anyways on most days. He slobbered over the looks of the Mossy enough to volunteer his own ammo. (Looks are subjective, I know). It'll be awhile before I get to drop the hammers on several of mine.

I got fairly well wadded up back in the late 60's while in the service and among other stuff my right clavicle was removed completely. For me the time frame was was about 2 months but I was 19 years old then too.
Hasn't been much of a problem really except I'm not supposed to throw things. I can shoot big stuff ok but I try to avoid repetitive pounding cause of arthritis starting in the shoulder.
Probably has something to do with my fanaticism over sub-.22 caliber varmint rifles .
Here's to a quick recovery for ya.

I broke mine BY shooting a rifle.

I was not paying complete attention to what I was doing
and my 1895 marlin broke it (hot handload, thin shirt hard butt plate)

I couldn't even button my shirt myself for nearly six weeks and I needed help to put on a T-shirt, mind you I was 27 at the time... roll the clock forward six months, there I was popping away happily with my 30-06 and my brothers 338Mag, and had the 45-70 in the truck when I decided to climb back on the horse... and to continue the metaphor
it threw me ass over teakettle.. It broke my collar bone riht at the edge of the bona callous.

four weeks later when I was sorta felt less than crippled
I managed to take that rifle to the gunsmit for a Pachymar
Decelerator... SCREW the fact that I had to have the curved butt trimmed ruining the originality of the stock, but I'm kinda stubborn.

wait and see, but there's always rimfires to keep you sane...


SF

i've had a dislocated collarbone for over 5 years now. i've got no problem shooting most anything including my 470. it might be a mit sore after a pounding at the range, but that goes away overnight. shooting lighter stuff say 260 and less doesn't bother at all. give it about 3 months to heal up and then start with something like a sandbag between you and the rifle & work from there. If its not floating around like mine and the bones can heal up - you'll be like new

No problem, just shoot from the other shoulder. You'd be surprised how easily that comes if you try it. I've shot game many times from the "wrong" shoulder simply because my position didn't allow me to shoot from the "right" shoulder. You'll find that you concentrate much better and shoot surprisingly well this way.

Thanks for the input everyone. Sounds like the 22LR at 3 months and the 25-06 at 6 months with lots of protection. Seems like a long time but it does get me into deer season okay. Not too sure about firing left handed, but I'm learning how to do lots of other stuff left handed right now so I might as well give it a try. Thanks for you experiences.

Roger

Im with Stonecreek here. You will shoot much better than you think. It may come in handy someday in a deerstand.

Roger,

I suffered a 3rd degree shoulder separation & broke my collar bone, too.

How I managed that would put you guys on the floor in gyrations wondering who turned the oxygen off. The "accident" was military service incurred.

I'm L/H and the injured side was the R/H.

At 9 months after the accident and I could just barely manage to get my arm above shoulder height decided I really need to get back on the range. Went Trap shooting & dropped the shotgun from the pain at the initial tug of the trigger (from the opposite shoulder).

Took me another 4 months after that to shoot again - total 13 months.

Guess you'll just have to try to find out since the responses above run the Gamut from straight outa the hospital to a year later.

Good Luck.

quote:

Originally posted by cavedoc:
Not sure where to post this but I can make a small link with small bores. I was in an accident two weeks ago and broke my collar bone pretty well. The doctor suggests 3 months before I start to really stress it. I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with this and shooting? I'll start out with my 22LR but i need to site in my new 25-06. It shouldn't have too much recoil, but I don't want to tempt fate either. It is on my shooting shouler.

Roger

Find a 25# lead shot bag, fill it with sand, place on shoulder between u & rifle butt.

one of the most vicious rifles i have ever fired was an 1895 marlin with a crescent butplate. metal crescent buttplate. was about 90 degrees shooting in t-shirts at the whittington center about 10 years ago. i was about ready to shrivel up after the 3rd shot. guy i never met before offered to let me shoot it as much as i wanted. he got a charge out of it. now i do the same thing at the public range with my 458 lott.

My right shoulder is tied to three titanium pins driven in the top of the socket, a horse wreck many years ago about tore it off.
They had to cut out the back of the socket and if I am not careful a real hard kicking rifle leaves me feeling like someone kicked me in the nuts, you know that go green and puke feeling.
What allows me to still be able to shoot them is just a simple trick that I learned and that was to keep my right elbow down and not let it creep up and out in a traditional posture.
This keeps more muscle bunched up behind the stock and for some reason takes the agony out of things.
But God help me when I forget for it shoves the ball out the back of my shoulder joint.

Made all the difference for me.

We're an accident prone lot!
Lost my right clavical 20 years ago, replaced with a metal bar. The main trouble I had which lasted about 2 years was the nerve endings in the area. Every time I shot a firearm (pistol, rifle etc) was like being electrocuted.
The doctor said it would take time to desensitise the area and he wasn't wrong. Don't have a problem now apart from cold wet days when it hurts, mind you, age might have something to do with it too!

If I broke one of my bones I would do what the Dr. says.

But the doctor, who is highly qualified to know, admits he has never fired a rifle in his life. That's why I was looking for other input.

Roger

cave......

get a third opinion......

cavedoc,

Rolling a snowmobile caused me a few problems including a broken collarbone (shooting side) so this thread is timely. It gives one some good ideas while waiting to recuperate fully.

Two ideas that l plan are to use the off-shoulder for the time being and also to spend a bit of time shooting rimfires.

Hope you have a speedy recovery!!

I can see where a broken collarbone would put a damper in your shooting,I on the other hand have to start with 22's and hopefully by brown bear season can handle a 358 Norma.

Your thorax looks almost as frankenstein as mine. Bypass, pacemaker below the left clavicle, ohyeah.

My strategy is to add mass to the system, to absorb recoil before it reaches the old bod.

A sandbag or a sack of shotgun reloader's shot, placed between the butt and the shoulder, will up the combined mass of the rifle up to as much as around 35-40lb. That alone will do wonders for reducing felt recoil. It's also cheaper than a lead sled, and adds nothing to the rifle itslef. Some increase in LOP is about the only real downside.

Jar

Lads,

I agree w/Jar and all others who suggest significant padding between butt pad and shoulder.

My physics is rusty, however... the end result of firing a rifle (on the shoulder - or wherever the momentum stops) is a function of duration (how long does the momentum last - milliseconds in this instance) and area over which the force is distributed.

There is nothing we can do about the duration of the force, but we can distribute it over a larger area - the shot bag is significantly larger than the normal "footprint" the butt pad would have on the shoulder, thereby spreading the force over a larger area. Note also that force is distributed in two directions - laterally over the upper body (absorbed by the shot bag) and in a straight line (absorbed by all the mass from cartridge face to the back of your shirt).

Any means by which you distribute force to disburse it should help.

Mike

Because of my physical condition, I have no qualms about adding a Libsaver slip-on pad to my rifles that recoil significantly. I have a very lightweight M70 .30-'06 hunting rifle, and a Win '94 chambered in .44 Mag. The limbsavers make them a considerably bigger pleasure to shoot, especially when shooting larger volumes of fire, as when shooting at the range.

I kid myself into thinking that the '06 mght make a nifty light tactical rifle, and so far, it shoots handloads well enough to maintain the illusion.

Jar

You could also get a PAST recoil pad. It's a thick pad you wear between your shoulder and the rifle. I use one when benching my 375 and 458. They are available at Cabelas and MidwayUSA.