Geronimo

Does anyone know of any kind of bow you can use if your shoulder won' t permit you to draw anything over 45 pounds? My brother-in-law is looking to start bowhunting and could use some help. Thanks....

Arthur P

Any kind of bow will do the job on deer or hogs at 45 pounds, from from longbows thru the latest compounds. Provided good shot selection, proper arrow selection, sharp non-mechanical broadheads and good shot placement.

With my shoulders, I have the least pain with mild cams, energy wheels and traditional equipment. The super high performance cams - the ones that jump up to peak draw early, hold it forever and then suddenly dump you into the ditch and slam you into the wall at full draw - eat my shoulders alive.

Matt / PA

Yeah, " Energy Wheel" bows like BowTech' s ' Wheely' or even plain wheel bows will feel best and will be smoothest to draw........Another alternative might be the Oneida Eagle bows or maybe the Firebrand Technology bows. These are probably the smoothest drawing bows I' ve ever shot. The design of the Oneida looks a little intimidating but really is fairly simple and the Firebrand bows are VERY simple. Both still offer nice performance.
I imagine the Darton CPS and Hoyt' s Cam&1/2 bows draw smoothly as well at that draw weight in spite of being a more high performance cam system.
The trouble might be finding a shop that has a 40-50# model in stock to try.
Its been a long time since I' ve drawn a 45# bow so I can only guess at what should feel good on a bum shoulder.

ARMallardSlayer

There is a product called a DrawLock that permits anyone to draw and shoot any poundage bow. It has a stirup to aid in cocking the bow and it holds it at full draw until you get ready to shoot.

It doesn' t comform to P&Y rules........but if you want to keep bowhunting and not resort to a crossbow, this could be for you.

Matt / PA

MAllardslayer,
At the risk of sounding like a SmartA, what is the essential difference between that and a crossbow other than the direction the limbs point?

Mikey S.

I have first hand experience with shoulder problems(bad A.C. joint) and archery, man it is not fun. Light draw ANYTHING feels good. I' ve had problems since summer 2000: cortisone shots, therapy, drugs, and finally surgery in Jan. 2002. Still not fixed up. I can shoot 55-60lbs. on my new Razortec, but not for a long time. 20-25 arrow practice sessions and my shoulder tells me " no more." .....so I just quit while I' m ahead, and start again the next day. This system works for me personally, took 12 deer since then, didn' t lose/miss any. The most important thing for your in-law to remember is to not over-do his shooting sessions. Shoot what feels good, and only practice when he feels good. If it hurts when he starts, it will be worse the next day. And by all means, if it starts to hurt midway through a practice shoot, stop right there. And yes, like the previous guys wrote, a wheel bow or soft draw cam is better.
Mikey

Cougar Mag

Drawlocs are also illegal in many states, need to check game laws before using one.

RackLuster

I switched to a q2 last year and it' s done wonders for me. To me the important thing was getting a low poundage setup that is faster then the 170 fps I was shooting with my old bow (that wasn' t hard to beat). Also, I have to limit my shooting.[:' (]

Shooting hurts like a son of a gun, don' t get me wrong, but the worst thing for my shoulder is actually sitting in my stand. That sucks!

Bill Olmesdahl

I had rotator cuff repair last year and after rehab I was told to start with a low weight bow. I order a Alpine Impact one in 29 inch draw and a peak draw weight of 50 lbs. I set the bow up at 40 lbs the low limit and with 75% let off I was able to hunt the season. I would recommend this bow to anyone, easy to tune, no or little hand shock, and at a reasonable price. See a good archery pro shop and have him test several of the yourth or women bows that they have in stock and I am sure he will find one that fits his needs...

ARMallardSlayer

The crossbow has a rifle stock, you can put a scope on it....ect.

I was just giving the man an option. If I had a shoulder that wouldn' t let me draw my compound, I' d look into the drawlock........I wouldn' t however look into using a crossbow.