Other Newbie first post -with a lame shoulder, is there hope for me to hunt deer?

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Ohlookasquirrel said:
Yup, I figure I will need to be in a deerstand mansion or something similar.
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I have an aea challenger big bore .357. It’s long and heavy but I don’t notice much recoil. Of course recoil is very subjective and I have no real way of quantifying what would be too much for you. A lighter option would be the aea element max or something like the umarex hammer carbine. Hard to say about the recoil on those unfortunately without being able to test them. Maybe there is an airgun club or something near you where you might be able to track down some big bores to shoot.
 
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Ohlookasquirrel said:
View attachment 480197TLDR massively bum shoulder - how much recoil does a big bore air rifle REALLY have?

I’ve had 2 major shoulder procedures that have helped but it isn’t a perfect fix.
My shoulder still subluxes.

For context - If I carry a gallon of milk with my arm slack at my side, my shoulder will sublux. I’ve developed some muscle tone to combat it but the last time I fired something that had the ability to take a deer down, it ended with a complete dislocation.

I even had an AR built with a muzzle break to try and combat the issue, which it did, however, it felt like you were being slapped in the face and I need 2 sets of ear protection to tolerate it on the range.


Very recently, I learned about big bore air rifle options. I’m consuming research (and y’all have provided so much) but I am concerned. I don’t want to invest in a “let’s just try it” deer set up just to be out the investment and up another shoulder surgery.

Here are my concerns:

1 recoil (obviously)
2 force needed to cock a deer set up (I’ve read some things that say they take 20lbs to load a round?)
3 maintenance and mods.
4 anything else? I don’t know what I don’t know.

The good - I'm a decent shot. My last DRT was Saturday. I got a squirrel with a daisy 880 at 50 feet with iron sights. Would’ve eaten it too but it was a nasty boar. Pic attached, don’t judge the glove.

The bad - yes, in addition to my lame shoulder -
I am lightweight and pretty weak.
I am not mechanically inclined
I want something reliable. I know, that’s subjective so let me clarify
I want to fill, point, shoot, clean, repeat.
I’m a lefty

I’ve just ordered my very first PCP - an Air Venturi Avenge-X .22 (it’s marketed as ambi and I am a true lefty) and a JTS portable compressor. Now all I can think about is deer season is coming and how nice a .50 Airforce Texan sounds.

But, can I handle it?
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I am a true lefty also , maybe said b4 , would it be possible to shoot righty (for your shoulder )? yeah it would take a bit .
 
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Trucker3573 said:
I have an aea challenger big bore .357. It’s long and heavy but I don’t notice much recoil. Of course recoil is very subjective and I have no real way of quantifying what would be too much for you. A lighter option would be the aea element max or something like the umarex hammer carbine. Hard to say about the recoil on those unfortunately without being able to test them. Maybe there is an airgun club or something near you where you might be able to track down some big bores to shoot.
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I’ve looked for a club, not looking like I’ll have much luck.
Georgia doesn’t seem to have a bunch of enthusiasts outside only Unicoi but that also seems like it’s feeble.
 
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SilentSquirrel said:
After aim-shoot-kill you then have to get the deer out of the woods
That too requires strength
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This is like comparing dancing en pointe to bench press PRs. I can dance a romantic solo for 10 mins 90% en pointe. It doesn’t mean I can bench 200 lbs and I would be willing to bet that just because you can bench big numbers that you definitely cannot dance on 2 toes for any kind of period of time.

All strength isn’t measured the same. In one aspect we are talking intrinsic muscles to maintain joint stability. In pulling a deer out, it’s merely a question of push/pull weight.
In tearing down a rifle often means grip strength and torque strength and recognizing the sweet spot so as to not strip a bolt or otherwise cause more damage.

I’m capable of pulling it out of the woods in most circumstances. If not, my big impressive bench press number’s having son, would help me.
 
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beerthief said:
I am a true lefty also , maybe said b4 , would it be possible to shoot righty (for your shoulder )? yeah it would take a bit .
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i wish, I can do some things right handed, but I’m more worthless shooting right handed than I would be with only one arm. My brain doesn’t send or receive messages correctly when I tried extensively in the past. At nearly 40, and maybe a few too many motorcycle wrecks, the plasticity needed to learn to shoot right handed is all but lost.
 
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IndyDurtdigger said:
Best check your state laws before picking something, maybe find someone with something you can try. My bet would be on an air bow. No recoil whatsoever and effectively the same ethical useful ranges.
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Air bows are allowed, in primitive season IIRC. That said, I’ve read there’s quite a few failures in the arrows which is what deterred me. Heard a few horror stories, any truth to that?
Again, I don’t know what I don’t know.
 
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Ohlookasquirrel said:
i wish, I can do some things right handed, but I’m more worthless shooting right handed than I would be with only one arm. My brain doesn’t send or receive messages correctly when I tried extensively in the past. At nearly 40, and maybe a few too many motorcycle wrecks, the plasticity needed to learn to shoot right handed is all but lost.
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OK well i wish you the best , Maybe your not too far from another member that has close to what you would shoot ,and will volunteer to let you shoot a 45 or 50 cal ? Don't know where you are and i only shoot low power guns , .177 mostly
 
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longdog said:
With a shoulder that bad, how are you going to gut, drag, dress and load a deer?
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Different angles cause the instability for example - I can do pushups. (It isn’t pretty but that’s not because of my shoulder).
I can do a flexed arm hang.
with recoil, the ball is pushed out of the joint posteriorly. Anterior dislocations are few and far between (I saved myself from falling down the stairs and caused an anterior)
Subluxing is from dead weight and no tension on the joint.

As far as processing, I can manage there with not much of an issue.

IMG_6187.jpeg


IMG_6055.jpeg
 
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I have the .50 Sam Yang Dragon Claw. It is basically a 50 yard deer or pig gun. Muzzle energy is the same as a .45 pistol. The recoil is different than powderburners though. It is slower, more of a push than a kick.

When cocking the hammer, you can hook your thumb behind the scope mount for leverage, dont have to pull with shoulder.
 
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c_m_shooter said:
I have the .50 Sam Yang Dragon Claw. It is basically a 50 yard deer or pig gun. Muzzle energy is the same as a .45 pistol. The recoil is different than powderburners though. It is slower, more of a push than a kick.

When cocking the hammer, you can hook your thumb behind the scope mount for leverage, dont have to pull with shoulder.
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This is fascinating and makes me very hopeful. A push versus kick makes a huge difference in my mind.
i can shoot a .45 pistol pretty easily because the ‘kick’ energy doesn’t hit the same as a rifle. But a push versus kick could be where the magic is. Thank you! Any chance you’re in the south east?
 
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Ohlookasquirrel said:
Different angles cause the instability for example - I can do pushups. (It isn’t pretty but that’s not because of my shoulder).
I can do a flexed arm hang.
with recoil, the joint is pushed out of the joint posteriorly. Anterior dislocations are few and far between (I save myself from falling down the stairs and has an anterior)
Subluxing is from dead weight and no tension on the joint.

As far as processing, I can manage there with not much of an issue.

View attachment 480229

View attachment 480230
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might be a worthwhile road trip to AOA , Perfect reason to go also . Although i do not need a reason to go to AOA , three day drive one way HHAHAHA
 
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Ohlookasquirrel said:
This is fascinating and makes me very hopeful. A push versus kick makes a huge difference in my mind.
i can shoot a .45 pistol pretty easily because the ‘kick’ energy doesn’t hit the same as a rifle. But a push versus kick could be where the magic is. Thank you! Any chance you’re in the south east?
Click to expand...

Texas
 
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Thinking about the joint angles and such I wonder if having one of your rifles fitted with a custom butt plate could redirect the recoil to your torso instead of yanking on the ball of your shoulder joint. Or just reducing length of pull so that you can wrap around more completely and get the butt of the gun more on your front.

I’m recovering from a bicycle crash with fractured collarbone right now and I just had a custom stock done on one of my rifles and the length of pull is too much. Combined with the stiffness and nerve damage I couldn’t shoulder it well even though it ‘fits’. So yeah this all seems kind of familiar.
 
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