Oh, Sweet Hoyt of Mine!!

I pulled back my bow today for the first time in over a year without any discernable pain in either shoulder!!!! 

Hallllllllllllllllllllll.....leeeeeeeeeeee...... luuuuuuuuuuuuu..... jaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!

I should be able to do a little hunting during the late season this year if everything continues to improve!  If anyone is having shoulder problems, I HIGHLY recommend getting a Total Gym.  Those things are AWESOME for working and stretching your muscles and joints. 

Oh, Happy Day!

Take care and Good Hunting!

Best Afield,

Steve

  Glad to hear the good news, Steve!  Just don't get carried away or rushing it...

Jeff

That is awsome Steve, don't overdo trying to rush into things tho. Hopefully you will be able to start shooting little by little and be in hunting mode soon.
Steve Albers

Thanks much, Jeff and Steve!

Don't worry, guys, I will definitely take it easy and go slow.  I am just so happy right now I can hardly contain myself.  I was actually afraid -- I, mean, afraid -- to pull my bow today.  I have been putting it off for a few weeks waiting to see if my shoulders would betray any hint of pain while I worked out on the T.G. or in everyday movements.

I was so pleasantly surprised with today's outcome that I nearly started crying.  I thought I would have to undergo surgery for sure, especially with the pain that I had been experiencing.  I took things real slow and had my wife help me stretch out my arms and shoulders while lying on the floor for months!  I just cannot believe it.  Can you tell that I am a little excited?  LOL!

Thanks again, guys and best of luck to you for the rest of the season!!  Hunt hard and be safe!!

Take care and Good Hunting!

Best Afield,

Steve   

Way to go Steve glad to hear your about ready to go. Like the others said slow and steady wins the race everytime. I can relate to the emotions of finally pulling back your bow. It was a monumental occasion when i could finally bend enough to cut my own toe nails. Wishing you nothing but the best in your recovery.
   Bill

That's great to hear Steve

Bill:

Thanks much!  I am glad to just be thinking about getting back in the game now.  Woo Hoo!

I am glad that you have recovered and are doing well.  If I can remember correctly, I believe you had mentioned something about an injury that you suffered, but I do not recall exactly what happened.  I'm sorry, what was that again?

Take care and Good Hunting!

Best Afield,

Steve

Thanks, Dan!  I sincerely appreciate it.

Take care and Good Hunting!

Best Afield,

Steve

Me and dad were tagging and banding calves. I would catch the calves in the pasture when they were only one or two days old. Dad would put a tag in ear with # for identification we raise registered angus. If calf is bull we band it so it will be a steer. Usually the old cow will come down and watch but this one didnt stop. She knocked me off her calf and rolled me across the pasture gave me a 40 acre @$$ kickin. That was in 92 I have never been the same since. Took the wind out of my sails.

Bill:

I think I do recall that story now.  I am just glad you did not get hurt any worse than you did!  Livestock can be unpredictable as all heck.  I am also glad that you are back on the mend and are able to enjoy getting out to hunt!

Take care and Good Hunting!

Best Afield,

Steve

glad you're making a come-back

keep getting stronger, and go get 'em!

Thanks, duck!

Take care and Good Hunting!

Best Afield,

Steve

Dont know what happened to my other post it went poof. I had shoulder surgery 3 months ago. And I just got my new Hoyt Bow. It is getting easier and easier to pull it back the more and more I use it. I am however having a hard time pulling it back using the release. As it is almost to long and pulls wrong on my shoulder.\\
 
 
Angi

Hey, Angi!

I'm sorry to hear that you had to have surgery.  I did everything possible to avoid surgery myself.  If I would have continued shooting my bow I definitely would have torn up my shoulders.  Sitting out was hard, but I had to do it.  I'm glad that you are back on the mend as well. 

I used to shoot a round wheel bow with my fingers.  Switching from a round wheel bow to shooting a shorter bow with a release put a ton of extra pressure on my shoulder joints.  It's a completely different ball game shooting with a release than it is with a fingertab, especially shooting with a trigger-finger release.  I probably should have gone with a three-finger, tilt-over thumb-activated release when I made the switch to a release and I may have avoided the added strain to my shoulder joints by pulling with my three fingers, and my wrist, rather than pulling mostly with my wrist when using a trigger-finger release.  You may want to look into using one of those three-finger releases as well.

Here's a link:

Carter Enterprises
 

As I mentioned above in an earlier post, one of the best investments for an archer is purchasing a Total Gym.  My wife bought one out-of-the-blue on QVC for a steal and that thing is amazing.  It really helped me.

I hope you are back to shooting pain-free soon!

Take care and Good Hunting!

Best Afield,

Steve 

If i had not just bought that release. Its a wrist type trigger finger. And it just pulls wrong on the shoulder. Weard feeling. And it is to big for my wrist almost. I have small wrists being a gal and all.  I need to look at getting one of the 3 finger ones and try it. The archery shop did my draw with out the release. I need to have them adjust it to 26in instead of 26.5 in. I think that will help a bit.  I won one of the weely contests for Deer City USA the text contest and I am waiting on my gift cert to Cabellas so I can buy a blind and will get a new release when I get a blind. I also get a camo deer city usa hat when they come. They called me a week and half ago yet when you are waiting on it it feels like forever already. I will eventually need my left shoulder op on. But I have to wait till next year some time after AR archery seasion. AS we are getting ready to move from CA to AR. And I plan on making it to the AR Archery white tail season and hogs.  I will not give up hunting season next year for another surgery. I will have to think hard about when to have the next one though. A total gym is nice but way out of our price range when we are going to be moving across country. Anyway it is nice meeting you and hope to get to chat with ya more on here.
 
 
Angi
NAHC life Member
Hoyt Owner
Winchester shotgun owner

Angi:

You are correct; those trigger-finger style releases put added pressure on your shoulder joints just by the way you have to draw your bow back when using them, at least that has been my experience when using one.  Maybe you can take the release that you now have and return it to the place where you bought it for an exchange or a refund.  I would give that a try first before going out and buying a new one.  Those 3 finger releases look pretty cool, and I halfheartedly tried one at Bass Pro, but I never did purchase one for myself. 

There is a Total Gym on the QVC website for $384.00 and you can choose to pay it off in 3 monthly payments of $128.00.  That is a heck of a deal compared to what they want for them on the Total Gym web site.  It may be out of your price range for now, but that is definitely a place where you may want to purchase one in the future.  I am super glad my wife bought ours, and she didn't even tell me, it just showed up on our deck one day from UPS.

Good luck with the rehab and finding a compatible release.

Take care and Good Hunting!

Best Afield,

Steve