QUESTION: Archery Takedown Bow

Apr 2 2013 | Yosemitest

[Yosemitest]

What takedown Bow would you recommend for someone who is right handed, but due to shoulder rotator-cup damage, doesn't have full strength in his right arm? He's interested in backpacking and wants enough pull strength to kill medium sized game, up to deer.
Budget is a concern, but I don't want to buy him a piece of junk or a toy.

[Vendome]

Oh? So he’s already had surgery? And he’s still only at 50%?

Guess I can believe that. I picked up a 12# pilate bar and couldn’t move the POS but a couple of inches. Very defeating, knowing that before my injury I could curl 80# sets and 100# 2,3 or 4 times.

I get where your friend is coming from though. If he was active before, then this ain’t no way to live.

Just gotta hang in there.

[Vendome]

Zactly!

I know I couldn’t do it today and I wouldn’t even think to say that two years ago.

[JoeProBono]

[antisocial]

Sportsman’s Guide has one I believe in 45lb pull.

[Vendome]

And that’s the deal breaker right there.

Even if he makes it past the cams, he has to have enough reserve to hold the thing steady, even though the pull will be less at that point.

[antisocial]

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/martin-jaguar-take-down-recurve-bow.aspx?a=690052

[Yosemitest]

Give it time to heal, but keep up the exercises.
If you don't do the exercises with the different colored rubber strips, it won;t heal right.
It's a must!

[ottbmare]

I don’t know anything about brands, either. I just use the one my boy bought at Dick’s. It’s called “The Reaper.” You can google that. He spent about $400-500 on his bow because that’s all the money he could save up before the season opened. He nailed quite a few deer with it, and we ate them until he left for the Marines.

It’s easy for me to wind up. I absolutely can’t pull a recurve bow, with my bad arm. The power of the thing is awe-inspiring. None of the grace of the recurve bow, but for hunting purposes it’s smaller, easier to carry, and far more deadly.

His buddy has a much better-quality bow, the kind with the gas-canister rewinding mechanism, and that’s about $800 IIRC.

The prices does not include a rangefinder, which is very important to account for the trajectory of an arrow over distance.

[moose07]

That’s the one ,Joe. LOL
Now who do i know that has one of those.... :)

[Yosemitest]

His injury was in 1990 and they've cut into him twice, the last time in 1997.
He said they told him he'd never have more than about 60% strength in that shoulder.
They taught him how to throw the joint back into the socket, because it's a little loose, although he said he hasn't thrown it out of joint in several years.
He doesn't have too many other issues, diabetes and he has to watch and not get too hot.
But he works a garden, and uses a chainsaw from time to time.

[Yosemitest]

It looks good, and it’s on the high end of the budget, but doable.

[Yosemitest]

Okay, thanks.

[Yosemitest]

Di you have a name or a link to that crossbow?

[JoeProBono]

[Charles Martel]

But wouldn’t a crossbow take up too much room in his pack over a one week hiking or camping excursion?

Not really. There are packs made specifically to accommodate crossbows (basically, they split the outer compartments into two, offset to either side of a vertical channel where the crossbow stock sits, pointing upward - tips of the bow right behind each shoulder).

You stuff the pack first, then strap the crossbow in place. I think some of them are arranged so the crossbow can be "drawn" up and over the shoulder for quick use.

[JoeProBono]

http://www.crossbowchannel.com/ReviewPages/StealthX2_page1.htm

[Vendome]

Dang! Well, going on better than 20 years experience with this he’d be in a better position to say what he can do.

[Yosemitest]

Thanks for the link.

[Yosemitest]

He told me that he just has to think, BEFORE he uses his right arm, and add the weight into the shoulder carefully.
He said if it starts to hurt in a weird way, he lets off the strain, and repositions the load.
Then sometimes he call and asked for help, if he thinks the load is too much.

[Vendome]

Hmmm....

I’m kinda sorta there. I think about each movement with my left arm and decide if I’m going to right hand it, take a chance and assist with right arm.

Like I said, he’s further along than I am and better able to judge what he can/can’t do.