I've been having shoulder trouble since April but have been able to shoot my bow until the last week or two. I was planning to go to ND this weekend to start off the season but after trying to shoot a couple bows in the low 40s this evening have come to the realization that I just can't do it. I have an appointment with the orthopedic doctor on the 12th.
Anyway, I have to bowhunt this Fall. My 7 year old son and I have been talking about it for a year. We have stands hung and licenses bought. I want to start shooting with my right hand and hold the string with a mouth piece. (It is my left shoulder that is injured.) I just need some tips to get started. Anybody here shoot this way or know somebody who does?
Thanks in advance for the help. Chad
get a cross bow and take that kid hunting. great that you want to do that. but unless you want to get a compound with draw lock. thats your best bet. let that arms heal and get back in the game next year. i would never look down on ya for it. :thumbsup:
If you have a compound I have a draw lock I can loan you to put on it.
I had to use a compound with the draw lock one season after the motorcycle wreck that messed up my right shoulder.
God bless,Mudd
I only need to become confident to 12 yards or so as the vast majority of my deer are killed at less then that. I know I can do this with a one pin sight. I saw a guy shoot this way with a compound once and he could put 3 arrows in a dime at 10 yards every time. He was a paraplegic and won a medal in the Para Olympic Games. I'm just not sure what type of mouth piece to use and if my jaws will handle a stickbow of hunting weight. Thanks, Chad
If you can't get up to speed on time---no biggie, you get to take the boy hunting. That is cool stuff right there. I'm all for the crossbow method this season, just get one with recurve limbs.
Chad,
Back in the 80s there were a couple of kids and I think one adult written up in one of the magazines because they were handicapped and shot with one arm and their mouth. I don't know, man, that seems like a big order to change this close to the season(I know, that's your business, not mine!) Same thing about changing to a compound, or whatever.
Your boy will love you and the experience, whatever you do. I'll bet he's enjoy doing the same thing with a camera instead. Heck, one of you could take stills and the other could videotape. Might end up being a real valuable experience for him. It's obvious you're a great dad and he'll surely be ok with whatever you can do together.
Didn't Ron LaClaire shoot with one arm and his feet when he had a broken arm??? I think he talked about it on Masters of the Barebow 1.
Archie
You guys are talking like you think this will be a huge undertaking. I don't think so. I think it might be a little tricky with a stickbow but if I chose to go with a compound with a site I know I could shoot better one handed within a week then I ever did with a trad bow. Were talking short range here.
I appreciate all input here. One way or another my boy and I are going to hunt, it's all I've known for a long time now and not doing it isn't an option. I don't need to shoot another deer just hunting with him is enough. That said, I'd rather challenge myself then look for an easier way. If I can't shoot one handed with enough proficiency to hunt ethically I will consider other options. But, I'm going to try it. Chad
Chad check this out
http://www.pcba-inc.org/adapt-equip/116-making-of-a-mouth-tab
Scott
Chad, I know a guy called Lefty (for obvious reasons) in the Bitterroots that has hunted with one arm since the early seventies. He can shoot better then most people out to thirty yards and has killed more critters then most people I know i. He has a leather tab attached to the string and uses his teeth to clamp on it, holds the string in place and pushes the bow forward until it is fully drawn and then releases when the site picture is right. He has killed a lot of elk with 45-50# Bear recurves. Greg Munther, who was interviewed in the latest TBM Magazine, has hunted with him. I met Lefty when we were working to keep the x-gun out of the archery season in Montana and his testimony helped solidify our arguments to the Fish Wildlife & Parks Commission.
Chad, send me a pm with your l phone number of you would like to further discuss Lefty's method.
My thoughts: If Chad wanted to just take his kid hunting I'm sure he could use a gun. However, I do believe he wants to take him bowhunting, and using an x-gun just don't cut it.
Now, hopefully Dave will see where this is going and pull all the posts, mine included, that reference the x-gun
Have seen two poeple use tab holding in there teeth they were use wheel bows , the one shoots up with the pro. And the other has kill alot of game .
If you need a bow let's talk I have a bear t/d 40 with pins
Chad, Bummer deal on the shoulder. I have been nursing mine for "awhile" now. I can still shoot good hunting weights tho. I had it in my mind that I would have to do something different this season but I think it will be good enough to hunt my stickbow.
It sounds like Walt has a good line for you to follow up on. I have seen shooter with the mouth tab and they are very good. I have seen others(Ron L.) shoot with the foot,also very good. I would pursue what ever makes you comfortable. I may even give the footbow thing a try just to see(practice for now) how it works.20 yards is not hard to shoot for an instictive shooter and 10-15 should be very do-able.
Think about it, sitting on the ground with a bow strapped to your hoof, or in a treestand. seems like it would require little motion to run one thru.
Prayers for your healing Chad.
Chuck
Good luck Chad, I would be using a mouth tab as well. I think you can do it with little problem, it's not like you have never shot a bow before. Good luck and let me know if I can help in anyway!
Chad, Here is a link to a site that shows how to make a "mouth tab" or "chew strap" whatever you want to call it. Never used one or even seen one used but know they are effective. This might be an idea for you.
http://www.americandisabledarchers.com/American_Disabled_Archers/Teaching_Archery/Archive.html
I shot with a man at the Longbow Safari in Montana in the mid 1980's that used a mouth tab. It could very well be the man referred to above as Lefty. He had one arm and at the time shot a 70# longbow and did very well I might add.
In 1964 I broke my right wrist and it required a full arm cast. I shot a 70# recurve sitting on my butt using my foot and hunted the whole season successfully. If I had been smart enough at the time to figure out how to use a mouth tab it would have been a lot easier.. :rolleyes: ....
You said you tried a bow in the low 40's and couldn't do it. If you can shoot a bow in the low 30's I think with the proper arrow and broadhead it would be sufficient to kill a deer.
Chad:
Had a buffalo bull break my arm some years back. It was in the middle of archery season. First thing I did was find the lightest weight longbow I owned, which at the time was about 50#, and glued on a mouth tab out of leather long enough to be held with ALL of my teeth on the left side. Changed out some of my nocks to "snap-ons" then went out and started practicing. I had a full arm cast on so it made it tough to do anything but get the nock on the string. I missed more big mulie bucks than I have ever had the opportunity to shoot at before and since!! BUT I sure had fun being out there and hunting. I did kill several rabbits that way.
You will need to practice because of the shock to your neck muscles when you release. AND don't PEEK after releasing. That's how I missed all of those bucks. I shot under every one of them!
You can do it. Let's hear some stories.
I don't have any good reason to try this but I intend to prove to myself that I can do it just for the challenge and in case I'm ever faced with some situation that would require it.
God bless,Mudd
I remember seeing a magazine article a few years back about a one-armed bowman. If I remember right, he used nylon dog collar for his mouth tabs. Just bent 'em over the string and sewed the ends together.
Good luck Chad. I like the determination you're showing!
I remember a gentleman named Biff Williams, who was featured in Traditional archery digest, and also, Bowhunter mag. in the '80s!
A vary successful archer/bowhunter that shot all types of bows with his mouth! I'm like Mudd, need to try these things, so when the need arises. I try to shoot some opposite handed, just in case, of an injury, too.
Chad, know you can do it, and hope for great memories with your son! Missed see ya at Cloverdale, too! Good shootin!
Chad,
I am on the board of the Physically Disabled Bowhunters of America and this is the guy to call. Drew McCartney helped found the organization and shoots with a mouth tab. He is a one of my best friends and will help you out. His phone # is (785) 735-4230. Call him.
This didn't take long...lol
I used two of my lightest weight bows.
One was my JC Penny long-curve made by Wing Archery 45@28 and my proto-type Korean bow 47@28 with carbon limbs covered with Birch bark.(This bow weighs 13.8 oz with the string.)
(http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc158/mudd57/DSC01705.jpg)
(http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc158/mudd57/DSC01704.jpg)
These are my 1st arrows shot at ten yards.
No, it isn't an awesome group but I am now confident that with a little practice I could be deadly out to maybe 15 yards.
(http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc158/mudd57/DSC01707.jpg)
(http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc158/mudd57/DSC01708.jpg)
(http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc158/mudd57/DSC01706.jpg)
God bless,Mudd
PS: Holm-Made I'd say go for it! I am positive that you will be confident enough to take your son out and hunt with some practice.
I am so convinced that now I am going to try this with my Hill style Osage Royale since it is my lowest draw weight Hill style bow at 52@28.
God bless,Mudd
Better be careful Roy, if you loose your teeth you'll have to go to eating mush...or even GRITS as a regular diet .. :scared:
:biglaugh:
I am positive this isn't rocket science or brain surgery.
Here are some pictures of my group shot with my Osage Royale at ten yards.
(http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc158/mudd57/DSC01712.jpg)
(http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc158/mudd57/DSC01711.jpg)
(http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc158/mudd57/DSC01710.jpg)
(http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc158/mudd57/DSC01709.jpg)
God bless,Mudd
QuoteOriginally posted by steadman:
Good luck Chad, I would be using a mouth tab as well. I think you can do it with little problem, it's not like you have never shot a bow before. Good luck and let me know if I can help in anyway!
Agreed. I saw a guy at the High Country Shoot doing it right handed at about 12 yards and he was within a paper plate easy. I did't observe his setup really close but it did not appear to difficult.
Besides you would have some advantages...he only had one arm and so knocking an arrow and holding the bow was a challange, but for you, that would be a cinch with the use of both arms. Also it looked like he was really able to sight down the arrow very well as it allowed him to look down the center of the bow and arrow kinda like a slingshot.
Go for it Chad, I bet you will surprise yourself!
Good shooting, Mudd! I could see great consistency with a little practice and a solid anchor point like that.
Do it, Chad, just don't forget the pictures. :thumbsup:
There is a gentleman in our local area here that shoota a compound that way, he only has one arm, and shoots out of a wheelchair. The guy is deadly accurate. He is a real inspiration to watch. With practice I bet you can be very consistant with it--good shooting.
On Kentucky Educational TV, there is a fellow (Last name is Farmer) who hosts a hunting/fishing show called Kentucky Afield. He apparently has only one arm but shoots a bow using a tab of some sort which is attached to the string and he pulls it with his teeth---he is pretty darned good with that thing too.
It looks to me like a piece of lether which is doubled around the string and perhaps sewn there. He bites down on the tab, then pushes the bow away from himself out to full draw, and when he is on target, he simply releases. I don't remember if he uses asight or not.
He shoots a shotgun with his left arm only----but he actually mounts it to his right shoulder and his left arm is across his body. Looks awkward as heck to me, but again, he is a darned good shot. He doesn't let his handicap hold him back at all.
Joe
Chad I went throuh some physical therapy for shoulder issues this spring. There was a pic in the therapists ofice of a guy with a leather tab in his mouth at draw next to a doe he shot. I dont know but Mudd looks like he has it figured out. Good shooting Mudd. Good luck Chad I feel for you.
Scott Teaschner
Wow, amazing stuff Mudd! Good luck Chad!
Just remember to keep proper neck tension!!!?
So Chad, sounds like when you get set up and practiced up and stick that deer with your son their using a mouth tab and one arm, humm, I see a TBM artical in the future.
On a side note: Talk about a leson in determination for your son to learn. Good for you and go for it.
The Physically Challenged Bowhunters of America Inc.
pcba-inc.org
I Started the Original PCBA back in the 80's. Theses Guys took it to a greater level. Get ahold of them. Jeff
I took out a few that shot with one arm. One Guy fron Cleveland shot with his mouth. the crossbow was mounted on wheelchair. he was a "Quad" with very limited movement,,,so as I see it anyone can stay in bowhunting if they have the will !
Chad:
I have a friend that had bowhunted for decades and had a massive stroke that paralyzed his right arm. He uses a leather mouth tab.
I found a very easy way to make a leather tab and it works great.
Cut out a piece of leather about 4 inches long in a round tailed comet shape then make a slit near the head of the comet.
Put the leather across the string then draw the tail of the comet through it's head and you're done.
God bless,Mudd
PS: I shot my "Old Tom" with it quite a bit this afternoon once it started to cool down some. It is also easy to remove.
Thanks for all the support and good ideas. This afternoon I got a hold of a lefty compound and shot about 80 arrows with a mouth tab I made. It was pretty easy with the let off and all. I started at 31#, then went to 37# and finally 40#. I will work my way up into the 50s to get my neck and teeth in shape, then start with a lightweight recurve.
I'm able to use my left hand to assist in the draw as long as I keep my elbow low so strength really wasn't an issue. The stickbow will take alot more practice but I guess we all know that already, right!
Thanks so much, Chad
Good luck Chad, it will sure make for a memorable season!
Chad, way to hang in there, that is why the last 2 bows I bought from you were lightweights, I avoided your very situation. After shooting with Jake at ETAR maybe you could let him do the shooting and you can run the camera. :bigsmyl:
My buddy also strapped his bow to his right foot using a rubber strap. He said it was incredibly accurate, and easy to shoot as he was looking down his arrow like a shotgun barrel. Sounds like you are set on using mmouthpiece, but in case it doesn't work its worth a try.
good job mudd. chad i saw a gentleman at denton about 10 years ago shoot the exact same way mudd is in the photos. good luck this season. sorry about your injury. brad
A local farmer with 1 arm shoots a compaound with a mouth tab. He just had a piece of webbing or fabric tied onto the string. He did well. Obviously did not shoot high poundage but we all know that is not what kills.
Years ago at our local archery range a young kid about twelve only had one arm. He had a piece of rawhide attached to his bow string that he pulled with his teeth. He was actually a very good shooter and out shot many other kids.
That is awesome Chad. If Jacob sees you shoot a deer with your using your teeth, you will be like a super hero! When I was a kid, my dad used to throw coins up in the air and shoot them with a .22. I thought it was the coolest thing anyone could possibly do. I still tell my kids the stories. So, like I said, if Jacob sees you accomplish this, it will be legendary! Good Luck. See you in a couple weeks hopefully to pick up my new Osprey!
Jon
It looks very cool, but please see your doctor before doing this. The shoulder and the neck are very intertwined. Thanks to Mudd you can see the different neck/shoulder positions in his various shots and the possible strain caused.
I speak from some unfortunate experience regarding the connectivity of the neck and shoulder. My experience may be nothing like yours, but I would still speak with a doctor or three first.
I have seen guys shoot with their teeth. It can be done, but I would go at it slowly and carefully....good luck with your challenge!
Chad,
I had a Dr. Tell me that I had bursitis in my shoulder ,At that Point I had so much pain and listened . He gave me a shot in the arm and pain I have never felt my life like that , BUT Here we are about 2 1/2 months later and my arm is starting to do the same thing that it did before .
Just make sure you get test done on it that will give you the accurate reason it's happening, Because now that's what I have to do , I'm afraid I'm looking to have surgery in January .
Just make sure they get it right the first time .
It's humbling having to sell your bows (Traditional ).
It makes you realize that doctors don't know everything .I put a lot of trust in that individual ,But he did say to me if it comes back I would have to do an MRI ,I'm just afraid of what he will find.
But now you know what I was talking about ,Just take care of it .Don't let it go as long as I did. Get it done as soon as you can .
Carl