Ended 2015 on a Low Note, but Starting 2016 on a High...

Ryan Sanpei · February 08, 2016, 06:30:00 PM

At the end of last year I had to stop shooting my stickbow as I started to get pain from an old shoulder injury and developed tendonitis in my bow arm. My shoulder wasn't too bad, but the pain in my elbow kept my bow unstrung for months.

At the end of December, I considered a few options. One was to drop in weight and change the amount of tension in my bow arm. My other option was to pick up a compound as shooting a compound didn't aggravate the pain in my elbow, and my last option would be to just tag along with Staci. Those were my options, but I still wasn't sure if those options would work. Some of the bows that I was interested in wasn't available. The wait time on other bows were very long. What if it didn't work, I would be spending a lot of money on experimentation, etc...

To be honest, I didn't know what to do and went back and forth on my options. At the end of 2015, I decided that I would just rest my elbow and carry a camera in the field for 2016.

February 08, 2016, 06:39:00 PM

Can't wait for the pics you take. They are always awesome!

And I hope your arm gets better and you get back to shooting soon!

Bisch

Ryan Sanpei · February 08, 2016, 06:42:00 PM

In the beginning of January, South had called and told me that he had a lightweight set of limbs that he had missed weight on. He also mentioned that he would be able to shape the grip to my preference as an attempt to not further aggregate my elbow. I knew that I could trust South and if I ran into any issues, he would be there to help.

I went ahead with the order and this is what he came up with.

Ryan Sanpei · February 08, 2016, 06:43:00 PM

Mahalo for the kind words Bisch! I'm definitely back to shooting. Remainder of the story coming up shortly...

Birdbow · February 08, 2016, 06:44:00 PM

Ryan,
Faced a similar choice years ago (different injury - separated bicep) and the only thing I might offer is to practice patience. Connective tissues take a long time to heal. Patience worked for me along with good rehab and I'm back to shooting my original 60# LB - 62 years young.
All the best through the process.
Todd
PS. Miss my years on the islands and especially shooting at Kapolei

Ryan Sanpei · February 08, 2016, 07:01:00 PM

Thank you Todd! Yeah, I let it rest for a while and now I'm in the process of rehab. Not a 100% but at least it's getting better.

Ryan Sanpei · February 08, 2016, 07:14:00 PM

I was a little leery when the bow came in as the last time I shot one of my stickbows, shooting pain would shock my elbow upon the release of the arrow.

After building a custom string and setting up the bow, it was time to take a shot. Apprehensive about it, I came to half draw and shot the shot. There was no shock in my elbow, but still some pain from the holding weight. A few more shots and I was back to full draw. To my surprise, the bow didn't shock my elbow. As I mentioned, I still had some pain from holding my bow arm up and from the holding weight.

With my slight change in bow arm and amount of tension, I felt like this bow was going to work. Everyday, I took a few shots, rested and followed with a little rehab. Soon enough I was ready to hit the range. The one thing I needed to keep in mind was to keep my shooting to a minimum.

Todd, here's one from the range.

Jayrod · February 08, 2016, 07:37:00 PM

Looking good to me Ryan glad to see your back at it ...take your time and don't rush it but I think we all get caught up shooting more weight than we need

Paul Cousineau · February 08, 2016, 08:32:00 PM

Nice looking bow! Your form doesn't look like it has suffered one bit. Thanks for all the work you do sharing your how-to videos. Hope your recovery continues.

MnFn · February 08, 2016, 08:41:00 PM

Glad to see you are back at it, Ryan.

Ryan Sanpei · February 08, 2016, 09:25:00 PM

Thank you Guys!

Great insight Jarrod!

Appreciate the kind words about the videos Paul!

Ryan Sanpei · February 08, 2016, 09:31:00 PM

So after a few weeks of shooting, tuning and retraining, I decided it was time to return to the field. I reached a point with my training in which I was confident up to twenty yards.

Ryan Sanpei · February 08, 2016, 09:59:00 PM

On the second trip in, we spotted some goats feeding in an area that we felt was approachable. After some discussion, we decided to change our original plan and head for the goats we just glassed up.

It was a long and steep climb which took about 45 minutes and fortunately we could still hear the goats in the area. Once in the specific area, we slowed our approach. About fifteen minutes later we spotted the first goat. They were about fifty yards in front of us. A few were to the right of us and a couple were on the ridge line to the left of us.

At that point we decided to split up. Staci took up stalk on the ones above us in hopes that the others to the right would eventually feed directly to her. I looped around to the left, hoping that I could cut of the ones in the lead.

Tired and out of breath, I climbed to a point where I was finally in line with them. I had about four goats near me. I saw one billy, two nannies and one kid. I kept my eye on them as I crept into position. When they fed, I crawled. When they stopped to look around, I stopped and hunkered down. After a game of cat and mouse, I finally closed the distance to twenty yards. The goats were slowly feeding in my direction as I was positioning myself for a shot. Just as the first nanny reached a clearing in the thick brush, she decided to scale the rocky ledge above her. I assumed the others were going to do the same so I had to reposition myself. I moved as much as possible without catching the attention of the other goats. Sure enough, the others followed the lead nanny. The kid passed and following right behind was the billy. As he made his first jump on the ledge, I didn't have a shot. Then he slowly moved his way up. At about his sixth step, I had a small shooting lane between some dead branches. I felt confident and came to full draw. At this point he was quartering away and unassuming. Focusing on the spot, my string hand relaxed and the arrow took off...

Cwilder · February 09, 2016, 12:39:00 AM

Glad you're back at it Ryan. Your hunting adventures keep me going in our off season. Congrats on the Billy

stujay · February 09, 2016, 01:07:00 AM

Ryan Sanpei · February 09, 2016, 03:45:00 AM

Thank you Christian and Stuart!

Ryan Sanpei · February 09, 2016, 03:56:00 AM

The arrow struck a little back but I wasn't worried as he was quartering away. He bolted up the ledge and stopped for a few seconds. Then he made one last dash past Staci and piled up the the boulders.

I climbed up and over the ledge and proceeded to meet Staci. Although I knew the animal was down, I still proceeded with caution. It's never over until I have the animal in my hands.

Thanks to South, I'm back in the saddle again!

I'm still not a 100%, but I'm just appreciative to be back in the field again. Although not a serious injury, it did prevent me from hunting and shooting my bow, which caused some frustration. Staci might beg to differ and say it was more than just "some"... LOL!

Etter · February 09, 2016, 08:23:00 AM

Eccentric exercise will heal the worst tendonitis case within a month or so. I had a significant portion of my tricep tendon missing. Two weeks doing daily eccentrics and I was pain free. Two months later I was back doing high weight bench press and been pain free ever since.

John146 · February 09, 2016, 10:11:00 AM

Great story Ryan!! I too went months without shooting my bow cause of shoulder issues but with time and lower weight was able to get back in the saddle as well.

What a beautiful goat!!Congrats!!

Ryan Sanpei · February 09, 2016, 11:57:00 AM

Thanks for the info Etter!

Thank you Todd!