My shoulder has deteriorated enough where I can't pull back my compound bow even at 40 lbs. This year I'll be using my crossbow for the first time since I was issued a permanent crossbow license 8 years ago. Probably be the last year I hunt.
Hunt with the crossbow for as long as you can keep getting out into the woods. If it makes you happy keep at it as long as humanly possible. :D
Sorry to hear about your predicament. I can relate a bit- my dad has been crossbow-restricted for about the past 5 years due to bone spurs and cartilage degeneration. He is getting shoulder (right/dominant) replacement surgery here in August, with hopes to recover enough to be in the woods in late October for the rut, then back under the knife in December for his left shoulder. I told Dad that I will pre-load his xbow at his blind every morning if I have to. Luckily w/a xbow there is no recoil so he should be fine. He spoke to the Doc who is optimistic that he may be able to pull a low-poundage vertical bow by next season. Dad couldn't be more happy to have heard that. He really misses it. He's OK with shooting a xbow ethics-wise but I think it rankles his pride a bit- this is a guy that as recently as a decade ago was still pulling 75# at 49 years old. His body really took a dump on him that past 10 years. Now, 2 titanium knees, a massive heart attack, and soon-to-be double bionic shoulders later, he still can't wait to get into the woods. He will not let it keep him down. Or at least hasn't yet. I don't know what he'd do if he couldn't get out in the woods with me, his brother, and my cousin. He looks forward to it so much every year. Here's to you finding a way to continue doing what you love.
Sorry to hear that. Have you considered switching to the other side? I mean right to left or left to right. Not the dark side or the gay, oh never mind.
