Two right shoulder rotator cuff surgeries, one eighteen years ago, the second five years later. I went with a muzzle brake, and a recoil reducer in the butt in my hard kickers. I still have boomers, but I restrict things that kick more than my 375 H&H to a few rounds a trip. That said, I have been able to make three trips to Africa since. Common sense must prevail.
Shoulder replacement and big rifiles
- Thread starter charlied63
- Start date
I spent quite a few years taking animals apart and putting them back together. I can say the first surgery has its challenges, when you have to go back and repair a failed mess,its no fun. The chances for success decrease dramatically. From my no nonsense point of view- if you need to shoot with even a little horsepower learn to shoot the offside. If you want to work with the compromised shoulder shoot a cream puff. 6BR, 6X47L, 243. ,223, etc. Most joint repair prosthetics are held in with some form of "bone cement" and thats not the same as Devcon epoxy or JB Weld. Its not designed to withstand a lot of shock loading.
I worked in the replacement joint manufacturing industry for a decade.
Always keep in mind that your shoulder has no real "socket". The humerus translates and rotates on a shallow feature called a glenoid that is about the size and shape of the bowl of a teaspoon. The humerus slips and slides as well as rotates in this depression. The only thing keeping your humerus in place is the soft tissue. You might check with your surgeon to see what style of replacement joint was used. Some of the reverse shoulders are very stable.
In any event if the glenoid is cemented in place with polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) the cement is normally considered to have a life of 7 years..
Even supporting a heavy rifle cantilevered with your bad arm is not a good idea. Don't think you are being a wimp.
Your ability to tie your shoes, dress, feed yourself, brush your teeth and wipe your butt could be in jeopardy if you had a really nasty shoulder repair. It is not just about the quality of the metal joint or how tough you are. If your previous shoulder was really bad and your surgeon did not have much to work with you could be a poor candidate just because of the quality of soft tissue and bone in the joint.
As rogn says above use the other shoulder if you can. I played a lot of baseball as a kid up through high school and became a pretty good switch hitter. Any switch hitter will tell you that the foot work is much more difficult to learn than the arms and the eyes. Shooting sitting is no big deal at all unless you have a poor eye on that side.
Send me a PM if you think I can answer any questions.
Always keep in mind that your shoulder has no real "socket". The humerus translates and rotates on a shallow feature called a glenoid that is about the size and shape of the bowl of a teaspoon. The humerus slips and slides as well as rotates in this depression. The only thing keeping your humerus in place is the soft tissue. You might check with your surgeon to see what style of replacement joint was used. Some of the reverse shoulders are very stable.
In any event if the glenoid is cemented in place with polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) the cement is normally considered to have a life of 7 years..
Even supporting a heavy rifle cantilevered with your bad arm is not a good idea. Don't think you are being a wimp.
Your ability to tie your shoes, dress, feed yourself, brush your teeth and wipe your butt could be in jeopardy if you had a really nasty shoulder repair. It is not just about the quality of the metal joint or how tough you are. If your previous shoulder was really bad and your surgeon did not have much to work with you could be a poor candidate just because of the quality of soft tissue and bone in the joint.
As rogn says above use the other shoulder if you can. I played a lot of baseball as a kid up through high school and became a pretty good switch hitter. Any switch hitter will tell you that the foot work is much more difficult to learn than the arms and the eyes. Shooting sitting is no big deal at all unless you have a poor eye on that side.
Send me a PM if you think I can answer any questions.
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I asked a member of my gym how young he was. He said 'What?!' I then asked him how old he was. He said he was going to be 91 in January. He said he had to work out in the pool because of recent rotator cuff surgery. That was a couple of years ago.
I just saw him in December of last year. I said 'January is your birthday month, isn't it?' 'Yep! Im going to be 93!' (No walker, cain, nothing). I asked him what his secret to his longevity was. 'Is it Booze and Women?' he laughed and said, 'I had plenty of that!'
I just saw him in December of last year. I said 'January is your birthday month, isn't it?' 'Yep! Im going to be 93!' (No walker, cain, nothing). I asked him what his secret to his longevity was. 'Is it Booze and Women?' he laughed and said, 'I had plenty of that!'
There are plenty of calibers that have way less recoil than the 308. I would try a few before I gave up shooting.
Obviously follow the advice of your medical professional. There are some options with the 308 to significantly reduce recoil but it may not be enough depending on your medical condition. Here are some things I've done.
I have two 308's and I'm an old guy so I don't like recoil anymore especially with my bad back. I been using 125 grain Sierra Pro Hunter bullets with reduced charges of H4895. Hodgdon's has a number of reduced loads published for H4895. I've got my recoil down to about 9.5 lbs. Accuracy is not great but serviceable at about 1 1/2 moa. A few grains more of powder charge added about 2 lbs of recoil and I got the groups down to about .90 moa.
My 308's are my fall and winter guns so I shoot them with a well padded vest on. In addition when shooting off the bench I hold the forearm resting in on a sandbag of adequate height to give me an erect position so the recoil is absorbed by my entire body, not just the shoulder. While this isn't the most accurate bench method it significantly reduces felt recoil plus it's the way I hold the rifle when I hunt so it's more realistic of the rifle / load / shooter combo's potential in the field.
All of the above, lighter bullet, reduced charges, using a well padded vest, bench position and holding the forearm have resulted in significantly reduced felt recoil so much so that I enjoy shooting the 308 again.
If this is not an option you could rebarrel to a 243. The 85 grain Sierra BTHP is a great all around bullet for the 243 and the recoil in the 7.5 lb range.
I have two 308's and I'm an old guy so I don't like recoil anymore especially with my bad back. I been using 125 grain Sierra Pro Hunter bullets with reduced charges of H4895. Hodgdon's has a number of reduced loads published for H4895. I've got my recoil down to about 9.5 lbs. Accuracy is not great but serviceable at about 1 1/2 moa. A few grains more of powder charge added about 2 lbs of recoil and I got the groups down to about .90 moa.
My 308's are my fall and winter guns so I shoot them with a well padded vest on. In addition when shooting off the bench I hold the forearm resting in on a sandbag of adequate height to give me an erect position so the recoil is absorbed by my entire body, not just the shoulder. While this isn't the most accurate bench method it significantly reduces felt recoil plus it's the way I hold the rifle when I hunt so it's more realistic of the rifle / load / shooter combo's potential in the field.
All of the above, lighter bullet, reduced charges, using a well padded vest, bench position and holding the forearm have resulted in significantly reduced felt recoil so much so that I enjoy shooting the 308 again.
If this is not an option you could rebarrel to a 243. The 85 grain Sierra BTHP is a great all around bullet for the 243 and the recoil in the 7.5 lb range.
butchlambert
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Probably mentioned. If your 20 gauge is semi automatic it will have less felt recoil. Why not go to a semi automatic in 308. Reduced recoil loads are available. Also quality recoil pads, mercury recoil reducers and muzzle brake, and suppressors.
germanlongbow
Scott M Bainbridge
I had a C5-7 (cervical discectemy with fusion) of my neck almost 9 years ago. I was only 38 at the time and spent alot of time shooting heavy recoil rifles. Even though the issue was fixed with surgery, over time the levels above and below the fusion can and will fail. I chose to slowly rebarrel all my rifles from 223 to 338 to heavy (19 to 32 pound) configurations with either muzzle brakes and suppressors to reduce recoil as much as possible. Like most other people on this website, I wasn't going to accept giving up shooting because my health changed. I have only a few passions. My family, work, and shooting. I work in the hospital OR, so I've seen a lot of replacement surgery for shoulders. There is a happy medium to be found that will allow you to enjoy shooting sports without injuring your shoulder. Good luck. Scott
A gas operated, (versus piston), semi-auto would work for you. There are some capable of fine precision if that is your goal.
On the other hand, a benchrest .308win is not a heavy kicker due to 13lbs of weight. Lots of tactical rifles with great glass scopes will go over 17lbs...
Another thought, heaven forbid!, is to take up cast boolit shooting. Load a sporter with a 180gr cast boolit and mild load of Unique or 2400 and you have no recoil to speak of. It's a whole nother game with lots of challenges, and casting boolits is FUN! You can even run cast boolits in an AR-10; but does take a decent load to cycle the bolt for semi-auto shooting.
Of course, the AR-15 will do you even better in the recoil dept. For mildest possible, there's the .22 K-Hornet. Get one in .224 bore diameter and you're set!
On the other hand, a benchrest .308win is not a heavy kicker due to 13lbs of weight. Lots of tactical rifles with great glass scopes will go over 17lbs...
Another thought, heaven forbid!, is to take up cast boolit shooting. Load a sporter with a 180gr cast boolit and mild load of Unique or 2400 and you have no recoil to speak of. It's a whole nother game with lots of challenges, and casting boolits is FUN! You can even run cast boolits in an AR-10; but does take a decent load to cycle the bolt for semi-auto shooting.
Of course, the AR-15 will do you even better in the recoil dept. For mildest possible, there's the .22 K-Hornet. Get one in .224 bore diameter and you're set!
I had a rotator cuff repair and I still shoot a 7MM Mag but that is not a total replacement my suggestion would be a 243 with a brake and maybe some sort of recoil reducer in the stock I have hunted with a 243 for years and it was more than adequate for Deer size game and target shooting As said check with your doctor Good Luck
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