Doctor says to cut back on the shooting!

[yorketransport]

Alright, here's a little background first:

I'm 29. I got into handgun shooting about 7 years ago when I bought a 14" 30-30 Contender. I loved that gun, but it wasn't big enough. From there it was a 10" 44 mag Contender. Then came the Taurus Ti Tracker in 41mag, 45/70 Contender, 460 S&W, etc. The calibers got bigger, the loads got heavier, and the recoil got more abusive.

I believe at this point the gun that has finally done me in is the 45/70 BFR. I love that gun, but I think that I just went too far. I've only had it for about 4 years and have about 1400 round through it. Some are pretty mild but most are not for the faint of heart. I knew that it was a bad idea to shoot a steady diet of the heavy loads. I just thought that I had a little longer until they finally did me in.

About 3 months ago while out shooting the BFR I fired a shot, and the fingers in my right hand went numb for a few minutes. It was actually after I made a video for a friend who wanted to se me shoot the BFR with full power loads. Here's the clip.

45-70 BFR recoil

I figured that this wasn't a good thing, so I packed up for the day. The next trip out while shooting a 4" Ruger Redhawk 45 Colt, the same thing happened, after only a few shots. I took some time off from shooting the handguns until I finished up a Savage Stiker  in 338/375 Ruger that I had been working on for 6 months. I took the Striker out two weeks ago and put about 60 rounds through that without a problem. When It came time to shoot the 10mm (Dan Wesson CCBT), I got one magazine through it before my wrist hurt enough for me to call it a day. When I got home my hand saw a little swollen, but not that bad.

The swelling didn't go down after 3 days, so I stopped by the doctor. I was not ready for what he said. I have a number of hairline fractures in my wrist and hand, some recent, some older and healed over. The numbness is from nerve damage. My wrists are in pretty poor condition (some of that is from work) with some compression fractures. His advice, as an avid shooter himself, was to stop shooting the big guns immediately and permenantly.

His advice is to stick with full size steel framed guns like 1911s and heavy revolvers in moderate calibers under 357 Mag. He even said the my recently aquired S&W 610 is pushing it. At this point, I don't know what do to. I love the large calibers. I know that ehy can be down loaded, but you don't have a Corvette to drive 35 mph to the grocery store, and you don't have a 45-70 revolver to shoot 45 Colt cowboy loads out of it.

Have any of you been in this position? What did you do? Did you stop shooting, change calibers, cut back on the shooting, or did you just keep going unchanged? I really don't know what I want to do. With the exception or a 22 pistol and maybe the model 610, none of my handguns really fall into the moderate caliber range.

If you have any advice, comments or suggestions I'd love to hear them.

Andrew

[DANNY-L]

That looks like to much fun not to do.

[buck460XVR]

One of the nice things about the new bigger and badder hand cannons is that even their powder puff loads have more power than the max loads of their weaker predecessors. One doesn't have to load a .460 to max to outpower a .44 and in it's hefty X-Frame it actually recoils less than the .44. Handguns are not like body-building........it does not have to hurt to work. I have found shooting my .460 with Trail boss loads is just as much fun as 300 grainers loaded with H110/W296 to max. If I were in your shoes, I would try reduced loads and shooting left-handed.

[yorketransport]

That looks like to much fun not to do.

That's part of my problem. I don't have much self control. I've always known that shooting the heavy loads was a bad idea, but it's just so much fun!

If I were in your shoes, I would try reduced loads and shooting left-handed.

I considered this, but I have pretty bad arthritis in my left hand and wrist. That's why I stopped playing the piano and the viola. Also, my left hand and wrist take most of the abuse while I'm working. My work truck is a manual transmission, so I steer with my left hand. Spinning the wheel for 10 hours a day on top of unloading an average of 3.5 tons of packages by hand every day has taken it's toll.

I do use a lot of trail boss already, maybe it's just time to us it more often. I wonder how a 500gr bullet over a case full of Trailboss would work on a deer?

Andrew

[squirrellluck]

Not to be a spoil sport but food for thought. Cut back, learn to enjoy the small cals and shoot for many more years or continue on the current course and do damage that could put handguns on the list with the piano and viola Had to make the same choice about my bows.

[torpedoman]

One of the nice things about the new bigger and badder hand cannons is that even their powder puff loads have more power than the max loads of their weaker predecessors. One doesn't have to load a .460 to max to outpower a .44 and in it's hefty X-Frame it actually recoils less than the .44. Handguns are not like body-building........it does not have to hurt to work. I have found shooting my .460 with Trail boss loads is just as much fun as 300 grainers loaded with H110/W296 to max. If I were in your shoes, I would try reduced loads and shooting left-handed.

Yea no use being lop sided just screw up the other arm so it matches.You should listen to your doctor. I have sever tendinitis in BOTH arms from work as a mechanic for too many years. it aint no fun.

[mrussel]

Alright, here's a little background first:

I'm 29. I got into handgun shooting about 7 years ago when I bought a 14" 30-30 Contender. I loved that gun, but it wasn't big enough. From there it was a 10" 44 mag Contender. Then came the Taurus Ti Tracker in 41mag, 45/70 Contender, 460 S&W, etc. The calibers got bigger, the loads got heavier, and the recoil got more abusive.

I believe at this point the gun that has finally done me in is the 45/70 BFR. I love that gun, but I think that I just went too far. I've only had it for about 4 years and have about 1400 round through it. Some are pretty mild but most are not for the faint of heart. I knew that it was a bad idea to shoot a steady diet of the heavy loads. I just thought that I had a little longer until they finally did me in.

About 3 months ago while out shooting the BFR I fired a shot, and the fingers in my right hand went numb for a few minutes. It was actually after I made a video for a friend who wanted to se me shoot the BFR with full power loads. Here's the clip.

45-70 BFR recoil


I figured that this wasn't a good thing, so I packed up for the day. The next trip out while shooting a 4" Ruger Redhawk 45 Colt, the same thing happened, after only a few shots. I took some time off from shooting the handguns until I finished up a Savage Stiker  in 338/375 Ruger that I had been working on for 6 months. I took the Striker out two weeks ago and put about 60 rounds through that without a problem. When It came time to shoot the 10mm (Dan Wesson CCBT), I got one magazine through it before my wrist hurt enough for me to call it a day. When I got home my hand saw a little swollen, but not that bad.

The swelling didn't go down after 3 days, so I stopped by the doctor. I was not ready for what he said. I have a number of hairline fractures in my wrist and hand, some recent, some older and healed over. The numbness is from nerve damage. My wrists are in pretty poor condition (some of that is from work) with some compression fractures. His advice, as an avid shooter himself, was to stop shooting the big guns immediately and permenantly.

His advice is to stick with full size steel framed guns like 1911s and heavy revolvers in moderate calibers under 357 Mag. He even said the my recently aquired S&W 610 is pushing it. At this point, I don't know what do to. I love the large calibers. I know that ehy can be down loaded, but you don't have a Corvette to drive 35 mph to the grocery store, and you don't have a 45-70 revolver to shoot 45 Colt cowboy loads out of it.

Have any of you been in this position? What did you do? Did you stop shooting, change calibers, cut back on the shooting, or did you just keep going unchanged? I really don't know what I want to do. With the exception or a 22 pistol and maybe the model 610, none of my handguns really fall into the moderate caliber range.

If you have any advice, comments or suggestions I'd love to hear them.

Andrew

 I expected carpal tunnel issues but not fractures. Thats some serious firepower.  Sounds like its best to give the big guns a break. Only thing worse than not being able to shoot some of your guns would not being able to shoot ANY of your guns.
 I moved a lot of stuff by myself and I ended up messing up my wrist and getting carpal tunnel. It was kinda scary becuase It happened once in awhile before with my other hand and It made me thing that I should be careful becuase I now realize its perfectly possible that if I dont,I will end up needing surgery and even then could possibly lose the use of one or both hands. Fortunatly I have not had any problems from shooting,but I keep a close eye on it and hope I dont have any problems arise.
 If you try to keep shooting it your going to have to reduce the force that things hitting your hand with,which means ether reduced loads or padding or increasing the mass of the gun. I have to agree though,listening to your doctor is a good idea.

[Lloyd Smale]

ive had capal tunnel surgery on my shooting hand and bone spurs removed from the middle nuckle on my shooting hand and that nuckle is permantely twice the size of the left one. Doctor laughed at me when i asked him if he could cut that finger off as it interferes with my shooting!

[oldandslow]

I would listen to the doctor. Your hands will heal but as you age you are going to have problems with the damage you have already done to them.

[williamlayton]

Son---you got a long way to go and a lot of things you must do----MUST.
Hang up those guns for the sake of your health and welfare of family.
If I was your dad I would say---What the hell are you even asking advice about son---you got no choice in the matter.
I am not your dad and I don't have need to be nice.
What the hell are you asking advice about son---you don't have a choice---get some sense into your head.
Blessings

[coyotejoe]

Absolutely! I understand that big bores can be fun but they ain't the ONLY fun. Get over it, you may just find you enjoy hunting woodchucks with a .223 and squirels with a .32 S&W. Sell those darn things now while you still have the use of your hands and let some other durn fool wreck his body with them. Buy yourself a muzzleloading cannon, just light the fuse and stand clear!

[Hank08]

You might ask John Taffin about doing that.  He's had to have all the bones in his wrist (7 of them, i think) fused together into one big one from shooting too many heavy loads.  Listen to your Dr.
H08

[buck460XVR]

One of the nice things about the new bigger and badder hand cannons is that even their powder puff loads have more power than the max loads of their weaker predecessors. One doesn't have to load a .460 to max to outpower a .44 and in it's hefty X-Frame it actually recoils less than the .44. Handguns are not like body-building........it does not have to hurt to work. I have found shooting my .460 with Trail boss loads is just as much fun as 300 grainers loaded with H110/W296 to max. If I were in your shoes, I would try reduced loads and shooting left-handed.

Yea no use being lop sided just screw up the other arm so it matches.You should listen to your doctor. I have sever tendinitis in BOTH arms from work as a mechanic for too many years. it aint no fun.

If you read my post, I didn't say try reduced loads OR shoot left handed, I said try reduced loads AND shoot left handed. I also said this before the OP told any of us that he had arthritis in in his left hand and wrist. I too have tendinitis and carpal tunnel in both hands.....add to this, several years ago I broke my right thumb while reffing a hockey game...time I realized it had been broken and not just sprained, it was too late. It has healed to a big knot where the joint meets my hand. For six months until it healed and the pain went away for the most part, the only way I could shoot was left handed with reduced loads. Altho it lacked the boom and the muzzle flash of pre-injury outings, it was still better than sitting in the house whinin' about not bein' able to shoot at all. Amazing how much fun light loads are compared to none.

[mrussel]

Absolutely! I understand that big bores can be fun but they ain't the ONLY fun. Get over it, you may just find you enjoy hunting woodchucks with a .223 and squirels with a .32 S&W. Sell those darn things now while you still have the use of your hands and let some other durn fool wreck his body with them. Buy yourself a muzzleloading cannon, just light the fuse and stand clear!

You might also want to make sure you dont have another problem like some sort of calcium deficiency or something making it worse. Would such to fall down and break a hip and realize that it was an early warning sign. The way I see it,over the years you live,along the way you pick up all these injuries,some small ,some larger. Be careful and try to minimize those because they are all cumulative.

[SteveHawaii]

I'd say listen to your doctor.  You've got a loooong way to go in life.  Deal with your limitations.  As time goes on, you'll only get more.  Getting old's not for sissies.

[t-reg]

I own, train and ride horses.  So does my doctor.

You are also blessed with a good doctor.  Get closer, shoot smarter.

[yorketransport]

If I was your dad I would say---What the hell are you even asking advice about son---you got no choice in the matter.
I am not your dad and I don't have need to be nice.
What the hell are you asking advice about son---you don't have a choice---get some sense into your head.
Blessings

This is funny because this is how most of the conversations with my parents go. From the day I told them I was getting married to a girl I'd known 3 weeks (we're going on 9 years now) to the day I quit my job to start a delivery company. I always like to ask the opinion of those with more experience than myself. I may not always listen, but I value educated opinions.

I pretty much knew what everyone would say about giving up the big guns. I think I'm just hoping that I'll hear a couple stories from guys who took a couple of years off, healed up, and were good as new again. Unfortunately I'm not foolish enough to believe that this would really happen.

That's alright. Maybe it's time I moved on to big bore rifles. I wonder how many rounds I can fire out of a 505 Gibbs before I need to worry about injuring my shoulder........

Andrew

[mrussel]

If I was your dad I would say---What the hell are you even asking advice about son---you got no choice in the matter.
I am not your dad and I don't have need to be nice.
What the hell are you asking advice about son---you don't have a choice---get some sense into your head.
Blessings

This is funny because this is how most of the conversations with my parents go. From the day I told them I was getting married to a girl I'd known 3 weeks (we're going on 9 years now) to the day I quit my job to start a delivery company. I always like to ask the opinion of those with more experience than myself. I may not always listen, but I value educated opinions.

I pretty much knew what everyone would say about giving up the big guns. I think I'm just hoping that I'll hear a couple stories from guys who took a couple of years off, healed up, and were good as new again. Unfortunately I'm not foolish enough to believe that this would really happen.

That's alright. Maybe it's time I moved on to big bore rifles. I wonder how many rounds I can fire out of a 505 Gibbs before I need to worry about injuring my shoulder........

Andrew

 Drink lots of milk,like gallons of it,perhaps invest in a cow.   

[Lloyd Smale]

I guess im the odd man out here. When my doc told me to quit or at least cut back i laughed at him. I told him that eating steak is bad for me too but ive got about 20 years left on this world and how be dammed if im going to spend the rest of it living on vegetables. If i were you id consider cutting back or at least shooting small calibers for a couple months to let it heal. Dont do like i did and shoot a 500 a month after my surgery. THAT HURT! But to give up something I love just because it causes a little discomfort isnt in the cards. Ive had 5 back surgerys and the doc about told me i should spend the rest of my life sitting in a chair watching tv. But id rather be dead then do that! 

[dickttx]

Ten years ago I had both my knees replaced.
My wife and I had met on a trail ride and our whole liesure time was spent enjoying riding our gaited horses.
I asked the Doctor about continuing to ride.  He said I would probably be OK, but if a horse fell on my leg he hoped it would be after he retired.
We gave up the horses because I was not near so agile at 63 as I had been at 43 or 53.  I decided I did not want to put my wife or the other people we rode with in the position of having to haul me out of the woods somewhere.
It is kind of like retiring.  All the financial advertising is geared toward having enough investments to continue your lifestyle.  Most people don't don't want to continue their lifestyle after they retire.  You do what your body and your mind will let you do.

[oldandslow]

"You do what your body and your mind will let you do". True words. When I told him he would have trouble from the damage he has already done it was the voice of experience speaking. My problem is my mind keeps wanting to do things that my body can't and it hurts.  I guess my body has aged more than my mind. 

[MGMorden]

Would you rather shoot the big stuff for 2-3 more years tops, or enjoy a hopefully full and long life shooting smaller stuff? 

Cut back.  Shoot the smaller stuff out of the handguns.  Shoot your bigger rounds from a rifle where your shoulder (rather than your wrist) can absorb the impact.

There is a saying in aviation that is somewhat related to this:

There are a lot of old pilots out there.  There are a lot of daring pilots out there too.  There are however, very few pilots who are both old and daring. 

[blhof]

If you're going to go with mag rifles, consider good recoil pads or your shoulder may go the route of the wrist.  I've got crunchy shoulders from years of shooting shotguns with steel butt plates and T shirts, grew up in Fl.  When my Rt shoulder was sore, I'd switch to my Lt.  I now shoot with moderate pistols and light caliber rifles.

[yorketransport]

I've decided to just sell the guns that have done the most damage. I traded off my Dan Wesson CCBT carry gun and bought a full size, steel framed Kimber. I took it out and shot it over the weekend and it is noticeably more comfortable than the 10mm ever was. The gun just doesn't have the "snap" that the commander sized 10mm did. I think that I can learn to love the 45.

I just listed my 45-70 BFR for sale locally. As much as I love this gun, it's the one that did the most damage to me. I considered keeping it and shooting reduced loads, but I don't think that I have the self controll to resist dropping a couple of he super charged loads every once in a while. I'd be smarter to just get it as far away from me as possible.

For the Contender I may go back to a 14" 30-30. That's plenty of gun for shooting deer and the recoil isn't bad at all.

Andrew

[Tom C.]

After my cardiac bypass surgery 4 years ago I couldn’t shoot anything significant for months. I relearned the pleasure of shooting the .22: .22 rifles, .22 revos, .22 autos. I managed to have a pretty good time with them while my body healed.

With compression fractures, you may want to consider taking time off from shooting the canons at least until you heal. From then on, you might want to consider milder loads in heavier guns. I really enjoy shooting my three .500 S&W mags, but I tend to mostly shoot milder loads, and I have started wearing padded bicycling gloves to shoot. They do a terrific job of taking the sting out of the hot loads.

[Ak.Hiker]

I read that in his older age Bill Ruger cound not take guns apart because of problems with his hands. I took John Taffins advice a few years ago and toned down the 45 Colt and 44 Magnum loads I shoot. Consider yourself lucky. At least you can still enjoy shooting.

[Merle]

"You do what your body and your mind will let you do". True words. When I told him he would have trouble from the damage he has already done it was the voice of experience speaking. My problem is my mind keeps wanting to do things that my body can't and it hurts.  I guess my body has aged more than my mind. 

+1 on that - I'm just not aging gracefully - I'm going down fighting!!!

    

[Merle]

After my cardiac bypass surgery 4 years ago I couldn’t shoot anything significant for months. I relearned the pleasure of shooting the .22: .22 rifles, .22 revos, .22 autos. I managed to have a pretty good time with them while my body healed.

With compression fractures, you may want to consider taking time off from shooting the canons at least until you heal. From then on, you might want to consider milder loads in heavier guns. I really enjoy shooting my three .500 S&W mags, but I tend to mostly shoot milder loads, and I have started wearing padded bicycling gloves to shoot. They do a terrific job of taking the sting out of the hot loads.

Past (and I believe others) make a shooting glove with a Sorbothane recoil reducing pad in the palm. I used that a lot back in my IHMSA days & it was a lifesaver on the 60 & 80 round matches. After that, I still had normal use of my hand & it also cured the flinch you get after absorbing too much recoil.

    

[Mohawk]

What you can do with a .32,38,357 is what Eddie Van Halen can do to a guitar........... Think about that one.....

[Mohawk]

What you can do with a .32,38,357 is what Eddie Van Halen can do to a guitar........... Think about that one.....