Well good thing you asked becuase i asked no to long ago "what would be the farthest shot you would take with a recurve" I asked this on this forum. It is still on here somwhere,and most people said they would only shot 20 yards ever with a deer with a recurve. That also goes for me,I would like to be able to shot 30 yards but i would never shot any farther then 20 yards with a recurve. If you e are going to go to a compound and it is 45 then you would be able to shot about 30. But i know what you mean about shoulders. I had shoulder surgery last year after i tore it in football,then wrestling.