If it's legal where you are, you might want to think about using a light rifle. I know that a lot of purist are going to slam me for saying that, but if you're injured and it's legal, who cares what others think. That's the option that I'm using this year, I recently had a very extensive back surgery, and my doctor won't clear me to shoot a shotgun, regardless of gauge, load size, recoil pad etc.. Where I hunt, a rifle gives me no advantage for distance, 40 yards is a long shot anyway, and besides I'm not into sniping a bird when the challenge is to call him in. It should actually be harder to hit a bird since I'll need to wait for a better clearing with a rifle over a shotgun.
