i broke my left collar bone yesterday while skiing, and was hoping someone on here could offer some advice as to how long to wait before i shoot again. i shoot right handed, so i broke the collar bone on my bow arm. has anyone else experienced this? i know it's gonna be some time and all depends on how bad it is and how quick it heals, but im 18 so hopefully it'll get better quick. thanks alot folks

I broke mine when I was 13 years old and it 6 to 8 weeks before I had full use of my arm and shoulder.

While the bone should be fully healed in 8 weeks I would not advise drawing your bow before you do a little bit of rehab and stregthen up that shoulder. You might get some lingering soreness for a little while (depending how bad the break was and where the clavicle snapped) due to inflamation of the surrounding tissues when you begin to use the shoulder again. Drawing and shooting a bow puts a lot of strain on the shoulder girdle and the last thing you need is a rotator cuff strain on top of your current problems. Be patient and do your stretches and rehab the shoulder for a couple weeks and you should be fine. Draw a low poundage bow first if you can before going back to yours full steam.......simulating drawing a bow on the universal machines at the gym is a GREAT way to prepare your shoulder.

7-8 weeks of healing (you're a young buck so could be shorter but not much) and 2-3 weeks of stretching, rehab and PT and you will be as good as new. You should be shooting again with no problems in 10 weeks.

Good luck.

hey sorry to hear about your collarbone. i messed up the nerves in my shoulder and i had to back down the weight A LOT. now i am slowly working my weight back up. i put about a quarter turn in each bolt every couple times i shoot. i also try to lift at the school for football (im 15). you may have to start really low but dont worry about it, it will get back up. besides look how far deer season is you should have plenty of time.

I broke mine when I was younger, I figure you could be shooting a bow in about 3 to 4 months it also depends on the type of break it was that you had occur.

A couple of days...LOL....A few years ago I broke my right one in one place and shot my bow (right handed)one time a few days afterwards, just to see if I could do it. I could...it hurt...I didn't try again until I was all healed...about 8 weeks.

Don't risk your health by trying too soon. Make surethe boneis healed completely before you try. Waiting a few extra weeks now is better than trying too soon, hurting it, and having more problems later on.

thanks guys pa bow/flinter: reminds me of the trip home from the ski lodge, my friends and i stopped for some supper, and bein the macho man that i am, i challenged one of the guys toa game of pool, and won. thanks for all the support, i'll be sure to take it easy for quite a while, i cant imagine a life w/o bowhunting, had this happened in sept/oct, id be devestated.

Do take it easy for a while. I dislocated my shoulder in football when i was in high school, ended up having 2 sugerys and still have soreness because i rushed back into sports too soon. TAKE YOUR TIME, Look at in the long run,You have to think about those hunts when you are 25,35 etc. Dont rush and you will be ready in plenty of time by opener. Good Luck andget Healthy.