Operating air guns with a disability

[lefeyelu]

Be well Joanie!
I've followed a lot of your posts and appreciate your knowledge/skills w/the springers  a bunch of us love to own & shoot..
Best wishes for a complete/quick recovery.
 gary

[north country gal]

Thank you, Gary

One of the things I should have also added to my list of shooting with a disability, is using a proper hold. My standard hold with all our springers has always been a light artillery hold with minimal pressure of the butt of the stock on the shoulder. Without such a hold, shooting a springer would not have been possible with my injury. Hope one ever has to discover this the the way I just did, but it is good to know just in case.

Hope to try some of my pumpers, soon. Not going to push it, though.

Finally, let me also say that airgun shooting has been such a blessing while I recover. Just being able to step out in the yard for a few shots, early on, has been a real lift to my spirits. I come out of this injury loving my air gun shooting all the more.

[shooter r]

Every day is a gift! Glad to hear your getting better.

Was your accident on a motor cycle, or pedal bike? Not to start a "this happened to me" hijack here, but I crashed my vintage 1972 Kawasaki 2 stroke 750cc H2 Triple back in the eighties. My tire fell into a big crack merging onto the expressway, and down I went. I guess the worst thing was breaking my collar bone, but it healed with a big bump right where I place the buttstock.

It sounds like the HW30 will be your best friend for a while, and those darn PCP's. (I'd actually like a PCP but all the extras are just a little too much).

I look forward to reading your posts again, and wish you the best.

[Potpie]

Glad your getting better Joanie I can relate I became permanently disabled in 2006 due to a bad fall at work, got knocked off a ladder it took 35 surgery's to put me back together. My biggest problem is both wrist are fused and both thumbs have cadaver joints in them and dont work very well. Right shoulder is toast cant lift my arm above my head, left elbow is all metal both ankles also fused.To many others to list. Had to quit Bow Hunting that was my passion. So I tried Cowboy action shooting that didnt work to much shooting on my wrists. Then 4 years ago I bought a Marauder and that changed my life.I had no idea how addictive the PCP where going to be.I now have over 20 PCP but still enjoy shooting my spring guns all but one are break barrels there easier for me to load I have an HW 97 with that big loading port its the only under lever I can load with my fused wrist. I truly dont no what I would do  with  out my air guns and all you out there on GTA Iv learned so much from you all. I hope this dosnt come across as poor me because I get up every morning and thank the Lord for what I can do and I bet you do the same.Any way keep shooting and Ill do the same.           

[Habanero69er]

Dang Jim! Sounds like you’ve been through the wringer. Keep on stroking buddy.  👍🏻

[north country gal]

My accident was a near fatal mountain bike accident that threw me off the bike. Landed by slamming my head against a boulder hard enough to crack a bone in my neck. If I hadn't been wearing a good helmet, that would have been the end of old me. Totaled the helmet, but it did its job. Believe me, I know how very lucky I am.

[Habanero69er]

Thank God you were wearing that helmet Joanie.

[robtmc]

Joanie,  way back almost 40 years ago, I smashed several lumbar vertebrae  after overcooking a corner.  Oak tree waiting as I slid along.

Once reinforced with stainless rods and a spinal fusion, I was left with the last half day after getting back to work.  With my trusty old sidelever Sig-Hammerli 401, I would mellow out in my back yard and plink.  The painkillers I took after getting home and the shooting were great therapy.  Local sparrows did not think so i suspect.

Thank God that old .177 side cocker did not take much effort and it was all upper body at that.  Shooting while healing for me and maybe you is good for the soul.

I would stick with PCP with your neck healing.  Avoids stress you may not notice at first cocking a springer.  Careful with any pain meds, I got to look forward to the Percodan a bit too much after gimping through half a day on my feet.

[AG72]

Im sorry to hear about your accident NCC, hope you will recover quickly and get back to your old you, and glad to hear you can use some of your german springers for recreation! Get well and thank god for helmets!

[maraudinglizard]

My accident was a near fatal mountain bike accident that threw me off the bike. Landed by slamming my head against a boulder hard enough to crack a bone in my neck. If I hadn't been wearing a good helmet, that would have been the end of old me. Totaled the helmet, but it did its job. Believe me, I know how very lucky I am.

Yep, helmets do work, I tried to plow through pine tree with a dirt bike. What I didn't know until 20 years later and an MRI that I had broken my neck in 2 places. During massage therapy my therapist asked when did destroy my left rotator cuff that is when I realized the motorcycle wreck was the culprit. I hit the tree so hard that I knocked my shoes off and was unconscious for 30 min. I woke up and walked it off and was out of class for a week, never went to a doctor for it. I am like you Joanie, grateful to be telling this story. Get well and take care.

[19Sheridan57]

   I am so sorry to hear about your injury & wish you a speedy recovery. I had neck surgery years ago & my recovery went well. I was inactive for quite awhile & had to learn to be careful & take it easy . I am very satisfied with my recovery.
  Take it easy & don't rush into ANYTHING !!

[Tater]

Sorry to hear this happened Joanie, but great to see you back. Heal up soon!

[avator]

Sorry to hear of your accident Joanie. Having had numerous injuries as a result of my activities I can completely relate. Take it slow and easy.

[shooter r]

Please excuse me, but I almost smiled when you said mountain biking. The Southern Unit of the Kettle Moraine, near to where I live in Wisconsin has some great trails, and I go almost everyday. My wife and I are going this morning before it gets too humid in fact. I just got a Trek top fuel 8 and really like the full suspension. Scratches and bruises are pretty normal, but a bad crash into a rock or tree is not good. Best of Luck, and hope you recover quickly.

[north country gal]

Thanks, again, everyone. Two weeks to go with the brace and then back to my riding which is a big, big part of my lifestyle. I will continue to ride the trails, but I am retiring from the dangerous sections and challenge stuff. Been there, done that. Love the challenge, but too old for another one of these spills. Been down my share of times, but this one was a sign to retire and reduce the risks and ride safer. No one to blame on this one but myself. Randy, I'm familiar with Kettle. Up here I now ride on trails I built myself on our property, but used to ride Mud Lake, a lot, which is a short ride from where I live.

Did manage 4 pumps on one of the vintage Sheridans by resting it in my lap. No stress on the neck, but arms got tired pretty quick. Finished the shooting session with a PCP, again. Really, really appreciate the ease of use of PCPs after something like this.

[Doktor]

When I had a stroke a while back, I had a Baikal MP61, and was able to make it work for me and I actually think that it was a part of my therapy. My stroke was on my non-dominant side and having retired from the Army as an EMT emergency room worker I knew you had to start therapy ASAP.  I'd sit in the yard for as long as I was able and work my right arm and hand to encourage the most range of motion that I could muster. I'm now virtually at 100% because of my thinking that way. I might not be able to convince my neurologist I was healed by shooting an air rifle but,  as many hours as I spent pulling that side-lever, and redeveloping my fine motor skills by putting the pellets into that little magazine, I'm convinced that it was the best thing ever to get my range of motion back in a minimal amount of time.


Doc

[avator]

I absolutely used air gunning as a means to recover from my shoulder surgery but, it's torn loose again. Funny how you find other ways of doing things.

[Oldgringo]

Thanks, again, everyone. Two weeks to go with the brace and then back to my riding which is a big, big part of my lifestyle. I will continue to ride the trails, but I am retiring from the dangerous sections and challenge stuff. Been there, done that. Love the challenge, but too old for another one of these spills. Been down my share of times, but this one was a sign to retire and reduce the risks and ride safer. No one to blame on this one but myself. Randy, I'm familiar with Kettle. Up here I now ride on trails I built myself on our property, but used to ride Mud Lake, a lot, which is a short ride from where I live.

Did manage 4 pumps on one of the vintage Sheridans by resting it in my lap. No stress on the neck, but arms got tired pretty quick. Finished the shooting session with a PCP, again. Really, really appreciate the ease of use of PCPs after something like this.

I've never had an injury as severe as yours but looking back over the past 3/4 of a century there were several times when it just wasn't my time to check out.  There comes a time to start smelling the roses.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.