Help with getting a friend who lost his arm back in the woods/duck blind

[akajun]

A friend of mine lost his right arm last year in an auto accident at the shoulder, There is nothing there to mount a gun to without some type of prosthetic. He was a big hunter, gardener, cook, volunteer at the church and school. He has easily been able to adapt to some things with help of friends who have adapted his garden tools, gumbo paddles, etc to one handed operation but now he wants to start shooting again. Since the gunsmith/home machinist/tinkerer in this group he's contacted me. Is there anyone who is in the same boat or has worked on such projects I can talk to for advice on this? I think the rifle part will be easier but he really wants to duck hunt again and the only thing i can think of is a shoulder strap butt mount and some sort of remote trigger operated by his support hand.
going to post this on several forums for different opinions.

 

[dellet]

Rented a room from a guy almost 50 years ago that was a quadriplegic, it was surprising then the gadgets available that were bites or breath activated.


Bite operated triggers are pretty common, maybe used with a tripod type mount, depending on his ability to control the shotgun/rifle.

This site is more about neat stuff for keepning the disabled in the field

Adaptive Equipment – Ashlee Lundvalll

Technology for Innovative Entrepreneurs & Businesses | TechLink

techlinkcenter.org

Thank you for helping someone stay in the game

 

[338 Mollett]

he might have to learn to shoot left handed with an auto loader and use a prosthetic to hold up the shotgun . Just an idea . I admire him for his will power !

 

[6MMsteve]

Sounds like he has the will to do anything, hope everything works out..He is blessed to have you to help

 

[msalm]

I’d rig up a firing device operated by mouth so he could still hold/support the firearm with his left arm. Years ago I made a solenoid setup exactly as described with a rubber coated squeeze switch (normally open) that the kid was able to hold in his mouth and squeeze with his teeth. The solenoid was alongside the trigger on a bracket I fabricated that had an arm that went into the trigger well and depressed the trigger. I would imagine if his right side will support the recoil that a padded pocket of some sort could be sewn onto the clothing.

Hunting/Shooting - Be Adaptive Equipment Inc.

Operate comfortably with one hand Adjustable to a comfortable length for you to operate while standing or sitting Attaches to any weapon with a picatinny rail or sling stud with the optional bracket Attaches to most standard sized belts as well as most standard sized tactical belts

beadaptive.com

This site might give you some ideas, and they have a mouth operated trigger setup

 

[mrmurl]

There is a TV show on the Outdoor channel "Buckventures" that takes all kinds of handy capped young people out to get a first deer and they make all kinds of adaptive devices for these people to shoot rifles and crossbows. I am sure that they would share some of there advice with you. It is a very Christian show and would probably offer help in designing what you need.

 

[TSFineGuns]

My FIL had ALS. He was right handed and right eye dominant. Eventually he lost the use of his right arm. His work around was an eye patch over his right eye and learning to shoot left handed with one arm. He would still wreck the dove and ducks. It was so impressive and great to see him keep after it.

My cousin lost the use of his right hand in a car accident (not arm). He too made the switch to shooting left handed.

Where there's a will, there's a way.

 

[ebb]

My daughter was left eye dominant and we tried for weeks to get her to learn to shoot with her right eye and an eye patch just like TS mentioned. She seemed like she would never learn. The PSE rep taped a dollar to the target and told her to hit it and it was hers. After the gave her her first hit he folded it in half. About $4 later she was on her way. I am with the group, I think learning to shoot with his left arm is the only way. I wish there was a way I could help!

 

[john 800]

My wife is right handed, left eye dominant. For archery she shoots lefthanded, that transition was not that difficult, the shooting part was fine, the hardest part was nocking the arrow lol. She doesn’t shoot shotgun much, and I think part of her frustration is the cross dominance. For shooting clays I could see an eye patch or tape on glasses, but honestly I dont think I would like sitting in a duck blind trying to see ducks onnthe horizon with an eyepatch. If duck hunting is a priority I would explore options that let him shoot with his dominant eye. Im certainly not saying it’s wrong, but it would not be my first choice.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

Broke my collar bone in high school football, hunted part of duck season, just the left arm(right handed). Used a bolt action 20 ga, shot it as a single shot. Surprisingly easy to shoot single, off side arm, and hit ducks, geese.

 

[spudgun]

My wife is right handed, left eye dominant. For archery she shoots lefthanded, that transition was not that difficult, the shooting part was fine, the hardest part was nocking the arrow lol. She doesn’t shoot shotgun much, and I think part of her frustration is the cross dominance. For shooting clays I could see an eye patch or tape on glasses, but honestly I dont think I would like sitting in a duck blind trying to see ducks onnthe horizon with an eyepatch. If duck hunting is a priority I would explore options that let him shoot with his dominant eye. Im certainly not saying it’s wrong, but it would not be my first choice.

I work at a retail gun counter. There has been several times that I have had a father bring in his son or daughter and be looking for a first time shotgun. When i would have the youngster the shot gun and aim it. I could tell right away if they had issues with eye/hand dominance.

I would suggest that they try a red dot on the shot gun. Once the shot gun is sighted in then they can keep both eyes open and place the red dot on the target and fire. They will not loose depth perception with bot eyes open and have a bigger field of view.

Once they get the hang of it it works 90% of the time, at least that confirmed by the customer coming back in and thank me for the suggestion.

Just another option.

 

[john 800]

I work at a retail gun counter. There has been several times that I have had a father bring in his son or daughter and be looking for a first time shotgun. When i would have the youngster the shot gun and aim it. I could tell right away if they had issues with eye/hand dominance.

I would suggest that they try a red dot on the shot gun. Once the shot gun is sighted in then they can keep both eyes open and place the red dot on the target and fire. They will not loose depth perception with bot eyes open and have a bigger field of view.

Once they get the hang of it it works 90% of the time, at least that confirmed by the customer coming back in and thank me for the suggestion.

Just another option.

Thats a pretty good idea if it makes it physically easier to hold and aim the gun with his hand rather than a prosthetic. The burris speed bead system would be worth looking at. Another plus to th reflex or red dot sight is that it will, hopefully give him a little margin for error if the shotgun is not mounted perfectly. Im gonna be honest, I have been shooting shotguns for decades and I still miss birds because of it occasionally, and its not going to be any easier with one arm. With the red dot/reflex the gun is aimed where the dot is no matter where it is on your shoulder.

 

[akajun]

Thanks for the suggestions
Someone on another forum sent me a video of a one armed sport clays shooter who does pretty well
He shoot’s one handed with an o/u that he thrives on his shoulder to reload
He uses his firing hand to fire and support the gun at the pistol grip
Our first go round at this will be to weight the buttstock of his shotgun to balance at the pistol grip and port the barrel to keep muzzle flip down

Should that not work we will go the route of a shoulder harness to hood the butt in place and firing with his support hand with a remote trigger

Deer hunting is the easyobe
He already bought some big fancy blind with a swiveling seat and rifle rest so he can shoot 360