I have Cerebellar Ataxia, which is a progressively degenerative neurological disease. CA pretty much leaves the mind intact, but devastates the body. There is no cure, nor medical treatment for CA. I live in an upper floor duplex in a city. I do own the building. My 34 year old son lives downstairs. He is even more firearm minded than I. I keep my wheelchair in the car, but I have to use a walker in the house.
I use a G2C for my everyday. At the range, my son said he never saw such an accurate little gun. Most of the time I do use the laser, which my son sighted in for 18 feet. I know to âTreat the firearm as loadedâ, âKeep muzzle pointed in a safe directionâ, âKeep your finger away from the triggerâ, âKnow your target and beyond.â However, stance you can forget about.
Is there any special training for those that are disabled?
Your best bet might be a private lesson with an experienced trainer, in your area. Make sure of the trainerâs resume and find out if he/she has experience with folks with challenges. Whereabouts are you located? Someone here may have a recommendation.
@Gregory63 - Welcome to the community Gregory. I understand because I have CMT. A type of M D that strips the mylan off the nerve and makes the muscle start to atrophy. I have found in my case that I have to pump iron and build muscle to keep ahead. I donât know where you are located, I am in Palm Bay Fl. and just finished my shooting instructor course through USCCA. Keep your head up and push on, I was diagnosed 10 years ago and I was supposed to be in a wheel chair and I am not!
@Chris3 and @Mike_T have great suggestions. Until we can all move freely about the cabin - I mean country - a few things you can do at home include training to fight from a seated position:
Out of curiosity, why are you sighting your laser at 18 feet? Self-defense incidents usually take place between 7-12 feet and, unless your home is really big or open concept, most rooms arenât 18 feet long.
Thank you. To answer your curiosity question, this is a weird
gun. Though the laser was sighted in at 18â, itâs still accurate at
10â. I live in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin in a 1925 duplex that does
have an 18â living room. At the range, I pulverized the bullseye,
so I started to put the laser on the outer rings. That gun would
put a hole wherever I had the red dot on from the laser. I
practiced grip techniques I learned from watching Chris Sajnogâs
YouTube videos. My son wanted me to keep that target. (Of course
that was before all this COVID-19 stuff). At the gun store, I use
a 4 wheel walker at their indoor range. I can stand and lean
against the shooting table. Now, the range is closed and ammunition
is by mail order only (until the governor decides thatâs illegal.)
Training from the "seated position" isn't all that easy. Sitting in
a chair, or couch is totally different than a wheelchair, because
the wheelchair has sides. If in the house, Iâd be using the walker,
(a two wheeled aluminum). Iâm just wondering what the stance
would be using a walker?
First - I LOVE Tosa! Used to live on 74th and State -ish.
Glad youâve got the gun set to be accurate for a variety of distances.
Training from a seated position is something we should all do, even though we donât all do it. Itâs important for driving/home invasions/sitting in a public venue. Iâm betting most of us should really train for this more.
Thatâs a great question and I think itâs going to be dependent on what you can physically do. You mentioned you lean against the shooting table at the range. The walker will move so you wonât be able to lean against it. Can you stand and take the recoil without using the walker? Would you be able to use one hand on the walker and shoot one handed?
I would suggest trying a variety of stances and shooting until you find something you can physically do - and then do it a lot. Sitting may end up being your best bet - or leaning against a wall?
Welcome I saw an article on the usconcealedcarry.com blog, âbear arms in a wheelchairâ that may give you some helpful ideas, and there are other pieces on the www as well. At home and using your walker seemed like a concern- do you wear your gun at home? If not, would you feel more comfortable to have it on your person or on your walker, since you may not be able to get to it quickly otherwise. I expect with research and questions, youâll find what will work best for you. Good luckâŠ
Well, the cerebellum part of my brain atrophied. Iâm in Wauwatosa,
Wisconsin. Well, I was diagnosed 10 years ago and was using a single
point cane. I morphed into a quad cane. Then I morphed into a
walker. During that time, I had several bad falls: fell backwards,
headfirst down the flight of rear stairs (broke the right tibia
plateau.) Hospitalized for 23 days. 2017, I fell and broke my
right humerus in 3 places. 2019, I fell and severely broke my right
ankle. Spent two months in a nursing home. The physical therapist
told me I was not going back home, that it was too dangerous. Well,
I did and graduated to a wheelchair. But Iâm still determined and
using the walker in the house.
For my shooting, I employed many tactics I learned from watching
Chris Sajnog videos on YouTube. Chris is a Navy Seal and firearms
trainer. His video on proper grip when shooting, really made a huge
difference in my accuracy. My firearm is a C2G with laser. My 34 yr
old son even stated he couldnât believe how accurate that gun is.
Gees, thatâs very close to where I live now, 68th & North.
Considering the present circumstances (COVID-19), I think it will be
quite a while before I can get to the range. I noticed at the range,
that if you grip the gun very tight and straight arm it, there is
very little recoil. Using that technique, I bet I could shoot
without the walker, or even one handed. Thank you for the ideas. I
just hope I can remember them by the time the range will re-open.
YMMV on this one. Depends on the range and the officers there. Iâve seen a lady, guessing mid-30s, wheel-chair bound at the local indoor range. She usually arrives with another person. She will sit in her chair and practice two-hand, strong-hand, support-hand, then if room permits and range officer is OK with it, she will have the chair laid on the side with her in it as if fallen, then practice firing from that position. Again, if the range is fairly empty and the officer OKs it. No drawing. Just firing from that position. I donât know if she has had any particular training, but the range does offer it and has a separate range room just for training.
I lived on 57th back in the day and my son had a house on 79th off Burleigh.
Small world.
Couple thoughtsâIf youâre consistently using the walker, I would do a lot of practice with one had only drawing/shooting with your other hand on the walker. Try canting the gun about 45 degrees when you shootâif youâre a righty, cant it to the left.
If youâre speding a lot of time seated, think about a holster option that works best and fastest for thatâmaybe a cross draw or a shoulder holster. While Iâm not a big fan of the shoulder holster for most people, itâs pretty handy when seated for long periods. I would also recommend practicing drawing and shooting from that position as well.
I saw an article on the 