Tips and Equipment Ideas for Adaptive Shooters

A disability should not stop you from protecting yourself or enjoying shooting. Fortunately, there’s gear and best practices that can make shooting every bit as rewarding for disabled shooters. Read on as we cover the tips and equipment available for today’s adaptive shooter.

Adaptive Shooting Equipment Recommendations

After assessing different products and checking customer reviews, we were able to pick out some of the best adaptive shooting gear for overcoming physical disabilities. These products include:

Universal Speed Loader

If you have trouble using your hands, a speed loader can make loading magazines much easier. You can attach the tool to magazines for various firearms and slide in bullets easily. Speed loaders from MagLula come highly recommended because the brand offers user-friendly, reliable, and durable loaders for pistol and rifle magazines.

Shoulder Holsters

Wearing a waist holster is impractical if you’re in a wheelchair. A better option is a shoulder holster that allows you to conveniently and quickly draw your weapon while seated. Since several shoulder holster types are available, you should have no trouble finding one that can carry your preferred handgun. If you are a rifle or shotgun owner, we recommend purchasing a single or double-point sling.

Primos Shooting Stick

The Primos Shooting Stick is an adjustable stand perfect for people with trouble moving their upper body. You can place your gun on the adjustable tripod to steady your aim and swivel the firearm in any direction to track down targets.

The stability and adjustability of the tripod make it excellent for target shooting and hunting from any position you find most comfortable. Also, several variations of the tripod are available for rifles and handguns.

Suppressor

A quality suppressor makes life easier for every shooter. The attachment goes on the muzzle of your gun, significantly reducing noise and muzzle flash. A suppressor can also reduce recoil when you fire, making shooting easier if you suffer from pain or lack upper body strength.

Even better, less recoil can help improve your accuracy. Check out our suppressors for pistols, rifles, and shotguns.

Adaptive Outdoorsman Finger Control Device

Shooting with a weak or unsteady trigger finger can be problematic. If you have trouble with fine motor control, we recommend looking into an Adaptive Outdoorsman Finger Control Device. The product is a prosthetic that goes over your trigger finger, allowing you to rely on your wrist and arm strength to work the trigger without compromising accuracy.

Sights

Individuals with poor eyesight can improve their shooting experience by attaching sights to their guns. You can get a night sight to help you aim better at night or a red dot sight to improve your long-distance accuracy during the day. Alternatively, opt for a laser sight to achieve pinpoint accuracy over various distances.

Brass Stacker Slide Pull

A slide pull is another useful adaptive equipment for people who have trouble with their fingers or weakness in the hands or wrist. The Brass Stacker Slide Pull attaches to the back of a pistol’s slide and has a ring for sticking a finger through to pull the slide and chamber a round.

Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Adaptive Shooting Experience

Buying adaptive shooting equipment is only the first step toward improving your shooting experience while you have a disability. If you want to enjoy the full benefits of shooting with your new equipment, follow these proven tips:

Practice

Even if adaptive shooting equipment claims to be user-friendly, you still need to practice with it to understand and familiarize yourself with how it works. We recommend testing and practicing with your new equipment at home, but remember to use an unloaded gun. After getting used to how the device works, you can take it to the gun range to practice shooting with it.

Identify Your Ideal Shooting Position

The ideal shooting position for someone with an arm injury may not work for an individual with mobility issues. At home, try different shooting positions with an unloaded gun to find a comfortable one that offers a steady aim. Common shooting positions include:

• Prone on your belly
• Sitting
• Kneeling
• Standing

After finding a position that best suits your body, head to a training ground or target range to practice shooting a gun from the position. Don’t forget to take your adaptive shooting gear with you to practice.

Find the Right Gun

Your disability may limit you to using only specific firearms. For instance, a heavy gun with a strong recoil may be a bad fit if you have an arm, hand, or shoulder injury. Find a firearm that you can easily handle and fire with your disability by checking if you can:

• Hold the gun with a firm grip
• Pull the trigger
• Hold the gun with your arms extended
• Carry the gun on your person and move around without trouble
• Draw, shoot, reload, and holster the weapon without assistance

Lastly, since some gun ranges do not allow certain firearms, verify if the gun ranges in your area permit the use of your preferred firearm.

Have a Buddy

If going hunting, don’t go alone, especially if you have mobility issues and your hunting destination is an isolated area. Taking a buddy with you will ensure that you have someone that can help you if something goes wrong.

Also, having a buddy at your side is more fun because you can show off your adaptive shooting gear and skills. If you insist on going alone, ensure that you have a way to call for help if something goes wrong.

Research Terrain First

Avoid traveling to hunting grounds that you may have trouble traversing with your disability. For example, if you need a wheelchair, a hilly or boggy hunting ground will give you too much trouble. The same goes for shooting ranges and training grounds that are not wheelchair accessible or lack handicap parking.

Technology Is Your Friend

Thanks to the wide variety of adaptive shooting equipment on the market, your injury or disability can no longer stop you from engaging in your favorite firearm activities. Even severely disabled shooters can have an easier time with firearms at the range or in a self-defense scenario if they have the right adaptive shooting gear.

Since the typical adaptive equipment is low-tech, you can learn to use it within a short time and with minimal guidance. Also, you won’t have trouble finding variations of adaptive equipment that fit and work well with your preferred firearms.

Don’t Let a Disability Stop You from Living a Full Life

Now that you know about the best adaptive shooting equipment for improving your experience at the gun range, it’s time to upgrade your arsenal. Shop for suppressors for your firearms here and visit our blog to learn more ways to overcome your disability and boost your tactical preparedness.