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Ever have to change your shooting priorities?


Pat Riot

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Okay, I hope this doesn’t come across as whining. I guess if you think it’s “whining” go ahead and think that...

 

Anyway, have you ever had to change your shooting priorities or style due to physical limitations or issues?

 

This morning I was looking at another forum and a guy asked a question about iron sighted bolt action rifles. Long story short, I went on a search, again looking for the best bolt action iron sighted .308 rifle out there that I can put a cope on. And yet again I found myself looking at the Tikka T3X Arctic and fantasizing about hunting with that rifle in the snow or in the high desert and how wonderful that would be with that fine rifle. I also found myself, like Ralphie In Christmas Story, trying to come up with a sly and creative way to tell my wife that “I need a $2,000 rifle that is the coolest bolt gun I have ever seen and oh, by the way, I would also need a really good quality scope that’ll only run between $750 and $1000, depending.” ;)

 

Then a cold finger of reality run up my spine...

”Why are you even looking or thinking about this? You can’t even shoot your 9mm PC Carbine without your back giving you fits where your fractured vertebrae and plated ribs are. You can’t even shoot an AR-15 right now (that was painful) and you sure as hell can’t handle Cowboy Action Shooting! The shotgun will kill your back. Your left shoulder won’t let you hold a rifle or shotgun properly (I have to grip the mag well on my PCC and AR to hold them up to shoot) and you now have to shoot two handed when you shoot handguns due to your wrist!...and it still gives you fits!” - Yes, I have to give myself hell once in a while when my hidden Walter Mitty comes out.


I know that over time my back and ribs will be better. My left shoulder never will, unless they develop an artificial joint that replaces the shoulder socket, and the fix for my wrist will not allow me to shoot handguns or ride motorcycles. I have stopped shooting my .45 Colt and .357 magnum loads. I refuse to load down my .45 Colt loads. I am pretty sure there is a special place in hell for me if I do. :D
Switching shooting hands for handguns is something I am practicing at the pistol range but that does nothing for my left shoulder and holding up rifles and shotguns properly. 
 

I think in a few months I will be back to shooting CAS. Until then I will hang out here and keep practicing my two handed pistol grip. - It’s weird, I have shot pistols and revolvers one handed for over 20 years. Relearning to shoot two-handed is like starting over. It’s almost hilarious! 

One thing I need to do is take all the guns out of my safe and clean and preserve the ones I cannot shoot now and move them to the rear. My beloved Henry single shot 45-70 calls to me but I must resist. :rolleyes:

 

Anyway, enough of this.

 

Have you had to redo or relearn your shooting technique or change equipment due to physical issues?

 

 

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Yeah, I just tried shooting duelist for the past month but my arthritis isn't going to let me do it. I had to go back to two hands. Oh well, at least I still shoot and enjoy my CAS matches.

 

TM

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There isn't a single member here, who is not getting even while reading this.
We never know when Old Arthur or Cousin Cancer will come calling...

OP, your comments above reinforce my resolve to sell my Harley before I get crushed under it.
Last Monday, I shot 75 rounds of trap before my beloved 870 picked up a chunk of snot and jammed the slide.
The Wingmaster has a nice recoil pad, but I was very much aware of 75 rounds and my shoulder.

One must adapt or give up.
This morning at 10am, I pick up my adaptation for this:  a new Remington V3 which is reviewed as one of the softest shooting 12-gauges.
I expect to add a Kick-EEZ pad to the 870, the Stoeger and the V3 if it needs it.

I spurned 45C loads because I don't want the recoil.
Everything else I own is 357 and it has taken me a long time to find the right components for low recoil loads.

I euthanized my last pet yesterday... very old age... bad teeth, bedsores on his feet.  It was a kindness.
His passing reminded me that our time here is brief.
"Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble.  He cometh forth like a flower and is cut down..."

With this in mind, one can adapt or give up.
If this means smaller calibers and lighter loads, then so be it.

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I've been practicing trying to switch from two handed to gunfighter but after today's practice session I've come to the realization my arthritis just isn't going to let me do it. I had wanted to switch from a SxS to a '97 but my shoulder won't let me run that slide forward like I need to. So reality says it's a SxS and two handed for me. As Dirty Harry said, "A man's got to know his limitations." I guess the aging process catches all of us eventually and we have to play the hand we get delt and be grateful we can still play the game we all love.

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Shoot trap. Had big-time shoulder issues after about 75 shots. Broke down and had Ken Rucker put a Bumpbuster stock recoil system on my old BT-99. Spent almost as much as I did for the gun. It's worth every penny. Now need to get my lazy butt out and shoot more trap. 

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You bet.  Had to buy left handed rifles when the right arm was broken.  Bought rimfire lever actions and SAA while the shoulder was healing.  It never healed 100% so the 45-70 gov, 35 Whelen, 300 win mag had to leave the stable.  

 

Use this time as an excuse to buy multiple cheaper rimfires.  When you heal, you can sell those multiples to get your one Tikka.

 

Sometimes it sucks but if you listen to the doctor, it is usually best.  You may not shoot for a few months now but you’ll be able to shoot for years after this instead of the reverse.

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I've got to wait until at least January 20, until I get the "final"? part of the implant and bridge on my right canine tooth before I can shoot a shotgun (maybe even a rifle!  My left eye has a cataract building, so that will have to get taken care of sooner or later! :(  My grandfather once said, "It's hell getting old!"  I now believe him!

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I admire guys who ca shoot iron sights at 500 yards.

I can barely see my truck at 500 yards.

Time marches on. ;)

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26 minutes ago, Utah Bob #35998 said:

I admire guys who ca shoot iron sights at 500 yards.

I can barely see my truck at 500 yards.

Time marches on. ;)

Aren’t you a little old to be playing with Matchbox trucks?  

I agree, 6.5-20 has become the new favorite sighting method around here.

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I haven't been able to shoot SASS for over a year due to arthritis complications.  A few months ago I thought maybe I could now handle those pistols so I pulled the lightest ones I have out of safe, the open tops. Sure enough if I went slow it was doable. But then when I tried cycling some dummy rounds through the '73 the pain in my fingers and hand was too much. Guess I need some easier operating lever if I am going to get back into the game.

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1 hour ago, Charlie Plasters, SASS#60943 said:

I haven't been able to shoot SASS for over a year due to arthritis complications.  A few months ago I thought maybe I could now handle those pistols so I pulled the lightest ones I have out of safe, the open tops. Sure enough if I went slow it was doable. But then when I tried cycling some dummy rounds through the '73 the pain in my fingers and hand was too much. Guess I need some easier operating lever if I am going to get back into the game.

I’ve seen some shooters hook the lever with just their thumb for the same reason. Apparently it’s easier than cycling  the lever on the backs of their fingers. Yeah it’s slow, but so what?  

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I went to the range today with my 9mm Glocks. I can handle the recoil on my right hand if I use the trigger guard as a brake with my left index finger. 
 

I was also shooting left handed using both hands. I caught myself squeezing the trigger with my right index finger when that finger was bracing the trigger guard. :blink:

I definitely need more practice. :)

 

Tomorrow I may take the Vaqueros and try some left handed shooting. 
 

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My pa Blue Boy sass 46773 started shooting CAS at 84, he is extremely right handed, right eye dominant, he had to shoot long guns from his left shoulder because of a detached retina in his right eye. Every once in a while we would see him shoulder his shotgun to his left shoulder and his right index finger(on the forearm) would try to pull the trigger. He is no longer able to shoot anything due to vision, stability issues. At 100 he still misses not being able to drive.

 

Imis

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My shooting style, no. But for what it is worth, when I started back to earn my blackbelt, and began sparring again, I realized pretty quickly that I had to modify my style, because some of the injuries I had incurred courtesy of Uncle Sam meant I couldn't throw certain techniques effectively without significant problems.

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On 10/19/2019 at 8:32 AM, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

Okay, I hope this doesn’t come across as whining. I guess if you think it’s “whining” go ahead and think that...

 

Anyway, have you ever had to change your shooting priorities or style due to physical limitations or issues?

 

This morning I was looking at another forum and a guy asked a question about iron sighted bolt action rifles. Long story short, I went on a search, again looking for the best bolt action iron sighted .308 rifle out there that I can put a cope on. And yet again I found myself looking at the Tikka T3X Arctic and fantasizing about hunting with that rifle in the snow or in the high desert and how wonderful that would be with that fine rifle. I also found myself, like Ralphie In Christmas Story, trying to come up with a sly and creative way to tell my wife that “I need a $2,000 rifle that is the coolest bolt gun I have ever seen and oh, by the way, I would also need a really good quality scope that’ll only run between $750 and $1000, depending.” ;)

 

Then a cold finger of reality run up my spine...

”<SNIP>

 

Have you had to redo or relearn your shooting technique or change equipment due to physical issues?

 

 

Yourr comments about the Tikka ring true to me as well.  Once I relocated back to the states a couple of years go the first thing I bought

was a Winchester Mdl 70 FW with grade III wood in .270, and put a Leupold scope on it, bought some dies and new Norma brass, and set

up to reload and later to hunt with it. 

 

Shortly after that I realized that , quite frankly, I'm not really up to getting up in the mountains and going deer or elk hunting, nor

in going east and hunting varmints.  So, now I have over $2,000 sitting there being kept clean and oiled, but frankly not being used for

it purpose.  Not ready to part with it, but it will likely not get used for game.

 

It's still a work of art though, so it isn't getting sold anytime soon!

 

Shadow Catcher

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On 10/19/2019 at 11:13 AM, Doc X said:

I've been practicing trying to switch from two handed to gunfighter but after today's practice session I've come to the realization my arthritis just isn't going to let me do it. I had wanted to switch from a SxS to a '97 but my shoulder won't let me run that slide forward like I need to. So reality says it's a SxS and two handed for me. As Dirty Harry said, "A man's got to know his limitations." I guess the aging process catches all of us eventually and we have to play the hand we get delt and be grateful we can still play the game we all love.

Well said and I believe there are a number of us in the same corral as you. The older we get the more we compensate just to stay in the game.

 

TM

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