Ham & Bacon Shoot

WPA Wounded Warriors had their last ham and bacon shoot for 2014 yesterday at the California hill gun club.I was fortunate enough to win bacon on my first shoot!  I kept the bite trigger on from the pheasant hunt and it worked out great.

It was a fantastic weekend of shooting for me. Pheasants on Saturday, and bacon on Sunday! I'm looking forward to next Saturday, a pheasant hunt at Fairbank Rod and gun club.

 

 

Air Rifle 1077

Ham and Bacon Shoot June 1, 2014

I was able to shoot this weekend at the Western Pa Wounded Warriors Ham and Bacon Shoot at California Hill Gun Club.  I had a fantastic day of shooting.  I won bacon on the first shoot, a ham on the second and lost the third shoot in a shootout to Shelly after we tied (15 shooters each round).

Ed designed and built a new battery operated trigger for my Air Rifle.  This was the first time I ever shot this Air Rifle.  I think I will keep it, lol.  Stay tuned for more shooting stories this summer.

Steel Trigger Finger

My friend Ed made this steel trigger pull for a trap shooter he knows.  The shooter is a quadriplegic with good arm movement and this should make it  easier for him to pull the trigger on his shotgun.

The steel trigger will be tapped onto his finger and he should be good to go.  Ed is a true inventor and I am so thankful for all he does for hunters with disabilities! 

Winner Winner, Bacon Breakfast

I was lucky enough to win some bacon at Sundays Ham & Bacon Shoot.  It seems the new gun mount is working out great as a steady and stable shooting platform.  This was my 1st win and I'm sure it's because of the new mount!

Bite Trigger

My buddy Ed is making me a bite trigger this week!  I will be testing it out on my shotgun this weekend at the bacon shoot.

My gun mount is very solid and accurate, the weak link is my arm movement pulling the trigger.  Using a bite trigger maybe the answer... for precision shooting.  The best part is I can keep the BMF trigger activator on and have my hand as plan B. 

Redundancy, One is none and two is one.  Having two ways to pull the trigger makes sense.  I hope to try it on Sunday!  Pictures will follow.

Wax your String

It's important to wax the string on your crossbow after every trip to the range or field.  It's just as important to lube your rail and inspect your string and serving for any wear.

I also like to check all my bolts after every few trips just to make sure everything stays tight.  And when it comes to important gear like the BMF Trigger activator , rope cocker etc. remember, two is one and one is none in the field, keep an extra in your backpack.

Crossbow Day

BMF Trigger Activator

I want to say thank you BMF trigger activators, www.facebook.com/#!/pages/BMF-Activator/325651661702

for sponsoring me with several brand-new BMF triggers! As a person with a disability I rely on these activators to be as independent as possible while hunting. I have used them for several years and believe they are the best trigger activator on the market!

Accessible Trigger

If you are looking for an adapted trigger, I recommend the BMF Trigger from Cabelas .  It's $23.00 and works great.  I have no finger movement and pull the crank toward me using my wrist.

It is ambidextrous, reliable and cheap enough to put one on several weapons, so no need to install and remove from shotgun to rifle to crossbow.  I also keep a spare in my backpack because I'm just that way...lol

Good luck shooting, send me your stories, ideas and tips for adapted hunting !

Missouri Deer Hunt.. Part Two

It was Wednesday morning November 16, 2011, 5 AM, when we arrived at the hunting lease near Kirksville Missouri. The wind was strong and steady as I rolled out of the van. Chris and Jim unloaded my action trackchair from the trailer and I thought about one thing, monster buck.

The guys quickly transferred me from my permobil wheelchair into the action trackchair and got all of my gear ready. I joked with Chris that he needed to improve his driving skills while putting my permobil back into my van. It's obviously not as easy as it looks, right buddy?

Chris and I wished Jim good luck as he would be hunting a different part of the lease after guiding disabled children all last week. This would be Jim's first chance to hunt the property this year.

I was so excited to get started I put my chair into fourth gear, and we made our way quickly and quietly to the ground blind Chris and Jim had set up specifically for me several weeks earlier.

It did not take very long for Chris to set up all of my gear (rifle rest, adapted rifle, battery and adapted trigger) as well as zip up my jacket and pull my hat down tight. The temperatures were very cold (27°) and the winds were blowing hard.

As I sat in the ground blind watching the woods transform from darkness, I thought about how lucky I was to be enjoying this hunting trip. About how many people volunteered their time, donated money or worked to make this possible. I thought how great it was to have this opportunity and how thankful I was to so many people.

We were not in the ground blind long before Chris spotted a half rack five point making its way along the creek bottom. The buck was obviously looking for a hot Doe and actually came 15 yards in front of the ground blind. Unfortunately, I was unable to get it into my scope due to my limited mobility. Chris assured me not to worry, there would be plenty more opportunities.

The day continued like that, watching Does come in, turkeys and even a coyote! This hunting lease had it all and I was enjoying nature at its finest. We hunted from the ground blind all day, thankful that the blind was blocking at least some of the wind. It was cold, I was cold but there was no way I was leaving early.

At around 4:30 PM we spotted a nice eight point about 120 yards away. After some maneuvering using my action trackchair to turn to my left I settled the crosshairs on his shoulder. I used the sip and puff trigger activator and my 270 exploded. For whatever reason I missed. Whether I hit a small branch or simply had buck fever I'm not sure.

We waited around to see if anything else would come by, but nothing did. We made our way back to the van, transferred me back into my permobil and made our way back to the motel without a Missouri Whitetail but with exciting memories.

Stay tuned for Hunting Missouri Part Three

Sip N Puff Trigger

Saturday afternoon I went shooting with Hayes and Gus from the Western Pennsylvania wounded warrior group . It was a beautiful afternoon, not a cloud in the sky and we were able to sight in my semi automatic Remington .270 using a sip and puff trigger.

I wish I could say I shot extremely well like the old days. But the truth is, my grouping was less than spectacular. Oh well, the rifle is sighted in and I should be good to go for the Missouri deer hunt.

Power Trigger Mechanism 12 Volt Battery

I received my power trigger mechanism from BeAdaptive Equipment on Monday afternoon. I am very impressed with the quality of this device and cannot wait to get it out on the range.

I think I will connect it to this battery from cabelas rather than connecting it directly to my wheelchair battery. This will enable me to use the device on two wheelchairs (Action TrackChair and Permobil).

The portable battery received good reviews from the cabelas site, and it was also fairly inexpensive $29. I'm really looking forward to trying this trigger device out very soon.

Adapted Trigger

Many people  write to me and ask how I am able to squeeze the trigger with no finger movement. It's simple and inexpensive using the BMF activator from Cabelas .  I do not squeeze the trigger I just pull back the crank with my wrist and it fires my crossbow, shotgun or rifle.

The trigger activator can work for a right or left-handed shooter, installs in minutes using two screws.  I have one on everything I shoot just to make it easier. 

You could just purchase one and move it from crossbow to shotgun to rifle in a matter of minutes.  Good luck with your season and don't forget to send in your harvest pictures.