Parkinson's and shooting?

I have recently been diagnosed with Parkinson's. I am one of the unfortunate souls who was stationed at Camp LeJune during the bad water time frame ('53-'87). My question is that I want to return to Bullseye Pistol. BUT some things are a problem, do I have to go down range and score/replace targets myself, or can someone do it for me?

Thanks, Andy

That would come under a reasonable accommodation.  I'd get a letter from the NRA stating such.  DirComp is the NRA Director of competitions and he's a member of this forum.  Send him a PM to ask how does this happen.

I don't know about other matches, but in our area, we try our best to accommodate any shooters. Competitors on the line with you will help out, at least they do around here. Just let the Match Director know your needs or concerns. Have Fun, shoot safe.

At our club that would not be a problem as the person shooting on the far left gets scored by a range officer to avoid the person on the far right running back and forth.   Just request the Match director station you at the firing position which is scored by a RO.   I would be interested to hear if somehow your tremors reduce while concentrating on shooting as I have seen some very interesting videos about motion (specifically dancing and riding a bicycle) short-circuiting the part of the brain that causes the tremors.

I applaud your continuing to indulge in your passions!  Best of luck.

Go shooting any way you can.  Every Thursday afternoon I stand next to my shooting buddy with Parkinson's.  He uses two hands when needed and has consistently shot great scores with .22 pistol, often winning some League Nights.

About three weeks ago he switched to singlehand shooting!  Yes, his scores dropped initially, but he has been coming back stronger each week.

I will say that he is not as comfortable shooting singlehanded centerfire and .45, so prefers two handed for that or sticking with .22.  He also competes in archery and rifle as well!  

We shoot 25-yard indoor with powered target retrievers, so you may want to start with that if you can find a place doing it.

I would also mention my other Bullseye shooters I stand with weekly.  One has an artificial leg and another has a paralyzed left arm.  At other venues I have shot next to folks in wheelchairs.

As long as you can shoot safely, any group worth shooting with will do what they can to get you on the line.

Andy, come to the matches at Cavalier. We will figure something out.

Mike Davis

I've never been to a bullseye match where reasonable accommodations haven't been made for shooters with disabilities.

One of my heroes growing up was a shooter (a member of this forum) in a wheelchair who consistently shot Master scores. He shot many of the matches in OH/PA/NY/WV, including Camp Perry.

The one exception was a few years ago in CA we had a guy on a bunch of pain meds who insisted on handling loaded firearms while other people were downrange, and got quite belligerent when I insisted that he stop doing that. He doesn't shoot with us anymore.

A FEW YEARS AGO AT PERRY I SHOT NEXT TO A MAN WHO WALKED WITH 2 CANES. I WAS ASKED BY LINE OFFICIALS IF I MINDED SCORING 2 TARGETS. OF COURSE I DID NOT MIND . THE DISABLED SHOOTER ACCEPTED HIS SCORES WITHOUT COMPLAINT . HE NEVER LEFT THE BENCH. I WOULD JUST BRING BACK HIS TARGET FOR HIM AFTER IT WAS SCORED. IT'S EASY TO MAKE REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS FOR PEOPLE. JP

I am continuing with Bullseye pistol for the time being, the arrival of Camp Perry has slowed me down a bit. I have noticed several things, I cannot seem to hold the pistol up for very long as would be required for 50 yards, and many of my shots in rapid are somewhat erratic. I think I have finally overcome the jerking the trigger by working on my "dry firing" more diligently. My friends at the local Cavalier Gun club have been helpful, as well as club membership at Fairfax Gun Club. I experienced something of a setback recently as I had a seizure and cannot drive until November. 


I think I will need to get a lighter pistol, so I dropped off my Beretta  to David Sam's last month for the full workup. Yes I know it will be expensive and time consuming but I seem to have nothing but time anyway.


This was just a brief update as I progress through this. I would love to hear from those who have this damned disease.  


Thanks, Andy

At Perry a few years back I had the pleasure of shooting next to an 80+ year old gentleman who had been coming to Perry longer than most of those on the line were old. It was one of those years when the mud was really bad and he had trouble getting to the 50 yard line to score and repair. Several of us took turns scoring and replacing his targets. We never received a single comment or complaint from any line official, even the one who is usually buttoned up so tight that he squeaks.

AllAces wrote:At Perry a few years back I had the pleasure of shooting next to an 80+ year old gentleman who had been coming to Perry longer than most of those on the line were old. It was one of those years when the mud was really bad and he had trouble getting to the 50 yard line to score and repair. Several of us took turns scoring and replacing his targets. We never received a single comment or complaint from any line official, even the one who is usually buttoned up so tight that he squeaks.

I remember him, never met him but one of the line judges told several of us during a break that the older gentleman had been coming there for 1 year more than he was old and he was either 61 or 62.
- Dave

My league has an older shooter with Parkinson's and his tremors are severe but he shoots safely.  Every shooter on the line gladly helps hanging targets, scoring, carrying his gear, and assisting him with setup during the prep period.  I encourage you to continue shooting as everyone around you will gladly assist and accommodate.

Thanks, gentleman, I had a much more severe episode this weekend "severe shaking" has appeared. I have messaged the Dr.

Hi Andy,
I will be praying for you!
Gary

Since my last post there have been some developments, I have noticed that now I can barely hold the pistol (.22) up to hit the center of the target. The weight of the 1911 is just too much, I do not yet have the Beretta back from David Sam's. My shoulder does not seem to have the muscle tone it used to have. I am going to look into getting some help with building it up if it can be done. 

Yesterday  I tried my heart out to get it done at 25 yards and most of the shots (I only fired 20) were loose. 3 10s 3 misses 3 6's and one miss. But I will keep at it. My wife noticed that just before I would fire the pistol it would come to a stop. I was unable to verify it yesterday though.

Thanks, Andy

Hi Andy,I just saw your post. If You have not looked into Rock Steady Boxing, I would. Was diagnosed in 10/2016 with a Parkinsonism . I have had speech difficulty, balance issues and fatigue, but when I started boxing, in 10/2017, I could barely get off the toilet myself. I just had a Boxing session today and did 50 squats. Keep at what ever you you can & never give up!

I see no way I can start boxing. I will soon be getting a dedicated van and wheel chair/ But I am trying!

I went on the whole pistol crusade this year and it really helped me "get going". Along the way I had some interesting experiences; when I arrived at Cardinal (which is a great facility), my driver (I had lost my license due to the state taking it for medical reasons) was none other than Jon Shue and we proceeded to explain that I was wheelchair bound and all that goes with it, I had many volunteers and everything went great. At Canton I had a similar experience, during both matches I shot from the seated position in all phases, and let me tell you it was a learning experience. I will now have to go back to square one and relearn everything new. When we arrived at CPO we went to check in at the lodging office, Jon went inside to arrange my lodging ( I had previously taken care of everything) he was inside for a long time, when he emerged he explained to me that "yes they did have my reservation in the system for room 212 on the second floor (no elevators). Jon tried to work it out and they said if YOU can get someone to switch with me that would be fine with them. Jon found a person who was willing to switch with me on the first floor. He then went around to the rear of the building and searched those room by peering through the curtains. He found that room 105 was in fact a handicapped room. Back over to the office and they said "oh yeah we have two of them, so that is where I stayed. 

During the firing portion I was on target #451 (Rodriquez), as I was firing during the .22 phase my Victor would not fire. The range officer approached me and asked me the problem, no one could get the slide back finally someone appeared and got it back. It still would not fire, the range officer said "YOU must go all the way back to the armorers van and get it fixed. So I load up all my stuff from my firing point into my wagon and drive wheelchair and all back to the van. I guess it is a quarter of a mile or so, get the pistol repaired and drive back down to the range, upon arriving the range officer says " did he give you a slip stating that you were down there", No I said. Well YOU will need to go back doen there and get one! So I began to drive back down there and a range officer appeared and said "let go in his golf cart" we di and got the piece of paper. While I was waiting there to start the third relay my senses slowly began to return, and comments made by the other competitors I slowly got upset with the whole thing. A this point I decided that I was done for the day. At that moment Jon Shue arrived and asked me what was going on I explained the whole thing all over again. We departed, and I rested in piece and quiet. The remainder of the event went exellent. Welcome the the NRA!

While I was firing I never noticed but a group of people was watching me very closely. One of the rapids a gentleman walked u behind me and said "remove the empty magazine from your weapon, yuo know that is an unsafe act, and you could be disqualified"!

ANDYZ28 wrote:Jon found a person who was willing to switch with me on the first floor. He then went around to the rear of the building and searched those room by peering through the curtains. He found that room 105 was in fact a handicapped room. Back over to the office and they said "oh yeah we have two of them, so that is where I stayed. 

I saw Shue's original post about your being situated on the second floor and I got angry.  Reading that they had available rooms specifically designed for you makes me angry all over again.

If you remember, I scored for you at Fairfax once.  Keep at it brother, best you can.

Thanks, I was originally going up to shoot the match at Cavalier today, but my condign as reared it ugly head once again. Thanks, Andy

This year I devoted what time I have available to me to figuring out "what is going on "with my shooting. So this year I went to the Cardinal-Canton matches to shoot, and things were pretty good. I discovered that while I am shooting the 900 I was getting very tired near the end of the 900. So my friend Erin came along (I still cannot drive) and we had a discussion about fatigue, and she noticed this before I did she said that why don't I only shoot the NMC portion of the match (30 shots out of 90), so I did and it was great. But this happened near the end of our shooting at Canton. Now I must devote all of my practice and match work to incorporate this new technique into my training. Now when we get to the venue Erin does all of the stuff I used to do, unpacking the car, etc., then she continues with her work. Sadly I never noticed this, Robert Burns said "what a wonderful gift he gives us, to see ourselves as others see us". I had never noticed this before and it was a revelation to me to sat the least. In retrospect I did or have been noticing this before, but I did not have the presence of mind to "connect the dots". 

I closing this issue I have come to the following conclusions;
!) do not wastes time shooting more than is absolutely required, in practice and matches.

2)Do whatever you can to save energy in the beginning of the day right up until you shoot.

3) Shoot my slow fire very methodically and slower. I never used a stopwatch to keep track of my time, just bought a new one to help me.

4) These things will help me during the timed and rapid fire events. I will now slow down my timed fire as I previously shot it at the same pace as rapid fire.

I really do hope this information will help others as well as myself to do better in the future, Andy

It was a pleasure shooting on your line at Cardinal.
Your an inspiration to me and many others.

Jim Chapman post #41

I never really appreciated the overwhelming support from the many competitors that have said the same thing to me. It does show me that I really do make a diiference!

I was on the line at Perry last year for CMP using the new 300 range and was near the far right. Turned out no RO was assigned to score the last target so I did it rather than raise a stink. I am a pretty fast scorer so it was no big deal. I would do it anytime to help someone who would otherwise not be able to shoot.

I hope you keep doing it as long as you can find a way to make it work safely. I am also very happy for you that you are not taking this illness as a reason to "quit" on life. Keep up the good attitude my friend.

I shot from a wheelchair for all but the 1st year of my BE career. NRA issues a handicap card w/ a pic illustrating the shooter in his firing position. At first I made advance plans w/ match directors but after a time all were familiar w/ me and shooters scored and repaired for me. I found BE well suited to a person w/ a handicap similar to mine.  My only regret regarding my shooting was falling short of 2600!!   

Ron Habegger