Growing up as a young kid My father had 2 rather odd requirements for us kids, 1-learn to drive as soon as you can reach the gas, clutch and brake and still see out the windshield and 2- learn to shoot and handle a rifle as soon as it wouldn't knock you over backwards. As most youngsters it was a .22 cal single shot then graduated up to one of Dad's 32's or 30-30's. Growing up in Eastern Oregon shooting and hunting was the norm from just popping at a stump, rock, dirt Claude or whatever made a good target with the .22's or ground rats and jack rabbit hunting in the summer to deer and elk in the fall. In my teens my Grand Father gave me his .308 and I used it un till my injury in 1974. Un till I started this last interest the last time I fired a rifle was deer season 1973. For the past few years I have kicked around the Idea of buying a small cal rifle and do some target shooting. This spring (2011) I did some research on .223 cal rifles . I decided on the .223 cal because it is the smallest call you can hunt deer with in Oregon and the ammo for it is relativity cheap. Another consideration was how much "kick" was involved. The reason there is my shoulders have kind of took a lot of abuse pushing a wheelchair around for 37 years. As a result of the research I decided on a Tikka T3 .223.
I had originally considered a red dot sight but after talking to other more knowledgeable "gun" people decided on a redfield 3x9 scope. Obviously the big challenge was to make some sort of system for me to support the rifle. I am not capable of holding the rifle to my shoulder and supporting the weight of the whole thing. I decided to make a "shooting table" that attaches to my chair. this table will have a swiveling arm with a cuff that supports the forearm of the rifle. The arm pivots and the cuff pivots and rotates as well which allows me to rest the rifle on the table when not being shouldered
The GopherGutter 2
close up of the table.
The arm is attached to the table by a adjustable clamp which can be moved anywhere around the outer edge of the table. The arm also will adjust up and down with the squeeze handle looking thing ( actually is a cheapo wood clamp cut and modified a little). Although the rifle here appears to be mounted , to the chair it is just balanced in the cuff long enough to take the picture. I actually shoulder the rifle when firing it.
the clamp
in action at the range
I am using my left thumb to pull the trigger here. I found that I have a tendency to jerk the trigger this way tho. This system is simple and usable as long as you make sure the table is solid and don't move around.
With help from Marc we built this trigger puller and changed the way I hold and pull the rifle into my shoulder with the hopes it will give me better control. I will play with both for a while and see. Well that didn't work worth a hoot. Not only was it very clumber sum there is no "feel" to the trigger so I still wind up jerking the trigger.. It will be an ongoing project to get it all right
Here is a "bite trigger" made by BeAdaptive. I am using it here on the LM-100 rifle holder they make. It did somewhat solve the jerking movement of the rifle but still no real "feel" to the trigger
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this trigger device is suppose to work on a pistol as well but unless the pistol is totally mounted to something it is very heavy and I truthfully cant see how one would get it to mount around the grips.
The BeAdaptive LM-100 rifle holder is a unit that complexity supports the rifle but still allows the shooter to "shoulder" the rifle ands control the trigger in any fashion. I originally used my right thumb to trigger with but as stated above I constantly pulled the gun low and left. I have since put the bit trigger on it and mounted it down on the shooting table and using my left hand to fire it. This has solved the pulling a quite a bit but the action of pushing the lever down still makes the rifle move simply through the shoulder movement. I have another plan but kind of "concerned" a little and that is to use it as intended, BITING IT. I am not sure there isn't some recoil through the cable, enough to jar my teeth.
LM-100
as designed the unit is suppose to mount under the users seat cushion and the vertical post comes up between your legs.. The problem with that for me is I transfer from my push chair to the power chair without a lift. With the plate in place my leg catches on the lower mount pipe and hangs me up. I modified this so it now mounts on the left bottom chair frame via the mount clamped solid. The first problem I come up with with this new configuration is the "angle" of the frame lets the mount lean forward but is a easy fix. Other than that it worked fine.
The draw back with the LM-100 compared to my GG2 is that I can not mount the system by myself. and is very bulky and cumbersome but IS MORE STABLE
here I am using the bite trigger (under left hand)
I have used both the LM-100 and my GG2 support and find the GG2 much easier to use and lighter. I did add another support on it which added much more stability. I am going to try to use the top section of the LM-100 (part that supports the whole rifle) and put it on my GG2 and see if that will work, but the LM-100 is just too bulky, heavy, awkward and takes too long to set it up than it is worth, this is keeping in mind you have enough physical ability to "partially" hold the rifle. in my opinion anyway. Last time out I also tried the bite trigger as it was intended to be used, between the teeth. WOW what a difference that made. It was much more accurate and felt no recoil through the cable (which I was always afraid it would have).
SEE THE VIDEO http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFiTy2idGrk
IT JUST NEVER ENDS.....I GUESS
MY ADAPTED WALTHER SP22a PISTOL
my winter project
made this portable target holder to take out to shooting areas, gravel pits, sagebrush, even the range. I also use it in the back yard for my air rifle.