<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by WETSU:
My question is this, and it is an uncomfortable one. Has anyone had experience with a similar condition and how do you compensate? Can you still shoot well?[/quote]
WETSU,
I can speak to your question. I don't see your question as uncomfortable at all.
Back in 1983 I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). For those that don't know, MS is a chronic, usually progressive, neurological disease. It's not certain what causes it and there is no cure.
At the time (1983) I was paralyzed on the right side of my body (just short of needing a wheelchair), was experiencing double vision, and a whole lot of other stuff that would just take way too long to list. Slowly, over the following six months, my vision cleared and the paralysis remitted. HOWEVER, some of the residual effects of the MS are the ones that have taken the toll.
I was left with a tremor on the right side of my body, extremely weak, and very easily fatiqued by simple exertion and the south Texas heat. I was able to continue full-time employment for five more years, then part-time until 1997. By then the tremor and fatique forced me to stop working. Now, I'm experiencing difficulty with walking, occasionaly stumbling (lost two front teeth one time).
I had taken up handguns in 1991. I never was a good shot, probably because of the tremor. The tremor did not keep me from qualifying for a CCW permit in 1996, but it has gotten worse. I'm sure I will be able to qualify for the renewal of my permit, but it will not be pretty.
I go to the range at least once a month. At seven yards I can keep 90% of my shots in a 5 inch group, plenty good enough for CCW qualification.
How do I compensate? I quit using the outdoor ranges and use an indoor one (it's cooler). I don't fret over accuracy after about 100 rounds (the fatique factor). When I aim, the tremor in my hand is VERY noticable to even the most casual observer. I've learned to pull the trigger as the sights cross over the target. It ain't very elegant, but it works for me.
I'll never be able to shoot competitively, but I do have fun. Life is what you make it, not what it makes of you.
Joe
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"Suppose you are an idiot. And suppose you are a member of congress.
But I repeat myself."
-- Mark Twain