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Foot operated solenoid trigger
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I am not sure if this is the correct place to post this but here goes.

This is quite an emotional subject but perhaps it could be of use to someone looking at doing something similar and also if anyone has any suggestions they would be greatly appreciated.

My son is 11 years old and has cerebral palsy. In him it has manifested in his arms and hands most severely. He can walk and talk and he is extremely bright and clever, nothing wrong with cognitive abilities. The cruel part is his motions are affected by according to how excited he gets. He types and does does all of his school work by typing with his toes and feet. Plays PlayStation the same way.
Now the little dude is firearm obsessed and wants to hunt very badly. Favourite caliber, 50BMG. Even after watching a certain YouTuber blow himself up!
Anyway trips to the range used to consist of him aiming and me controlling the trigger and movement, he would tell me up, down left and right and when to shoot. This with the 22LR.
A hunting buddy and I then began to spitball some ideas of how he could do the whole process himself. Naturally this would mean he would have to do trigger control with his foot so we came up with the idea of a foot operated solenoid which activates the trigger. All the parts were bought from an electronic store and we went about trying to fit the contraption to the rifle. In this case a Brno 22 Hornet with double triggers.
It was then decided to call in the experts and all the parts were taken to a local gunsmith and the plan was described to them. They didn't hesitate to take on the project. Then Covid hit and the project ground to a halt.
Anyway a few months later they called to say it was completed. I cannot thank Chad and Henk at ARMS enough for doing a fantastic job. They even did it on the house with the only criteria being we sent videos of how it worked. There are still good people in this world.

The first range trip was a massive success with the trigger working perfectly. He sat at a bench and shot off a sandbag. I duck taped some Velcro to the butt so it would stay in his shoulder and he could do small adjustments himself. It worked ok but an improvement is needed.
I have ordered a tripod with the ball gimbal attachment, with the idea being that the shoe will be permanently mounted to the rifle which then can be clipped into the tripod. Connor will then have as much range as he needs to to move the rifle himself. this setup will also be manageable in the bush. The control of the butt needs some work and the idea is to mount a brace at the back which will go over his shoulder and under his armpit so he can clamp it with his arm and therefore have more control. As he gets older the concept can be scaled up with larger calibers and even a chassis system being used on the rifles.


The plan is to hunt a Warthog in 2022 as there is much practice still to be done. He is currently only managing a 50-60% kill shot on a life-size target at 50m.

I have pictures etc so if anyone is interested you can DM me and I will send them via email or even text if you wish.


Ride hard, shoot straight and speak the truth.
 
Posts: 85 | Location: RSA | Registered: 21 August 2013Reply With Quote
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This proves if there is a will there is a way !
Congratulations on making Connors dream come true . Good luck on the hunt !


Hang on TITE !!
 
Posts: 574 | Registered: 19 August 2004Reply With Quote
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quote:
Originally posted by Snav:
I am not sure if this is the correct place to post this but here goes.

This is quite an emotional subject but perhaps it could be of use to someone looking at doing something similar and also if anyone has any suggestions they would be greatly appreciated.

My son is 11 years old and has cerebral palsy. In him it has manifested in his arms and hands most severely. He can walk and talk and he is extremely bright and clever, nothing wrong with cognitive abilities. The cruel part is his motions are affected by according to how excited he gets. He types and does does all of his school work by typing with his toes and feet. Plays PlayStation the same way.
Now the little dude is firearm obsessed and wants to hunt very badly. Favourite caliber, 50BMG. Even after watching a certain YouTuber blow himself up!
Anyway trips to the range used to consist of him aiming and me controlling the trigger and movement, he would tell me up, down left and right and when to shoot. This with the 22LR.
A hunting buddy and I then began to spitball some ideas of how he could do the whole process himself. Naturally this would mean he would have to do trigger control with his foot so we came up with the idea of a foot operated solenoid which activates the trigger. All the parts were bought from an electronic store and we went about trying to fit the contraption to the rifle. In this case a Brno 22 Hornet with double triggers.
It was then decided to call in the experts and all the parts were taken to a local gunsmith and the plan was described to them. They didn't hesitate to take on the project. Then Covid hit and the project ground to a halt.
Anyway a few months later they called to say it was completed. I cannot thank Chad and Henk at ARMS enough for doing a fantastic job. They even did it on the house with the only criteria being we sent videos of how it worked. There are still good people in this world.

The first range trip was a massive success with the trigger working perfectly. He sat at a bench and shot off a sandbag. I duck taped some Velcro to the butt so it would stay in his shoulder and he could do small adjustments himself. It worked ok but an improvement is needed.
I have ordered a tripod with the ball gimbal attachment, with the idea being that the shoe will be permanently mounted to the rifle which then can be clipped into the tripod. Connor will then have as much range as he needs to to move the rifle himself. this setup will also be manageable in the bush. The control of the butt needs some work and the idea is to mount a brace at the back which will go over his shoulder and under his armpit so he can clamp it with his arm and therefore have more control. As he gets older the concept can be scaled up with larger calibers and even a chassis system being used on the rifles.


The plan is to hunt a Warthog in 2022 as there is much practice still to be done. He is currently only managing a 50-60% kill shot on a life-size target at 50m.

I have pictures etc so if anyone is interested you can DM me and I will send them via email or even text if you wish.


Fantastic!

Wish all the success.


www.accuratereloading.com
Instagram : ganyana2000
 
Posts: 66721 | Location: Dubai, UAE | Registered: 08 January 1998Reply With Quote
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Great story! Hoping for great success on your son's warthog hunt!
 
Posts: 8483 | Registered: 09 January 2011Reply With Quote
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Contact the sponsoring body for the olympic shooting where you are. Here in the U.S. it is USA Shooting. They may already have some solutions since shooting is one of the sports in the para-olympics.


One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got into my pajamas I'll never know. - Groucho Marx
 
Posts: 3810 | Location: Eastern Slope, Colorado, USA | Registered: 01 March 2001Reply With Quote
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Well done!

Those old pronged butt-plates on the scheutzen rifles come to mind as a starting-point. Perhaps combined with a modified shooting jacket incorporating a clip on a short elastic strap, and the other half of the clip on the stock close to the but?

As for the tripod head, consider a Gimbal rather than a ball head, as a gimbal doesn't have the tendency to "flop over" and will control cant for him, something I imagine he might struggle with?
 
Posts: 456 | Location: South Africa | Registered: 28 April 2020Reply With Quote
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Thank you for the suggestions, really good ideas which I will definitely be exploring.


Ride hard, shoot straight and speak the truth.
 
Posts: 85 | Location: RSA | Registered: 21 August 2013Reply With Quote
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Awesome story! I’m sure son and father are going to have many shooting and hunting adventures.


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Posts: 2627 | Location: Minnesota | Registered: 08 December 2006Reply With Quote
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Thanks for posting this. It's very moving.
Well done and Kudos to both you and Connor!


IHMSA BC Provincial Champion and Perfect 40 Score, Unlimited Category, AAA Class.
 
Posts: 3335 | Location: Kamloops, BC | Registered: 09 November 2015Reply With Quote
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Words can't describe this mans story..love is a powerful potion between father and son.


Ray Atkinson
Atkinson Hunting Adventures
10 Ward Lane,
Filer, Idaho, 83328
208-731-4120

rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com
 
Posts: 41754 | Location: Twin Falls, Idaho | Registered: 04 June 2000Reply With Quote
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