Training Disabled Shooters

NRA’s Vanessa Warner Makes Hunting, Shooting Sports More Accessible

Aug 26, 2009

Vanessa Warner of the National Rifle Association talks about two of her passions: guns and introducing the disabled to recreational and competitive shooting.

Since 1994, the National Rifle Association's Disabled Shooting Services program has introduce thousands of disabled persons to outdoor sports such as hunting, the biathlon, and shooting competitions. Vanessa Warner has run the program since 2002.

In this interview, conducted by telephone on August 19, 2009, Warner talks about the NRA program, what got her hooked on competitive shooting, and the rapid growth of accessible recreation.

Basically, it’s me. Anyone who contacts the NRA who wants to shoot and has a disability is routed to me. I provide information on adaptive equipment and shooting techniques, medical waiver forms for competitions, and guidance for coaches who work with the disabled.

NRA’s Vanessa Warner Teaches Disabled Adaptive Shooting Techniques, Equipment

It’s a broad range that can include someone with bad knees who can no longer kneel and who needs to learn new shooting stances, as well as all major sensory and physical disabilities, such as blindness, amputations, and wheelchair users.

I go over the basics, from how an air rifle works, safety, adaptive equipment and shooting stances — it’s very different when you’re in a wheelchair — and in the afternoon, I facilitate an actual shooting competition.

Are people surprised to the extent the disabled can participate in shooting sports?

It blows their minds that someone with two upper limb amputations can shoot a gun (using a “sip and puff” trigger control) or that special scopes that convert light to sound can enable a blind shooter to hit a target. The technology is incredible.

Competitive Shooting is a Passion for Vanessa Warner

My husband was a shooter. You’ve heard of golf widows, well I was becoming a range widow. One Saturday I went down to the range to check it out. They gave me a spotting scope to shoot. On hot days, you can see a vapor trail behind the bullet as it disturbs the air it passes through. I was hooked. A bullet doesn’t cut straight: it arcs. It takes 1.67 seconds to go 1,000 yards. They go up and come down, and if the sun is right, you can see the light shine off the bullet. It’s amazing.

I was a competitive shooter for many years in high-power, military based competitions shot from distance of 200, 300 and 600 yards. I later switched to long range, shot from 800, 900 and 1000 yards. In 2002, a car accident broke my sternum, ankle, and tore cartilage in my wrist. I switched to F-Class shooting, which is still shot from long distance but the rifles are rested and scoped. I made the US team in 2005, competing in South Africa.

We’re fighting two wars. Medical technology has progressed to where injuries that were once fatal now, because of high-tech body armor and clothing, are likely to result in amputations. And society has changed. Wounded veterans used to hide, or were ignored. But over the past two decades, they’ve begun living fuller lives. It all comes together in programs like NRA’s Disabled Shooting Services, where one can overlook physical limitations and have access to life-enriching opportunities for sports and recreation.

Check the NRA website for more information on adaptive shooting and upcoming clinics.

The copyright of the article Training Disabled Shooters in Accessible Recreation is owned by Andrew Leibs. Permission to republish Training Disabled Shooters in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.