I`vereceived many requests recently from hunters and shooters with

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'vereceived many requests recently from
hunters and shooters with vision imWiirments. People want to know how they can
c-ontinueto shoot and hunt after losing some
or all of theit sight.
If you seprch the topic on the internet,
you won't much helpful information. You will
find a number of blogs and articles in which
the writers express shock at the idea of the
vision-impaired hunting or shooting.
Anyone with significant vision loss realizes that in order to hunt or Shoot responsibly,
they need the help of a Sighted companion.
The spotter, as these helpers have come to
be called, are the eyes for the hunt. Depending on the amount of vision loss suffered by
the hunter, the spotter guides by instruction
and physical touch during the aiming and firing process.
Simon Bowman is an avid 17-year-old
hunter from Tuscaloosa, Ala, who recently
attended the 2009
Buckmasters
life Hunt Classic.
Simon, who is
legally blind and
cannot see well
enough tLl drive,
A
:I;
~
"t"
has enough peripheral vision to see objects
in a scope. During the ClaSSiC,Simon and his
spotter missed out on some good bucks that
emerged during what would have been the
Illst few minutes of shooting light for a regu-lar sighted person.
With his limited vision, 'Simon lacked the
necessary light to make-a clean shot Hoping
a different scope with better light-gathering
might do the trick, Simon borrowed a rifle
topped with a Nikon Monarch Gold scope.
According to Simon, "the difference was
night and day!" He was able to see deer in a
food plot almost as well as his sighted father,
Brian, even late into the evening.
While Simon's story is a happy one, in the
approximate 20 years there's been an organized disabled hunters community, there's
been little progress for hunters with Sight
impairments. At the Buckmasters Expo, I
saw an archery sight that should be a real
help to sight-challenged archers and their
spotters. While designed for regular bowhunters, the Lil Bow Peep is made of durable
plastics and has a fiber-optic pin and adjust:
able peep sight.
•
The Lil BoWPeep mounts normaUy,but the
rear peep and pin can lJe put on the opposite side of the riser for Sight-impaired
shooters. This allows the spotter to look
over the shoulder of the shooter, place
his hands on the shooter's elbOWS,and
aid him through the aiming process.
Most spotters use a "ssshhh"
sound for the release command to
launch the arrow. Believe it or not, this
technique is very effective - and accurate. After a few days of practice, a
shooter and spotter team can be hitting solid groups at 20-25 yards.
Jim Sadecki, a USAFdisabled veteran, encountered issues when he attempted to use an adapted bow Sight
as mentioned above.
"Due to my extremely tall stature, I knew
that a conventional sight for the blind where
the spotter aims over the shooter's shoulder
wouldn't work for me," Sadecki wrote. Inspired by his military background, he wanted
to try a laser sight on his bow, but it was
ruled illegal by the Connecticut Depl of Environmental Protection, which regulatEfShuntilJg in that state.
Jim didn't give up, and after a few mont!ls
of ~ommunication with the DEP and state
officials, Jim was able to get the regulation
changed. Now, anyone of any height can assist Jim with aiming his bow. All they have to
do is look at the light prOjected by the laser.
Rifles and shotguns can be adapted with
the same basic principals. To take advantage of the longer ranges of guns, a scope is
the way to go.
Using machined mounts, you can position
a scope to the side or raise it several inches
for the spotter. Pistol scopes, because of
their long eye relief, ar-eideal.
One ingenious hunt-eradapted these same
basic principals but mounted the pistOl
scope in standard rings. Then he used padding to move his face away from the rifle's
cheek piece so the spotter would be able to
see clearly through the scope.
For more infor'mation about the tit Bow
Peep sights, call (330) 421-4061. For those
interested in learning m9re about the laser
system Jim Sadecki uses, e-mail him at
[email protected]
Brought to you by
a.lil Buckmasters Whitetail Magazine [Winter2009/201 OJ
www.buckmasters.com