# Archery/shooting - disabled advantage



## NoseyPosey (6 September 2012)

This may be a controversial question but is a wheelchair bound archer/shooter really at a disadvantage?

I only ask because when I shoot a rifle, the hardest to easiest positions for stability are standing - kneeling - sitting - prone. Standing is by far the hardest position to shoot from because of the higher centre of gravity so I would argue that a sitting disabled athlete with full upper body movement should be able to get greater accuracy than a standing able bodied athlete.

Am I missing something? What are your thoughts?


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## armchair_rider (6 September 2012)

I'm not sure (and as I haven't taken up shooting yet I think you probably know more than me). I know that a wheelchair athlete in the standing shooting class isn't allowed to support their elbows - which I assume would give a major stability advantage. Otherwise presumably any advantage from sitting down would be outweighed by the limitations imposed by the athlete's physical weakness and the limited room to position one's body within the chair. Certainly shooting and archery seem to be sports where disabled athletes could compete on equal terms with able-bodied but it is rare for them to do so (one of the GB para archers was in England's Commonwealth games team)


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## Mike007 (9 September 2012)

As a pistol shot ,and coach, the idea of shooting a pistol from a wheel chair seems an immediate disadvantage. I am not entirely sure that I can explain why ,even to myself. When I shoot, every inch of my body ,from the tips of my toes upward is involved. To loose half of that seems appalling.To me there seems no advantage.


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## NoseyPosey (10 September 2012)

Mike007 said:



			When I shoot, every inch of my body ,from the tips of my toes upward is involved.
		
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Exactly and that is my point - but from a different perspective.

If I shoot a rifle from a standing position and with nothing to rest against, my centre of gravity is higher, more of my body is exposed to external factors (wind being the most obvious) and the only way of stabilising myself are 2 small areas in contact with the ground, namely my feet. There is TOO MUCH of my body that can affect my aim. By far the best position is prone because I am lower and almost all my body is on contact with the ground, providing greater stability and a more comfortable shooting position. Kneeling's a bit better than standing but not much because whilst I'm lower, I don't have much more to stabilise myself other than the one knee in contact with the ground.

Sitting, obviously is halfway between kneeling & prone with the only real disadvantage (for an able bodied person sitting on the ground) is having to keep the back erect & head up for as long as it needs to carry out the shoot whilst using good marksmanship principles.


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## Meowy Catkin (10 September 2012)

I do archery (longbow) and even with a compound or recurve bow, I can only see negatives from sitting while shooting. As you need to use a bow with the heaviest draw that you can manage (flatter shot, less wind interference) standing and drawing properly really does enable you to pull more weight.


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## NoseyPosey (10 September 2012)

Faracat said:



			I do archery (longbow) and even with a compound or recurve bow, I can only see negatives from sitting while shooting. As you need to use a bow with the heaviest draw that you can manage (flatter shot, less wind interference) standing and drawing properly really does enable you to pull more weight.
		
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Fair do's - that's why I wondered if I was missing something. I'm not an archer but I do shoot a rifle so was thinking more from a marksmanship point of view and not physical strength.


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## rachel_s (11 September 2012)

Surely part of it is you are comparing your perceived advantage when sitting as an  able bodied person compared someone who may have no feeling/ partial feeling/ pain which would not necessarily offer the same perceived advantage.  A number of people in wheelchairs have limited core stability due to the nature of their disabilities.


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## ivandenisovich10 (12 September 2012)

Did you see the archer who was using his mouth to pull the bow, I think that might be a disadvantage


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## Alec Swan (4 October 2012)

N_P,

an interesting point,  though perhaps perversely,  I've always found free standing rifle shooting (never the dreaded targets,  always sporting and at live game) to be the easiest.  The next easiest is sitting with my elbows on my knees,  and when unsupported,  prone to be the most difficult.

From a wheelchair,  and providing that there is no support provided for the elbows,  I would say that sitting,  would perhaps be more difficult than free standing.  It's all to do with balance,  I suspect,  though as I've never shot from a chair,  perhaps I'm talking nonsense!!  I'll have a go one day,  and report back!

Alec.


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## soggy (21 October 2012)

AFAIAA The only shooting discipline in which disabled participants and able bodied participants compete on an even footing is Bench Rest either c/f or r/f.

Being disabled puts one at a distinct disadvantage when competing in the pistol or rifle shooting disciplines for a number of reasons. Mostly to do with the inability to, or limited, use of certain key muscle groups. This is doubly so in the archery comp's.


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## sam_m (28 October 2012)

I keep coming back to post on this and finally think I've managed to formulate my answer well enough to post.

I am an archer, I shoot at the same club as Andrea Gales 2nd in the UK in the compound category of which is the same category we won our gold and silver individual medals. Having watched her practising, it is evident that she uses every muscle in her body for posture and balance and of course the actual shooting. Only a slight deviation of posture can result in varying shots. 

In contrast we have a disabled archer at the club who is in a motorised wheel chair who has only been shooting a few months but at the moment is having a few teething issues with the bow and being able to draw it properly because of his chair.


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