It is my sincerest wish for this site to become a resource for people with disabilities who share a common love of the outdoors as well as personal freedom. The organizations and their contacts I have listed here I have personal experience with, finding them to be a helpful source to get things done. I hope you find the links , videos and other information below helpful in reaching your own goals and dreams.
Special Item of Note
Having carried loaded firearms successfully in public for the last decade plus, I think it has been proven that a blind person is capable of safely doing so as long as they adhere to the guidelines set forth in the Shooting Questions and Answers portion of this site. Throughout the years, I have been approached by other blind persons seeking my guidance in obtaining training in the pursuit of their own concealed weapons permits. Although I have helped some to navigate their way to getting their own permits, I caution them and others that not everyone, sighted or blind, has what it takes to defend themselves in this way. There are certain liabilities and responsibilities in choosing to carry a gun. They are not cool. They are deadly weapons and therefore should be treated as such.
My Gator Story
I took this 11-foot, very heavy monster using the same pointblank technique that I would use for self-defense in regards to my CCW permits. The previous night’s hunt by boat turned up nothing, so the deed was done on shore with a 44-magnum bang stick. The only thing about it was that another equally big gator was right behind me and ready to strike. You know it isn’t good when your outfitter begins screaming, “We’re going to get bit!”
My first cow elk, November 1st 2011
I took this 700-Lb. cow elk by 270 rifle in Wyoming, south of Yellowstone in grizzly bear country. I never knew a 3/4 ton pick-up would have so much trouble dragging it down the mountainside for dressing, but it fed a lot of people that's for sure.
"That was the best shot I had seen in 11 years," so says the CEO of Savage Arms about the 156-yard shot I made by 270 bolt action rifle. Nice to think that the head of a major arms manufacture had enough confidence in my marksmanship to bring only one bullet into the field after seeing me practice at the range. Bonds forged, for life
First batch of teal including a 45-yard wing shot in Texas September 2011. Serve Outdoors Teal Hunt
My first spring gobbler taken by crossbow on the banks of the Missouri, April 2011.
Ten Down
My wife and I went on a pheasant hunt with Broken Wing, a disabled hunting group in Minnesota. Using a semi-automatic shotgun and a bird dog, I got ten flushed pheasants. Between the three trips into the field, I shot trap, skeet, and completed a 3D hunt by crossbow where I made a 36-yard score of 8 on a goat from a moving platform, but completely missed a charging bear at half the distance. Found out that I can score a hit in the golf ball sized 12 ring at 25-yards on a walking bear, but not on one rearing up. Not a good sign for the real thing, which is my ultimate game animal. Nevertheless, we’ll be eating pheasants forever, since Tori got 6 more on her own. She credits me for teaching her how to shoot, which is a good thing. I think? Carey McWilliams 2009 Smoking Pheasants Part 1 Carey McWilliams 2009 Smoking Pheasants Part 2
To all blind readers:
Guide dogs and guns: America's First blind marksman fires back / by Carey McWilliams.
ISBN: 9781600022951
Published: Washington, D.C.: National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress, 2008.
Dewey No.: 362.41092 B ANF
Book Number: RC 65699 (2 sound cassettes (C-90): analog, 15/16 ips, 4 track, mono.
Book Number: DB 65699 (access: downloadable talking book) http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.65699
Register at https://www.nlstalkingbooks.org/talkingbooksform/
Bill Wallace (Narrator).
Library of Congress Annotation:
Autobiography of concealed-weapons permit holder Carey McWilliams (b. 1973), blind since age ten. Describes his civilian and military weapons training, the shooting qualifying exams, and the ensuing Second Amendment debate.
Discusses his passion for scuba diving, his guide dogs, and his wife, Victoria.
Some strong language. 2007.
This One's for You, Kyle
Kyle Marple, 37, Fargo, formerly Elbow Lake, Minn., died as a result of injuries suffered in a skydiving accident. Below is the complete video of our first jump. He shall be missed.
People said that I should get a driver's license if allowed to carry a gun, so here you go down the game trail. Video (15 sec) Shooting Questions and Answers
From an interview with Simon Pauley of Insight Radio
