tetravet
New member
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2020
- Messages
- 5
I'm glad I finally found a forum that is about public land hunting and various aspects surrounding hunting. Growing up in North Dakota I didn't do much hunting other than to fill a gratis tag. It wasn't until I got older that I started becoming more interested in hunting, but I had to really learn how to on my own. I was paralyzed while in the military nearly 20 years ago and I just knew I was not going to give up on hunting. Well, as I began the journey of becoming a disabled hunter I quickly found out that: 1) hunting clothing is not made for people in wheelchairs, 2) the equipment is extremely expensive, 3) more than likely you will be put in one of the least desirable hunting areas because of accessibility. So begins my hunting adventure which will hopefully take me many years to accomplish. Fortunately, I went to a university that has a highly regarded engineering school with students that were eager to take on the challenge of creating a joystick-controlled crossbow aiming system. While the system had some drawbacks, it laid down the blueprint of what needed to be designed moving forward. I spent the next several years trying to figure out how to make things easier and more manageable. I continued to watch forums and other disability-related posts about hunting and fishing in there just didn't seem to be much progress in terms of technology; and then, a company in Indiana started designing joystick-controlled Rifle/crossbow platforms. The downside to anything that is associated with "disabilities" is the eventual overall cost. After several months of saving, I was able to purchase the product and now it was time to head to the range. Wait, How will I be able to see through the scope? After several spending several weeks and months trying to find a system that would work, I came across a company out of Minnesota that has a pretty good idea.
Everything seems to be falling into place, and hopefully I will be able to hunt on public land that actually has signs of animals. After nearly 20 years, my former platoon sergeant and I are planning to do a public land elk hunt in Idaho. I have a few things yet to work out, but I'm really hoping to get an action track wheelchair for the difficult terrain. I have already started doing some E scouting even though it is still a year and 1/2 away.
If you have any questions on my set up or would like advice on making the outdoors accessible please don't hesitate to reach out to me.
John Trautman
Where there's a will… there is an adventure!
Everything seems to be falling into place, and hopefully I will be able to hunt on public land that actually has signs of animals. After nearly 20 years, my former platoon sergeant and I are planning to do a public land elk hunt in Idaho. I have a few things yet to work out, but I'm really hoping to get an action track wheelchair for the difficult terrain. I have already started doing some E scouting even though it is still a year and 1/2 away.
If you have any questions on my set up or would like advice on making the outdoors accessible please don't hesitate to reach out to me.
John Trautman
Where there's a will… there is an adventure!
![20190727_143056[15079].jpg](/data/attachments/118/118716-b65773cd39cb9e567fd21f8c7b15b9e8.jpg)
