Target shooting for the blind and visually impaired

[cariadus]

Yes, you read that right!

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of accompanying the Mayor of Bridgend to Tondu Target Shooting Club at the opening of a facility for target shooting for the blind and visually impaired. And no, I didn't feel endangered at any time.


Yes, it really is possible for a blind person to hit the target. The target emits a strong light and the shooter hears a high pitched noise in the headphones. The closer to the centre of the target the higher the pitch.



The Mayor having a go. Sighted shooters have no advantage as you can't actually see anything in the gun sight. You have to rely totally on your hearing.



Huw Irranca-Davies MP getting into the spirit



The Mayor proudly displaying her bullseye.



The shooters - The Mayor of Bridgend, Julie Thomas of BridgeVis and Huw Irranca-Davies MP

I didn't have a go myself, I was content to take photos.

[wanderer]

Re: Target shooting for the blind and visually impaired

A cracking story. Good press photos too.

[Bikie John]

Re: Target shooting for the blind and visually impaired

How interesting. Nice photos, have you shown them to the club? They might be keen to use them for publicity.

Ciao ... John

[cariadus]

Re: Target shooting for the blind and visually impaired

Thanks Duncan and John.

There was someone from the club taking photos on a Canon.
ITV News were there too (not at the same time as us, though): http://www.itv.com/news/wales/story/...ired-marksmen/

[Jim Ford]

Re: Target shooting for the blind and visually impaired

No good for me, I have a high-pitched noise in my ears all the time - as a result of target shooting without ear defenders when I was in my 20s!

Jim

[cariadus]

Re: Target shooting for the blind and visually impaired

No good for me, I have a high-pitched noise in my ears all the time - as a result of target shooting without ear defenders when I was in my 20s!

I nearly took up shooting in college. Maybe it's just as well I didn't - not that my hearing is perfect by any means. Actually, the sighted people that had done shooting before seemed to find it more difficult because they found it harder to get used to not looking through the sight.

[Jim Ford]

Re: Target shooting for the blind and visually impaired

I nearly took up shooting in college. Maybe it's just as well I didn't - not that my hearing is perfect by any means.

It was the centre fire pistols that did it. Without ear defenders the muzzle blast is painful. It always makes me smile in films where a pistol is fired in a confined space, that the shooter doesn't wince with pain!

Jim

[Imageryone]

Re: Target shooting for the blind and visually impaired

Thanks for the interesting thread, Roger, good to see this type of advance in technology.
In the early 1980's I was very heavily into Archery, and this technology was in it's infancy, but we had blind archers using it.

[cariadus]

Re: Target shooting for the blind and visually impaired

It was the centre fire pistols that did it. Without ear defenders the muzzle blast is painful. It always makes me smile in films where a pistol is fired in a confined space, that the shooter doesn't wince with pain!

That's interesting, Jim, thanks for sharing that.

Thanks for the interesting thread, Roger, good to see this type of advance in technology.
In the early 1980's I was very heavily into Archery, and this technology was in it's infancy, but we had blind archers using it.

I think Julie from BridgeVis (centre of last shot) has archery as next on her list. She's an amazing lady which you can see from the ITV News clip.