Best Guns & Gear for Disabled Shooters
If you or a loved one are disabled, finding adaptive guns and gear that work can be a struggle. That's why we've gathered the best guns and gear out there.
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I firmly believe that the second amendment is for absolutely everyone. It's a right inherent to our existence; as such, the limitations to own, shoot, and enjoy firearms shouldn't end if you have disabilities.
Believe it or not, the shooting industry is quite open to disabled shooters.
In fact, there are numerous pieces of gear aimed at disabled shooters, as well as numerous programs and competitions aimed to allow shooters with all manners of disabilities to compete.
With that in mind, I wanted to provide a resource or a directory of some gear, some guns, and organizations that are either purposefully designed for disabled shooters or can help disabled shooters.
Disability is a simple term for a diverse group of situations. With that in mind, I'm trying to address a wide variety of disabilities, both minor and major.
Hopefully, if you are a disabled person looking to start shooting, we can guide you in the right direction to start your ballistic journey.
Here are the guns, gear, and organizations that might be able to help.
Summary of Our Top Picks
- Best Mag Loader: MagLula Pistol Magazine LoaderJump to Details ↓
- Best Rifle Support: Magpul BipodJump to Details ↓
- Best Adaptive Optic Add On: Digital Crosshairs Adaptive Shooting Scope Clip-OnJump to Details ↓
- Best for Auditory : Silencer Central Banish 22Jump to Details ↓
- Best Pistol Charging Handle: Recover Tactical GCH Charging HandleJump to Details ↓
- Best for Rifles: Magpul AFGJump to Details ↓
- Best Red Dot: Holosun HS507C-V2Jump to Details ↓
- Best Pistol: Smith & Wesson M&P380 Shield EZJump to Details ↓
Table of Contents
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Best Guns & Gear for Disabled Shooters
1. Magazine Loaders
Loading magazines can be very challenging for shooters with hand strength issues enough that many might turn to a revolver to avoid it.
As someone who suffers from arthritis, I get it.
A magazine loader is a fantastic option for loading your weapon's magazine. There are tons and tons of magazine loaders on the market too.
I like the Maglula loaders…they are small, affordable, and very effective.
Maglula also makes them for rifles and handguns of nearly all types.
Another good option is the ETS C.A.M. loaders. These are designed for AR rifles and 9mm and .40 S&W handgun magazines.
The main benefit of this option is how fast it allows you to load your magazine. Downside? It requires a little more hand strength than the Maglula.
Toss 'em on, load 'em up, and leave your hand strength for shooting.
2. Bipods, Sleds, and Tripods
A bipod, tripod, or sled can be a game-changer if you have limited strength and mobility. Let's break down how each of these tools can help you.
Bipods attach to the front of the weapon and allow it to rest most of the weight on the bipod. It does require the shooter to support the rear 1/3rd of the platform.
A good bipod can make a light rifle very accessible without needing a more complicated setup.
Tripods are great big devices that have three legs and support the entire rifle. You just need to get behind the stock and aim in. It's very supportive and makes shooting easy.
It's somewhat large and does require some setup before use.
Sleds support the entirety of the rifle and place it on a bench position.
It's smaller than a tripod, supports the entire weapon's weight, and, with weight, absorbs recoil as well.
The weights and size will require a bit of setup prior to use.
3. Digital Crosshairs
Digital Crosshairs is a camera system that attaches to your rifle scope and provides you with a screen that captures your sight picture.
This allows shooters to use a scoped weapon paired with various accessories with limited movement. Digital Crosshairs is a great way for disabled shooters to hunt or target shoot.
This helps people with vision and mobility issues, especially in more dynamic environments like a hunting blind. It's a simple solution to a complicated problem.
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4. Suppressors
Suppressors are a great way to ease any shooter into ballistic joy. While a large focus is on serving physically disabled shooters, a suppressor can help shooters with less visible disabilities.
This includes noise sensitivity and auditory input issues. However, a suppressor alone isn't going to be a 100% fix.
A suppressor paired with a .22 LR or PCC loaded with subsonic ammunition is a great way to reduce noise and improve the comfort of shooters.
A friend of mine has a son who wants to learn to shoot but has some audio processing issues. He has become quite the shooter with his suppressor-equipped Ruger 10/22.
5. Handgun Charging Handles
Another hand strength issue comes down to the ability to efficiently move the slide of a handgun against the recoil spring to load or clear the weapon.
Some shooters with mobility issues and hand strength may have issues doing just that. Luckily charging handles exist to make this a fair bit easier.
Most of these are designed for Glock but not all. There are options like the Clip Draw charging handle, which produces a wide variety of options for a ton of different handguns.
Recover Tactical makes several charging handles for popular platforms.
These snap-on devices can be game changers for shooters trying to maintain complete and safe control over their firearms.
6. Foregrips
Foregrips can be a game changer for people with shoulder disabilities.
I'm one of those people and have post-traumatic arthritis in my shoulder. When shooting long guns, I've found that certain hand angles are better than others, and foregrips made a huge difference to me.
Vertical foregrips and angled foregrips can help you find the right placement to support your gun without causing extra stress to your shoulder.
There are tons of different options out there, and a basic Bravo Company Gunfighter grip or Magpul AFG can make a big difference.
The Mid-Evil 360 VFG is likely the best option. It allows you to try out 360 degrees of different angles to find the right one to provide total support.
Anyone with shoulder issues will likely understand how a slight angle change can make a big difference.
7. Red Dots
Red dots are outstanding additions to rifles, shotguns, handguns, and whatever other firearms you might have.
A red dot can be valuable for shooters with mobility and vision issues, and various risers and designs make weapons much more accessible and simplistic to accurately shoot and handle.
Which red dots?
I guess it depends on the gun, but a great value in the red dot world is a company called Holosun.
Something as simple as the Holosun 403 or 507C can be a great addition to make your rifle, handgun, or shotgun easier to shoot.
8. Ransom Assisted Trigger
The VA teamed up with Ransom International to create the Ransom Assisted Trigger. This trigger actually used to be called the VA Puff Trigger, but that name didn't stick.
The Ransom Assisted Trigger is an admittedly complicated device but an effective option for severely disabled shooters.
The Ransom Assisted Trigger is designed for shooters with very limited mobility. It can work on air guns, paintball guns, and real steel rifles of various types. A semi-auto design would likely be the best option for a limited-mobility shooter.
The RAT is an electronic actuator that gives shooters an alternative to pulling the trigger.
It connects to the trigger and, when activated, pulls the trigger of a standard rifle. Ransom has designed three different options. One includes a puff tube that allows you to fire the weapon with a breath of air.
Additionally, they produce a foot pedal and a button to fire the weapon. A 3.5mm port also allows shooters to use a multitude of custom devices that can be designed to accommodate a wide variety of shooters.
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9. Be Adaptive Lineup
Be Adaptive is an outdoors company aimed at providing gear to make shooting, fishing, and archery easier for disabled shooters. I'm choosing their entire catalog for this spot because it's huge, diverse, and effective.
For shooters, the Be Adaptive lineup includes things like a bite switch to pull the trigger of firearms, finger and hand supports to help pull the trigger, scope camera systems, and various mounts for handguns and rifles.
You can mount your weapon of choice to a wheelchair, bench, or wherever, allowing the shooter to safely and effectively fire their weapon and enjoy the experience.
These products are some of the most diverse and interesting on the market.
10. Smith & Wesson EZ Series
The Smith & Wesson EZ series, including the Equalizer, was a very smart move by S&W.
These handguns are in 9mm and .380 ACP and designed for shooters with hand strength issues. They feature an easy-to-load magazine, an easy-to-rack slide, and a reduced recoil design.
They are very lightweight, easy to shoot, and easy to control. The EZ handguns are very easy to shoot and provide shooters with reduced strength, an option for concealed carry, and even home defense.
Plus, they chamber capable and common calibers and are available on a variety of platforms.
Programs for Disabled Shooters
NRA Adaptive Shooter Program
I give the NRA a lot of hell, but it's because I love them. I want the NRA to succeed because when they do it right, they do it well.
The NRA Adaptive Shooting Program is one thing they do right.
This program does several things. First, they connect disabled shooters with various ranges and programs to facilitate shooting and even hunting. The Adaptive Hunting Database connects hunters with ranches, programs, and government options to get disabled shooters hunting.
The NRA also provides a Range Accessibility Subsidy Program to ranges. This is financial assistance to help organizations and ranges be more accessible to disabled shooters.
If a range doesn't know where to start, the Adaptive Shooter Program provides a checklist of changes ranges can make to be more accessible.
Trap Shooting
Trap shooting, in general, is very accommodating to disabled shooters.
I'm not sure where the tradition began, but it seems like trap shooting clubs consistently accommodate disabled shooters and take pride in their inclusivity.
Trap shooting is also a shooting sport that's very easy to adapt to numerous individuals. It doesn't require rapid movement, fast follow-up shots, or speed reloads. At the same time, it's exciting, dynamic, and adaptive.
If you have a local trap or skeet shooting range, try to reach out and see if they have club or organizational shoots. See if those organizations make accommodations for disabled members.
What gun for trap? Well, you'll need a shotgun, and I'd suggest a 20-gauge semi-auto shotgun.
Specifically, the Benelli ETHOS. Benelli takes pride in producing high-quality sporting shots with minimal recoil and extremely high reliability and performance.
Adaptive Defensive Shooting Summit
If you are a disabled shooter who wants to compete in an action shooting sport, the Adaptive Defense Shooting Summit is for you.
This inclusive organization allows shooters in wheelchairs, with canes, amputation, and even disabilities like Parkinson's, to compete in a safe environment in an action shooting sport.
Trevor Baucom, a disabled pro shooter on Ruger's team, founded the ADSS to provide disabled shooters with a purpose-built defensive shooting sport. It's the first shooting sport of its kind and is designed around disabled shooters.
Sports like IDPA do allow disabled shooters and do provide special rules for disabled shooters, but the sport is still built around non-disabled shooters.
The ADSS is built around accommodating shooters of all types and providing a defensive, fast-moving shooting contest.
Final Thoughts
The overall shooting community is a very welcoming place, and I'm proud of how our industry has made strides to accommodate a wide variety of shooters.
More can always be done, but I think the shooting industry is making great strides in accommodating shooters.
With that said, I would love to know the solutions the shooters in our audience have found to help overcome their disabilities. Please share below! For more tips on shooting, check out our article on 6 Helpful Tips for Disabled Shooters.