# I will not give up this time.



## SteelBallViking (Apr 6, 2014)

Okay gentlemen I have been having some heath issues in 2014 it put me out of shooting for 6 months in which I sold all slingshots and supplies, I have severe arthritis in my feet at my wonderful age of 28 as of April 19th. Well this time I will not give up, my collection may gather some dust but i won't give up on my sport. Thanks guys kinda a rant but I needed to say it.


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## Byudzai (Aug 31, 2013)

JRA?


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## Njones (Jan 27, 2015)

Hang in there bud. Hope you get to feeling better.

Njones


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## devils son in law (Sep 2, 2014)

Sorry to hear it, buddy! Don't let it get the better of you!


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## treefork (Feb 1, 2010)

Never give up .


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## Tentacle Toast (Jan 17, 2013)

Fight it, brother...we've got your back


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## JTslinger (Jan 26, 2015)

Keep fighting. Shoot while sitting down if you have to. Glad to hear you are sticking with it.


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## Chuck Daehler (Mar 17, 2015)

Yeah, stay tough. Glad you had to say it to get something off your chest. You have a supportive community here...if your feet won't let you stand up or walk, you can still shoot given the rest of you is shootable.

,

Life throws us challenges, it wouldn't be much of a life without them...otherwise what would we ever learn in a bed of roses? Stephen Hawking said that his disability makes him focus on thought more than if he didn't have his extreme disability, hence he's one of the world's leading physicists and theoretical physicists...playing with space/time and the universe. Sammy Davis Jr. said it all, "I'm a short black one eyed Jew." meaning the excuses some give don't wash with him...he's successful despite the excuse ammo he COULD have used if a mediocre life occurred.

No one ever did anything great that was easy. John F. Kennedy's speech about reaching the moon..."We are doing this not because it is easy, but because it is hard."

Kick butt amigo...you'll find a way to shoot...or shift to something you can do with perfection as well.

I had to sell all my prized self customized fire arms when I moved to Ecuador 19 years ago, all my reloading equipment, a bench full of many presses and powder measures, a very high tech gold smiting business...all my "loves"... yet I am happy, shooting my bow and slingshots and being just a retired farmer guy.


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

Hang in there, my friend. Never, ever give up. You have to do something to put in those long hours of wakefulness ... might as well have some fun. I wish I could still run marathons, but my hips, knees, and ankles tell me different. So I do other things. As others have suggested, shoot while sitting down. Use lighter bands and smaller ammo. Do more target shooting, maybe at closer ranges. Get some reactive targets ... spinners, bottle caps on magnets, whatever. Tailor the task to suit your abilities. We all have pain, and it just gets worse as you age ... trust me on that! So learn to deal with the pain using whatever works for you ... prescription drugs, meditation, pot, whatever. But just keep having fun ... that is the real secret.

Cheers ..... Charles


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## wll (Oct 4, 2014)

Byudzai said:


> JRA?


Junior Rifle Association ?

wll


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## Chuck Daehler (Mar 17, 2015)

Ah Charles, pain. My right shoulder has taken some trauma (falls rock climbing, chain sawing etc) in my early life and "talks" to me when I band up with double 12mm TBG flats after a hundred or two rounds so I work down to a single 12mm TBG and it is funner shootin'. As Chas implies, you have to just adapt to physical restraints. I also made a sling carbine which I get out and whack cans with occasionally, no shoulder action at all...just the satisfaction of having made something kewl that shoots spot on. I can get some range with that as well, fun to do that. Life's supposed to be fun and a life artist is a maestro at having fun, right? See the smile on my face? It's ain't fake. I love life, with all it's challenges and teeth gritting and yes a shoulder that talks to me and a blind right eye. Screw it, I have fun, RadGod..


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## Byudzai (Aug 31, 2013)

Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis? (JRA)


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## bigron (Nov 29, 2012)

hey brother i sent you a pm


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## Bucky Webb (Feb 5, 2015)

I've only been dabbling with slingshots for a few weeks but I've been dabbling with not walking for 20 years now. I'm a paraplegic and have been so since I was 14. I may be a newbie, but I can assure you that feet are not necessary for slingshot shooting!


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## ghost0311/8541 (Jan 6, 2013)

How we all should be.


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## oldmiser (Jan 22, 2014)

Hey my friend I get arthuritis real bad when it is cold weather....For my self I just use lighter bands...take some meds to help..even soak hands in hot water

to get them to flex more..apply some cream that helps keep the hands & fingers nimble..hang in there~AKAOldmiser


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## Bob Fionda (Apr 6, 2011)

Never give up! Welcome back mate.


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## wll (Oct 4, 2014)

Byudzai said:


> Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis? (JRA)


Had no idea what the initials stood for, thank you for clearing that up for me !

wll


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## WindLvr (Jul 16, 2014)

I was getting something out of my trunk 7 and half years ago when I was hit by a drunk driver. I flipped up over his car and landed on my head. I took me over 2 years to learn to walk again. I had to learn a lot of things again. Most of my past is just that, my past. I can't do most things I used to do. I used to shoot 600 meter and 1000 meter competitions with my rifles. Now I can barely shoulder a .22lr. Life comes at us fast sometimes. I am so glad I found slingshots. This has been part of my therapy, my physical therapy, and got me in touch with my family again.

I am glad that you are able to shoot. It doesn't matter if you are sitting down or standing up. (sometimes I have to shoot sitting down but it reminds me to correct my posture ;-) ) If it is something you love then keep on shooting. Take your time and shoot a little at a time. I am shooting everyday. Some days I shoot around 50 shots, and some days I shoot more. In my case it is helping my back and arms for the most part. It helps me retain a lot of the mobility that I lost. For you I hope it helps you hang on to something you enjoy. Finding new hobbies is not an easy task. So enjoy the one you have, and keep on shooting. Maybe even try shooting from a prone position, sitting position, and whatever else you can think of to keep it fun!!! I hope you find some relief during the time you are shooting like I do.


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## WindLvr (Jul 16, 2014)

I would also like to add that my arms are numb from the elbows down. I can't feel my forearms or hands. It took me months to even be able to hit a piece of 8 and a 1/2 by 11 piece of paper let alone cut a card. I have learned to shoot, which has always been one of my passions, in a completely new way. Good luck to you.

Cheers, Mike


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## BeMahoney (Jan 26, 2014)

Chuck Daehler said:


> Yeah, stay tough. Glad you had to say it to get something off your chest. You have a supportive community here...if your feet won't let you stand up or walk, you can still shoot given the rest of you is shootable.
> ,
> Life throws us challenges, it wouldn't be much of a life without them...otherwise what would we ever learn in a bed of roses? Stephen Hawking said that his disability makes him focus on thought more than if he didn't have his extreme disability, hence he's one of the world's leading physicists and theoretical physicists...playing with space/time and the universe. Sammy Davis Jr. said it all, "I'm a short black one eyed Jew." meaning the excuses some give don't wash with him...he's successful despite the excuse ammo he COULD have used if a mediocre life occurred.
> 
> ...


YOU! (Are a guy to learn from!)

And for the arthritis: fight! Which means to give up?
Give up on dairy, flesh? - Whatever.. We're all gonna die.
Phugg fear and surrender to the insight that life WILL
change you. Starting with the picture you have of what
you /we all are.

This is in a way a completely crazy event..

I wish for you to find the right diet and let your
body do the healing.

Good luck!

Be


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## Chuck Daehler (Mar 17, 2015)

It depends on the type of arthritis you have as to what the treatments are and therapy programs. Some say bee stings on the affected area for one type of arthritis works...given you are not allergic to bee venom. Others respond to as Be said dietary controls. Your specialist likely will know what will be best for you. The bottom line is you said you're not giving up and that's being a trooper. Just adapt little by little and realize this is a one in a million planet we're given the privilege of enjoying, most of 'em are uninhabitable caldrons or frozen balls of uselessness or blasted constantly by an unstable sun/star. Earth is our apple. No doubt you enjoy it, so enjoy it more yet. If I were bed ridden I would still find much joy in looking out my bedroom window at the awesome spector of the misty and regal high Andes in the midst of which I live. along with a glass of fine Chilean Cabernet or a swig of single malt scotch and hearing the little Indian kids play. Life almost always has a delight to behold, it's just recognizing it that many overlook.


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## SteelBallViking (Apr 6, 2014)

Thank you all for the support, specialist got me some meds and still can't walk but can move my feet some. He says in a week or two I will be back walking and meds will meet it that way.


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