Man on Oxygen wants to take my class

[kg5ie]

The first thing you need is more information. It may not even be a tank. Lots of folks are using the new portable oxygen generators these days that run on batteries. So, before you get too analytical on what you need to do... ask him some questions. If it is a pressurized tank, I am with Charles. It becomes an issue. If he can't be without it long enough to go the course, I would at least have him shoot by himself.

Let us know how it goes..... we could end up with a similar circumstance some day.

[MasterOfNone]

Unless there is an articulable safety issue, I think you have to let him shoot. This is an ADA issue, much like someone in a wheelchair. Reasonable accommodation is to let him take his oxygen unless it is unsafe of impractical to do so.

[PBratton]

You really should have no problem letting him shoot if he's running low-flow O2 (anything less than about 3 liters/min).
The little O2 that'll escape his nasal cannula will not raise the O2 saturation in the immediate area enough that flash would be a problem. If he's running 5 lpm or higher, I doubt that he's in any shape to move around without the aid of an electric chair or with an assistant.

I've transported hundreds of patients who had their own O2, either in bottles or carrying a battery operated concentrator (pulls the O2 out of the air and sends it up the connecting tube to a nasal cannula). The only time I got nervous was when one of them would pull out a cigarette and light up (yes, people still do smoke even though they're on supplemental oxygen). But, like one of them told me... "Sonny, if I was going to blow up, I'd sure as heck have done it a long time ago!". They always had to put 'em out when we loaded them in the ambulance, but more than once we'd be at the back of the truck waiting for someone to finish their cancer-stick.

I see patients rolling their IV trees and O2 out to the curb to take a smoke all the time here at the hospital.

Guess that's all I can say about that without getting fired...

[switch]

I think we are supposed to accomodate disabilities to the extent possible. I have let shooters sit in a chair to show proficiency. (Kind of hard to hold the gun and a cane at the same time.)

[rotor]

Oxygen does not burn, it does support combustion. Unless he is shooting at the range with a lighted cigarette in his mouth I can't see any hazard and the risk is the cigarette and not the firearm. Having this knid of disability probably makes him a soft target for bad guys and makes him more in need of chl than most.

[longtooth]

I have had one. Outdoor range too. He was a 92 yr old WWll Marine. He did fine. My experience & YMMV.

[JALLEN]

I'm on supplemental oxygen, not continually, but any time I'm engaged in significant exertion, like walking around Costco, or HEB, or on Dawn Patrol, or playing tuba. I'm on 2 lpm sometimes 3, depending. I have no idea what life is like if one requires 4 or 5 lpm, of course.

I shot the CHL qualifier without any problem. I see no reason why that simple shooting exercise would be a problem. There is plenty of time, and not that much exertion. Some of the IDPA stages might be a challenge for someone on supplemental oxygen, which is why I don't anymore.

Smoking is much more hazardous than shooting, it seems to me. There are some places where canister oxygen use is wisely banned, pressurized airplanes for example. The only reason for a problem with an oxygen canister on the firing line is if a bullet were to hit it, and there is no more excuse for a bullet hitting a canister than hitting a person. Someone with a concentrator would be no problem whatsoever. Those are allowed on airplanes if you have enough battery power to last the length of the flight and a margin for safety.

[Trilogy]

I think we are supposed to accomodate disabilities to the extent possible. I have let shooters sit in a chair to show proficiency. (Kind of hard to hold the gun and a cane at the same time.)

I agree. Ask the guy some questions so you better understand HIS limitations and then do what you can to accommodate him. Whether he shoots solo or with a group is up to you. You're smart to recognize this as a potential problem but in the end I think it would be a minor adjustment to you class procedure.

[Keith B]

It may be just one of the pressure swing adsorption (PSA) oxygen generators and should not be a problem. I have a friend on one for a small amount of O2 enhancement and he shot fine with it on the range when I did his renewal last year. There can be a slight risk with open flames or sparking near the generator if the person needs a higher concentration of O2, so would be up to you to quiz the user about it. As Charles stated, if he can get by without it for the range qual, then it would eliminate any potential risk.

[Oldgringo]

Sorta' on the subject: what became of the blind guy in another thread, a little while back, who wanted to take the CHL course?

[jmra]

Sorta' on the subject: what became of the blind guy in another thread, a little while back, who wanted to take the CHL course?

I'm assuming he didn't see it through.

[switch]

I had a student that was legally blind = qualify.

[Oldgringo]

Sorta' on the subject: what became of the blind guy in another thread, a little while back, who wanted to take the CHL course?

I'm assuming he didn't see it through.

[jmra]

Sorta' on the subject: what became of the blind guy in another thread, a little while back, who wanted to take the CHL course?

I'm assuming he didn't see it through.

[The Annoyed Man]

[youtube][/youtube]

So after watching that I'm trying to decide whether, or the extent to which, I was wrong above...

Would we call that "exploded", as in a bomb?
Or, would we call that "explosive decompression", as in a rocket?

I'll not try to hide behind the probability that the shot was from a rifle and not a handgun.

Whatever you want to call it, it wouldn't feel good close up.

I think that video was part of a longer one I saw a long time ago. If it is, then they were shooting those tanks with a Garand, not a pistol.