An 11-Year-Old Boy With Cerebral Palsy Shot His First Buck Using an Adapted Rifle Built by His Father
Dan McCormick and his wife, Kayla, have overcome major challenges to foster their 11-year-old son Lucas’ love for hunting. Lucas has severe cerebral palsy and is confined to a wheelchair. He cannot hold or operate a gun, which would usually prevent him from hunting. However, the McCormicks transformed Lucas’ limitations into opportunities by constructing an adapted rifle system. With ingenuity and technology, Dan built the system, allowing Lucas to tag his first buck during Pennsylvania’s deer season this year.
Kayla explains that Lucas, their oldest of three sons, was born prematurely at 26 weeks, weighing just 1 pound, 14 ounces. He spent his early months in the hospital and was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when he was about a year old.
“Since then,” Kayla says, “he’s had many doctor’s appointments and therapy sessions. But he sees himself as no different, and we treat him the same way. We’ve always encouraged him to do everything he wants, just in his own unique way.”
When Lucas, at the age of 3, expressed his desire to hunt, his parents made him wait until he turned 8. They found a way to make it work by building a ground blind under Dan’s treestand on their property in Smicksburg, Pennsylvania. They added a wheelchair ramp and a small heater for his comfort.
Kayla recalls that during the first couple of seasons, Lucas would sit in the stand with Dan. Dan improvised an adapted shooting system by attaching a shoestring to the trigger of his own rifle, allowing Lucas to activate the trigger with a pull of the string.
Although Lucas couldn’t see anything, Kayla says, when Lucas pulled that string and harvested his first doe two years ago, his destiny as a hunter was sealed.
In 2020, the family connected with Hunt of a Lifetime, a nonprofit organization that helps children with life-threatening illnesses or disabilities fulfill their hunting and fishing dreams. The McCormicks went on a bear-hunting trip in Wisconsin, and although Lucas didn’t bag a bear, everything changed when he got the opportunity to use the nonprofit’s fully motorized, adapted rifle system.
“That’s how it all started,” Kayla says. “We realized how amazing it was because he could see everything and shoot it himself.”
The adapted rifle that Lucas used to shoot his first buck was designed and constructed by his father, Dan.
Mom and dad were surprised at the expensive price tag when they searched for the adapted shooting system online. However, Dan was confident that he could build a more basic version on his own. He began designing it earlier this year and retrofitted a Caldwell FieldPod shooting rest with a door lock actuator, a digital screen, a 12-volt battery, and an adaptive switch. With assistance from a neighbor and relative who own a 3-D printer, they custom-cut the aluminum pieces and completed the adapted rifle system, which swiftly replaced the old shoestring method.
Dan explains that the system can be used with any bolt-action rifle, but Lucas shot his buck with a Savage Axis chambered in 7mm-08.
Since Lucas bagged his first buck, he has become a bit of a celebrity. On social media, the family has received an outpouring of admiration and support, and they were featured on the local news. Kayla says her son has cherished every moment in the spotlight, and he hopes to establish a YouTube hunting channel to inspire young hunters with disabilities.
As for Dan, his main goal is to keep hunting with his sons. Eight-year-old Beau has already started, and their youngest son, Cash, will soon join them in the stand. When asked if Lucas will attempt to get another buck next season, Dan responded, “He’ll be out there this Saturday morning before daylight.”
A skilled hunter, dedicated conservationist, and advocate for ethical practices. Respected in the hunting community, he balances human activity with environmental preservation.