Watch: David ‘Shakey Dave’ Smith – the Parkinson’s Shooter

David Smith, also known as “Shakey Dave,” is a Parkinson’s patient who uses “gun therapy” as treatment for his condition.

In other words, he shoots, and not just a few rounds, but thousands each day. And he does not simply shoot, rather, he shoots competitively. He will compete in the IPSC Rifle World Championship in Karlskoga, Sweden, in August 2019.

Fox News reported that Smith was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2011. He turned to “gun therapy” and found that his tremors went away when he raised the firearm to the ready position.

Smith said, “The disease had taken away everything from me in terms of my ability to eat and drink or do anything without help. Shooting was all I had left, it was all I could do. It made me feel normal.”

Breitbart News caught up with Smith at the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) Annual Meetings & Exhibits in Indianapolis this year, and he talked of how he uses shooting to offset the need for medicine or at least reduce the need for medicine, which is designed to help his tremors. He described how focusing on aiming and shooting actually brings a stillness to his hand, and, as he was speaking, he slowly raised his arm—hand extended—as he would if he were raising a gun. His hand could be observed growing calmer, steadier.

In an interview with Guns.com, Smith made clear that he does not want any preferential treatment in the shooting sports. He does not want to be given any benefits because of having Parkinson’s.

He said, “I don’t want any special anything. I shoot with able-bodied shooters in competition. I’m just wanting to shoot like everyone else. It’s not against anyone else, it’s against myself — whether I can last or do better than the last week I competed.”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.