This month’s SSAA SHOT Expo in Brisbane will provide the perfect platform to showcase a piece of equipment that looks like a godsend for hunters and shooters with disability. Taking to the stage on the weekend of August 26 and 27 at the Brisbane Showgrounds for its Australian SSAA SHOT Expo unveiling will be the innovative all-terrain powered Action Trackchair for adults and children.
This means that people with disability will not have to miss out on the thrills of hunting in the bush, camping with mates or fishing from the beach. The all-encompassing wheelchair knows no bounds to its areas of accessibility, being able to tackle the whole gamut of topography, whether that be uphill, downhill, sand, mud, snow and almost anywhere else around a property, park or paddock.
The revolutionary and sturdy wheelchair has been ushered onto the Australian scene by KCF Disability Engineering, whose headquarters is in Narangba, Queensland. The firm’s proprietor, Keith Fackrell, detailed how he and his team had brought the range to Australia and the impact the apparatus could have among the disabled shooting ranks. “It has been so very time-consuming but we have three models now that meet the Australian Standards!” said Keith.
The KCF brand is a small business which has been busy in the Moreton Bay area since 1984. The business specialises in ‘Engineered Vehicle Modifications’ equipment and services for people with disability. So the Action Trackchair fits right into that bracket – getting people with disability out there more to enjoy life.
“I started out as KCF Rallysport doing lots of work for race and rally cars but gradually doing more and more for people with disability after enquiries because of my engineering background,” said Keith. “So that is how the firm’s name evolved and was added to the business profile.
“A number of years ago we became involved with a 27-year-old disabled person who needed a chair to get him up a hill to his excavator. That’s when we became aware of these chairs, which are made in Minnesota in the US and made the decision to import them and go through the Australian Standards – the last Action Trackchair being certified only last November.”
There are three options in the range: the NT, ST and TR. The NT and ST are priced at $29,285 while the TR costs $37,880. It will be a model in camouflage mode from the second group which will be on display at the SSAA SHOT Expo in Brisbane.
“These all-terrain chairs will most certainly enhance the lifestyle and community access for those with disability and it was so rewarding to recently see one of the Action Trackchairs go to a client in Melbourne under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS),” said Keith. “Speaking of that, as KCF is a registered NDIS provider, we are working very closely at the moment with occupational therapists and the NDIS as there are a number of clients that have submissions with the NDIS.
“Any disabled client who sees this will know how important it is, and just how much more they can do. It’s such a unique chair which fills such a big hole.”
There are also accessories made specifically for shooters operating in bushland with a gun scabbard, rack and support interwoven onto the chair. “As an example, any individual carrying their rifle in the scabbard through bushland will know it is protected as they move along,” said Keith.
To find out more, visit the KCF Disability Engineering website or Facebook page, or look out for the Action Trackchair stand at the Brisbane SSAA SHOT Expo.