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A handgun for someone with moderate/severe arthritis...

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What would you suggest for someone with moderate to severe arthritis? Not severe enough to prevent them from properly holding a firearm, but severe enough that even slingshotting the slide on an SR22 is problematic.

 

I'm looking for options/ideas in the defensive calibers and would be practical for periodic practice without user abuse. I'm starting to think a wheel gun might be a better choice than a semi auto but I'd like to hear from other people who've considered this.

 

Note this is not for me but for the lady I took to the range recently.

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speaking in generalities, in a particular caliber a revolver will have

a bit more kick than a semi-auto, but you don't have to rack the slide

on a revolver.

 

A relatively easy caliber in a SA would be .380 (9mm short) 

recoil is just a tad over .22LR and be a good starting point

to experiment with..........

 

Also - a Hg with a relatively small grip - like a Walther PK380

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My wife has hand probs, (Carpel Tunnel, Arthritis, etc)... that at times will keep her from racking a slide on any of my guns. She didn't want a revolver. So I brought her to the shop and let her try a bunch of semi autos. When the dust settled, the only one she could rack without any probs was a Beretta PX4 Storm Compact 9mm... It's a great gun. I shot it first to compare it to my others and then she shot and loved it. While it wouldn't be my first choice, I actually like it and would have no prob recommending it to anyone. It's light, easy to rack, easy to fire and easy to clean. Good value for the money.

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Not to criticize someone I have not seen, but is she racking the slide correctly?  Too many people try to pull the slide back rather than gripping it firmly and pushing the frame forward.  Perhaps if she did this she would have better luck.  Also you can get charging handles for some handguns that mount to the back of the slide and give you something more to hold onto.

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We're doing another range day in a couple weeks so I'll be going over some other techniques with her to see if we can find some way for her to reliably and comfortably operate the slide. I'd already discussed with her "investing" some time and money at RTSP to try out several firearms and find one that fits her. bhunted's comments is what I was looking for, and I'll definitely have her look at that firearm.

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FWIW, I've seen/read reviews that have mentioned that blowback systems* are easier to rack. Walther PPK; Sig P232; and Bersa Thunder .380 are all good examples (and good guns).

 

You might also consider something like a .38 special with a tuned trigger. My 71 year old, arthritic mother has no problem working the trigger on my (stock) S&W Model 10. There are even low recoil .38 defensive loads available.
 

I know a lot of folks are not into wheel guns, but in this scenario, the inherent point and shoot reliability of 6-8 rounds in a revolver is better than 15 +1 rounds of 'uh oh... weak hands caused a malfunction that I'm now going to have trouble clearing'.

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What would you suggest for someone with moderate to severe arthritis? Not severe enough to prevent them from properly holding a firearm, but severe enough that even slingshotting the slide on an SR22 is problematic.

 

I'm looking for options/ideas in the defensive calibers and would be practical for periodic practice without user abuse. I'm starting to think a wheel gun might be a better choice than a semi auto but I'd like to hear from other people who've considered this.

 

Note this is not for me but for the lady I took to the range recently.

 

 

To this point (highlighted above), I'll add what i've said elsewhere before:

 

Revolvers, because... no safeties needed, NDs almost never and chambered in grown up calibers.

 

Yeah, yeah, I know. Limited capacity(a), slow reloads(b), bulky design©, blah blah(d).

To that I say:

 

a. If you’d carry/rely on a 7 or 8 shot 1911 (let alone a 6 or 7 shot pocket .380/9mm) 6 rounds of .357 is barely less (and really more, in some ways). 7 rounds in a 686+ is even closer.

Or even better- a S&W R8/TRR8 (8 rounds of .357 magnum goodness in a lightweight frame. With accessory rails, even.) And before anyone says “That’s why I carry a GLOCK 17 or FNH Tactical with 15 rounds of .45ACP!”, see the second point in ‘b.’ below.

 

b. Reloads. Sure, they’re somewhat slower (not that much with speedloaders, even less so with moon clips). But it’s a difference of single-digit seconds.

More importantly though, running your gun dry and having to re-up (even a 6 shooter) is FAR less likely in real life than having to perform a malfunction drill. Talk about slowing you up and having to call on fine motor skills under pressure…

 

c. Even a single stack 1911 comes in (unloaded) at 2.4 lbs and is 1.25″ thick (at the grips). The G19 is 1.3lbs (unloaded) and 1.18” thick.

The aforementioned 8 shot S&W weighs 1.5lbs (empty) and is 1.7″ at it’s widest point (the cylinder).

My SP101 weighs the same as the TRR8 and is 1.35” at the cylinder.

 

d. blah blah right back at you. Plus you won’t end up with that signature Tex Grebner limp.

jus sayin’

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I'm with Alpo on this one, lol!

 

Even a 8-shot N-frame lite weight .357 with a trigger job w/ .38+P's will out-point and out-shoot ANY semi-auto that's limp-wristed into a jamma-ramma by someone with arthritis!

 

Other smaller models actually make use of the heavier metals to tame recoil for the follow-up shots.  Then too, there's always training and practice to use the thumb on the weak hand to cock the hammer back!  And if ya don't think that will work, just take a good look at You Tube videos of S.A.S.S. matches where the shooter holds the trigger back and thumbs the revo dry in a couple seconds flat!

 

As a fellow sufferer, I'm still able to do most things, but since my hands stiffen in the middle of the night, my Model #19 w/ Federal .38+P Hydroshocks is close by!

 

Dave

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FWIW I'm thinking along the same lines as Alpo.

I have no objections to a wheel gun, or any tool that works properly for her (even if my little voice is screaming HK! HK! HK! NOTHING BUT HK! :D )

 

As long as she can operate it safely, is comfortable shooting it, and is confident it'll be reliable I'm going to suspend my personal prejudices and go with what's right.

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FWIW I'm thinking along the same lines as Alpo.

I have no objections to a wheel gun, or any tool that works properly for her (even if my little voice is screaming HK! HK! HK! NOTHING BUT HK! :D )

 

As long as she can operate it safely, is comfortable shooting it, and is confident it'll be reliable I'm going to suspend my personal prejudices and go with what's right.

I own a Walther P22 I would be willing to let her shoot, I believe its a blowback design. The slide is really easy to operate, not stiff at all. I also own a 1911 .22 but thats a lot heavier and stiffness isn't even comparable to the P22. I live close to & shoot at RTSP regularly, no one ever has to twist my arm to head to the range. Let me know when your planning on going & I'll bring the plinker, I usually use it as a warm up gun.

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I think the idea of renting a bunch of different guns at RTSP is an excellent one.  The one she finds comfortable may not be what you would predict.

 

To be clear, does she have any problems other than racking the slide, e.g. loading magazines, trigger pull, recoil, etc.?  If the only problem is racking the slide, it sounds like a technique problem.  If she has a variety of problems then it sounds more like the arthritis is the problem.

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This is primarily for home defense?  If so, why not a rifle/carbine instead of a handgun?  A rifle is a better choice in general for home defense and I would think even more so in this case:

 

-much easier to shoot accurately

-easier to manage recoil

-generally larger controls that would be easier to operate.  A large charging handle would be easy to cup with the palm of her hand if she has reduced finger strength

-lighter and shorter trigger pull than a DA pistol/revolver

 

I'd consider a lightweight AR-15 or even a pistol caliber carbine like the Beretta Cx4 which is really light and should be easy for her to handle.

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