Guns for the elderly/arthritic/etc.

[JAH 3rd]

For me, I would start with recoil sensitivity and work from there. It is hard to choose a firearm for someone you have never met. If they are elderly or have medical issues, how often are they going to practice? When I read the title of the thread, my first thought was a Ruger Mark IV .22 pistol. Just the basic model. It is a great pistol with little to no recoil. I have a target Mark II with the slab-sided barrel, so that's the only experience I have with the Ruger Mark pistols. BTW, the stock trigger is so sweet, I don't know why the lawyers allowed to leave the factory! Just by .02 cents.

[cold-beer]

Ruger LCR in 22 mag.

It has virtually no recoil, but 22 mag even out of a short barrel like that is nothing to sneeze at with some of these new loads like the new Speer Gold Dots in 22 mag.

[Baldanders]

Another revolver--

I had my gunsmith smooth and lighten the trigger on a .38 M&P Bodyguard for my Mom. She has severe arthritis and a whole bunch of metal in her hands. The oversized back-mounted cylinder release is definitely easier for her to use than a standard one. She liked my 640 pro, but not the weight. I wish they made a K-frame with the same set-up and a 3" barrel. That would be my wish for a "golden years" weapon for myself.

If I could get an engineer to design a semi for this niche (and a gun company to build it) it would be a g19-sized gun with a rotating, tip-up barrel action(assuming that's physically possible, I have a feeling there's a reason why all tip-ups are blowbacks) with an ultra-lightweight frame with many interchangeable backstraps , with easy caliber change between .22lr, .32 ACP, and .380 ACP. The trigger would be a Kahr-like, long, light DAO.

This looks interesting, but I'd have to actually shoot one, and the one-shot capacity seems like a problem: http://constitutionarms.com/palm-pistol/

[Tod-13]

When I was planning for if my arthritis gets worse, I found a forum full of older women that shoot. They generally liked the Glock 42 or 43 as the lowest recoiling and easiest to rack slides, despite their light weight. Recommending a (sub)compact sounds backwards, but the recoil is pretty light and working the light is pretty easy.

[RichY]

When I was planning for if my arthritis gets worse, I found a forum full of older women that shoot. They generally liked the Glock 42 or 43 as the lowest recoiling and easiest to rack slides, despite their light weight. Recommending a (sub)compact sounds backwards, but the recoil is pretty light and working the light is pretty easy.

My wife has arthritis everywhere. Her fingers are bent up. She was diagnosed with it three months after we were married 35 years ago. As with the women of the site you mention, she also has 43's and a 42 that she carries. However, she recently bought an EZ 380 and it is FAR easier for her to use. Far easier for me too, as it fits my hand better than the G42. We both appreciate its better trigger even after the G42 was extensively worked over, FAR easier slide to manipulate, easier magazine to load, holds more rounds, and the recoil is noticeably less than the G42! In fact, the recoil is closer to a 22. Accuracy on both is excellent. We were comparing the G42 to the M&P 380 EZ just two days ago and even with her tiny hands she found the slide far easier to rack and lower than the G42. Though we have shot them both at the same range sessions multiple times, we never really did a side-by-side comparison in this regard. After this was mentioned by peterb in a previous post, we wanted to compare them and found we agree completely with him. The larger grip is also fine for her small hands.

For concealment the G42 wins hands down, and it is certainly not going anywhere, but if strictly looking at ease of manipulation and trigger pull, the EZ is the champ. Both, through many hundreds of rounds, have been accurate and 100% reliable.

Due to my recent eye surgeries, my shooting eye doesn't see sights indoors as well as my left, so as a right hand shooter, I am training myself to just use the left eye. However, when we were doing the comparison the other day I realized the sights on the EZ allow me to see them better indoors than any other pistol we own. There's more light coming through the rear sight and it makes a significant difference. We have also mounted a CT laser on the EZ and that gives us a true old age pistol! I've not been a fan of the 380 for decades, but if I had to pick a pistol for home defense or even carry as I age, the Smith would get the nod first, followed by the G42, even though both of us really like the G42. In fact, we really like the G42 a lot, it's just that for the specific purpose of using as we age, the EZ appears right now to be the best of what's out there. Time will tell.

[peterb]

Quick note: I just added a Boodad’s grip cover(like Talon rubber) to my G42, and I’m impressed with how much more secure it feels. Don’t be afraid to try modifying the grip if the G42 feels a bit slippery to you.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/BooDads-Gri...UAAOSwMmBVtU4T

[OlongJohnson]

I'm a fan of the Buck Mark for rimfire pistols. It is accurate, reliable and affordable. They make a variety of models with aluminum barrels that come in at ~24oz., and a variety of grips and frames. The URX grip seems to be a magic combination of comfort for small and large hands. There's also the "pencil barrel" option on "Challenge" models, a reference to the Challenger series of pistols. I have had a BM that needed some cleanup on internal parts, but then, that's been a possibility for me on every brand so far except H&K. http://www.browning.com/products/fir...-rosewood.html

This thread has got me thinking about a CZ 512 in WMR again. AFAIK, it's the only reputable semi-auto long gun that's persisted in availability in WMR and is regarded by its user community as fully reliable with that cartridge.

Also, an ammo question. Why do people think of Stingers for use against large targets? They are a 32gr HP, and it seems like penetration would be minimal. At least Velocitors would be better, and maybe even the heavier 45gr suppressor stuff would seem like a solid option, at least for the caliber.

I have had stovepipes even with "quality" ammo and a clean, lubed Buck Mark, so I'm not a huge fan of rimfire for something where an ammo-caused failure to function may hurt. The .25 ACP has about the same energy as a Mini Mag, but it's CF, so should avoid at least FTFire malfunctions. There's also 5.7x28, which is a slight upgrade from WMR, and also CF. The FN pistol is crazy expensive and YUUGE, but the PS90 or an AR-57 conversion might be a decent option in the home defense role.

[willie]

Olong makes excellent points. I think that .22's, 25ACP, and 32 Autos are in the same category. Ranking them, I put the 25 ACP at the bottom. I like 380 ACP pistols and have had many nice ones. Most were the size of some of today's small 9mm pistols. My LCP 380 is very small and has a perfect function record. The same is true for another one that I shot extensively but later sold. In searching for pistols more suitable for some arthritics, has anyone considered surplus Makarovs that once were so common? When participating in these types of threads, my mind alwsys returns to the same idea---that a customized revolver might be a better choice for many.

[Duelist]

Olong makes excellent points. I think that .22's, 25ACP, and 32 Autos are in the same category. Ranking them, I put the 25 ACP at the bottom. I like 380 ACP pistols and have had many nice ones. Most were the size of some of today's small 9mm pistols. My LCP 380 is very small and has a perfect function record. The same is true for another one that I shot extensively but later sold. In searching for pistols more suitable for some arthritics, has anyone considered surplus Makarovs that once were so common? When participating in these types of threads, my mind alwsys returns to the same idea---that a customized revolver might be a better choice for many.

We had a Makarov, a nice unissued Bulgarian one. It was very accurate and easy for me and my wife to shoot, but very heavy. The recoil spring is very stiff: my mother’s arthritic, tremoring hands could not possibly move it, and it hurt to try. My wife liked shooting it, but not carrying it due to the weight. Her gun now is a G42: reliable, accurate, easy to shoot, and small and light enough to actually ocassionally carry.

Since we don’t do things that hurt Mom, we moved on from the Makarov for her. Her current gun is a Beretta 21a, but she might be getting an M&P .380 EZ as a gift this year. I was messing with one the other day at the store, and it was just remarkable how easy it actually is.

Dad is moving into geezer gun territory as well. His 1911 is too much at the moment. He has a .38 snub ose and a tiny little Kimber 9mm, but I think he might have an easier time with a G42 or M&P EZ.

A custom rim fire revolver might be a good move. We haven’t tried that.

[OlongJohnson]

My LCP Custom shoots patterns unless I crush the grip. I suspect that whatever reputation for inaccuracy the LCP has is related to this. Not a selection for weak hands.

Mine also has issues with extraction and has had the takedown pin walk out. Don’t know whether it will be fixable or have to go down the road.