Guns for the elderly/arthritic/etc.

[Clay]

Indeed, sir.

I have to say I'm very interested in the P250 that Tam is testing. A .380 in that size may be just the ticket. I really like the idea of a revolver, but most have a very heavy trigger pull from the factory, and the ideal gun, IMO anyways, requires no work from the factory.

Sent from my XT830C using Tapatalk

[11B10]

When I began reading this thread, I thought "oh no - the wasp spray thing again!" I have quite a bit of experience with such things as I am allergic (as in anaphylactic allergic) to stinging insects. I am so very glad all the knowledgeable folks here rebutted its use for anything but. Great thread - thanks, everyone.

[BillSWPA]

Looking through this thread, I see a lot of people have given real thought to this issue and come up with good, realistic solutions.

When I help teach the NRA Basic Pistol classes at my range, I seem to get a disproportionate number of elderly ladies with hand problems. The experience has made me focus a lot less on minimum caliber requirements and a lot more on light trigger pull, highly visible sights including lasers, an appropriately sized grip for the individual, and as large a magazine capacity as possible. With 85% of attacks occurring outside the home, I focus more heavily on concealed carry choices than home defense choices.

Claude Werner found that his elderly father could function well with a Beretta 21 with Crimson Trace LaserGrips. The tip up barrel prevents having to rack the slide, and the gun can be carried for either a DA first shot, or cocked with the thumb safety on for a SA first shot. The laser helped with failing eyesight. .22 lr. kept recoil at a minimum, and in my experience is no more or less reliable than a centerfire caliber. Claude also machined a channel in the underside of one of the grip panels to receive a bent wire, to be used to push a stuck casing out of the barrel.

Claude has also had good success with the Taurus .22 lr. pistols, and is particularly fond of the PLY-22 for its above-average reliability. He found the Jiminez .22 pistols to be surprisingly good. He also likes a Kel-Tec P-32.

For anyone wishing to use or recommend a Kel-Tec P-32, I strongly recommend changing the standard 9 lb. factory recoil springs to Wolff 11 lb. recoil springs. This is absolutely critical for avoiding first shot jams when the gun is loaded with 7+1. .32 auto is a semi-rimmed cartridge, and when the magazine is fully loaded, if the rim of the top cartridge is in the groove of the cartridge below it, then the 9 lb. recoil springs will often not be enough to chamber that top round. 11 lb. springs will solve this problem every time. +10% extra power magazine springs also help in my experience but only a fraction as much as the upgraded recoil spring.

The condition I described above is very different from what is known as a "rimlock," wherein the rim of one cartridge in a magazine is behind the rim of the cartridge below it. There is no resolving a rimlock other than removing the magazine, and removing the cartridges in the magazine. this is of course a very good reason to always carry a spare magazine with a .32. Many users have attempted to use spacers to eliminate the room necessary for a rimlock to occur. I have done considerable experimentation with spacers, and found that they cause significant premature slidelock issues. In my experience, rimlock occurs when the magazine is being loaded with cartridges. If the magazine is loaded carefully, the same rim interations that make rimlock such a nasty jam will prevent it from ever occurring in the first place.

Crimson Trace makes a LaserGuard that fits the P-32, and pocket holsters for this combination are readily available. Magazine extensions are helpful when using the LaserGuard, but the shooter's grip on the gun is otherwise unaffected. I prefer +0 extensions because they hook my finger more effectively and are quieter than the +1 extensions. Holsters that accommodate this combination are plentiful, and the laser significantly enhances the accuracy of this gun under light conditions wherein it can be seen.

[tanner]

Wasp Spray vs Pepper Spray video...

http://www.policeone.com/police-prod...-Self-Defense/

[Chuck Haggard]

For many of us who once had the vigor and strength of youth, now find ourselves having to adapt to the influences of aging and diminishing skills. At age 84 my confrontations with these influences have created difficult challenges for me.

I posted in another internet gun forum about this very matter. Reading the posts in this thread, I would like to add my two cents as well.

From the time I flew as a crewman in the Navy in 1949 I have carried a sidearm on my hip or concealed. My choice of weapons have covered many makes and calibers of revolvers and semiautomatic pistols. None were hard to hold, rack, had a recoil that I could not handle and shoot with a degree of accuracy that I wanted to maintain.

That was then. This is now. I have diminished eyesight and arthritis in my shoulders and arms. I can no longer carry and handle full size revolvers, 9mm, .40 and .45 pistols as I once did. I resisted smaller calibers but in the end had to downsize in order to continue carrying concealed on a daily basis.

I tried smaller revolvers and the plastic 9mm and .40 Glock, FNX, and, Shield pistols. They were still too heavy to carry and hard for me to rack. Next, I tried some very small .380 pistols. They did not work for me because they seemed to jam as often as they fired. Whether the problem was because of limp wrist or poorly fitted component parts, I never found one of these small guns reliable enough for me to carry..

The weapon I did find that I am able to carry in a pocket holster or on my hip throughout the day without pain is the Glock 42. It is smaller than a 1911 compact, thinner than a double stack G27, racks easily, is reliable, a very accurate at defensive distances and light enough in weight for me to carry throughout the day without pain.

At my age, I cannot run to hide so I need a REALIABLE pistol I can point and shoot. The G42 is that pistol. I can wear, rack and shoot it accurately,

Time does determine our actions. For me, moving to a smaller caliber sidearm has been my solution.

Thanks for helping prove my theory on that gun.

[Chuck Whitlock]

I handled a Browning 1911-.380 this weekend. Seemed pretty easy to manipulate. The new "pro" model seems pretty nice, with dovetailed sights. They're not really cheap though -- be interesting to see how they run.

This is a bit of a necro-post, but my mother, who in her prime was 4'11" and who will be 75 next year, has had issues with trigger reach and running slides for some time. She recently went to the range and tried out a number of rentals, to include the G42, S&W .380EZ, some .22s, etc. What wound up working for her? The Browning 1911-380. As luck would have it, my dad happened to find a used example at another LGS that came with night sights and 3 magazines for a very reasonable price, and she brought it home today:

http://www.browning.com/products/fir...with-rail.html

She's pretty stoked and actually wants to learn how to disassemble and clean it and such, which she has never showed an interest in before. Though she's not planning on toting it around, anyone have any ideas for holsters for this little thing? She's thinking of a laser, too, which leans me toward the CT Railmaster.

[deputyG23]

My wife was a decent revolver shot before she had a stroke in 1999 at the age of forty. Her hand strength is diminished as a result. She can cycle her 4” M10 six times and that pretty much exhausts her hand strength. I have a compact P250 in 9mm that I eventually want her to try but she suffered a broken left wrist in January that is still healing. She is also on blood thinners which disallows self loaders until she can be trained not to cross her thumbs when gripping. I have seen too many sliced thumb knuckles transitioning deputies from revolvers to G17s years ago. My adult children are both shooters and maybe collectively we can get her to come out for a family range day and try a few rounds from comfortable shooting guns such as a 10/22 from a seated bench position for starters. Wadcutters may be a good idea for the .38 as well.
If she likes the P250 trigger, a .22 version may eventually be a fun range gun or even the defense gun if the 9mm version is too much for her. A .32 version of the P250 loaded with hotter Euro ammo would likely be a great disabled/elderly person’s defense pistol. Lighter recoil and more BBs on tap than with .380.

[Bucky]

My wife has week grip strength, and she shoots and manipulates the Beretta 92 quite well. Cock the hammer first, the slide is quite easy to rack. They’re als not prone to week grip malfunctions like some polymers.

[TheNewbie]

Wouldn't a 10/22 with a 30 round mag make a good home defense gun for older or weaker people?

I wish I had picked up a P250 in .380 when they were made.

[HCM]

Wouldn't a 10/22 with a 30 round mag make a good home defense gun for older or weaker people?

I wish I had picked up a P250 in .380 when they were made.

Yes, particularly with an RDS or laser. The key here is good quality / factory mag. And good quality, copper plated ammo. For defense use CCI mini mags seem to be the gold standard.