My friend L wants to get a handgun. She has two problems. First: not much money. Second: bad hands. You saw her poor, misshapen paws in a blog post two years ago (scroll down for the closeup). Unfortunately, her trigger finger is in worse shape than any other.
She knows how to shoot and recently took a brush-up course. She and I and she and the instructor talked about her needs. It boils down to: inexpensive (but not cheap, if you know what I mean), reliable, medium grips, something probably in the 9mm, .357, .380, .38 range, and above all something with a trigger that she can dependably operate. The weight of the gun isn’t a problem; she took a hefty 9mm Ruger to the class and did fine with it, and I think a substantial gun is good for her because of the lighter recoil. But she’s very concerned that, as her hands get older and more painful, she’ll have trouble with a heavy or otherwise difficult trigger action.
She’s quite clear that she doesn’t just want “something to wave around,” but something she can plug a bad guy with if she has to.
She won’t have money for a lot of customization, so something that’s going to work for her right out of the box is good.
Oh yeah, and she hates pink. But might really go for purple. 😉
So … recommendations?
Pistol or revolver?
Pat — I don’t think it matters. I know a lot of people recommend revolvers for a woman’s first gun — and she does have “issues” with elbows, shoulders, and neck that might make a revolver a better choice. However, my observation is that she can keep a sturdy enough arm to cycle a semiauto.
You can get a new Hi-Point pistol in any of the major SA calibers for about 200 USD. The Gunsamerica website has some Brazilian police surplus 4″ Taurus revolvers in 38 spl (that are S&W Mod. 10 clones) for 220 USD. Both would be good choices if you don’t mind the FFL bs associated with it. Otherwise if you’re Oregon, ask around and see what’s available and buy what ever strikes your fancy and that you can afford, the bonus being no paper trail for the empire to track back to you.
http://www.hi-pointfirearms.com/handguns/default.html
http://www.gunsamerica.com/930404434/Taurus_38_Special_Model_82_Blue_4_inch_Heavy_Barrel_38_Spl_6_Shot_Steel_Frame_ca_1981.htm
Can’t go wrong with a Glock 19 or 17, can usually find a used one reasonable, even new prices aren’t that bad, install a 3.5 connector to ease up the trigger a bit. Most dependable of anything out of the box and easy to work on.
First of all, I’m no guru. But I like my .357 7-shot S & W revolver. L. would need a trigger adjustment, though, it was a little hard to pull as it came from the manufacturer.
Several years ago, about the time I was seriously buying guns, I started having trouble with arthritis in my fingers, so couldn’t pull the slide back well/fast on a pistol – so chose a revolver. If there was an easy pull, I might be tempted to buy a pistol now; my fingers have gotten both stronger and less painful (thanks to ML’s advice) in the past year, and I’d like to have both in my possession.
I recently got a little S&W Bodyguard .380. It’s the first pistol I could pull the slide and I like it quite well, but it does have a pretty hard trigger pull. If that could be adjusted, I’d recommend it. Before that gun, my regular carry was a Colt Cobra .38 snubby. I love the snubby, but it’s a surprisingly bulky little thing to conceal.
I’m an NRA Pistol Instructor and sell firearms in a retail gun store. I would get the largest pistol in 9mm that she can comfortably handle. The longer the slide, the easier it will be to retract the slide for loading and unloading as the spring will function over a longer length. I’ve had people with weak grips do quite well with full size Glock (17) and S&W M&P, but these are mid-range guns price wise. Look into the smaller 9mm such as a Bersa BPCC. It has a very light feeling trigger and should likewise be reasonably easy to charge the slide. It is also quite economical. If a revolver is preferred, a 4″ steel frame Taurus is an excellent option for considerably less money than a Smith & Wesson or Ruger equivalent.
A used Glock 19 9mm is my default answer. See REW’s intelligent comment above. Not really THAT much more than some less expensive options, but considerably more reliable, with the added bonus of more capacity of any revolver. This is potentially her life we are discussing. Worth saving an extra month to pay for something that will only appreciate in value.
Ensure L is cycling the slide the easy way: gripping it firmly with the non-firing hand, and then PUSHING the frame forward with the firing ARM. A lot of folks try to pull the slide back using their hands only. This is inefficent and often difficult. It’s been awhile since I watched Corrina’s DVD, but methinks she goes over that with characteristic German attention to detail.
Ruger SP101
I would think a revolver might not necessarily be a good choice. The trigger pull is longer and would require that she exert enough force to cock the hammer. A pistol (semiautomatic) that isn’t true “double action” is essentially already cocked and doesn’t require this, so it will have a pull that is both shorter and lighter. While there’s some dispute as to the details of the firing mechanism, Glock, Springfield Armory XD, and S&W’s M&P model qualify, among others.
Glock seems have much more aftermarket support. While I understand money is an issue, one can buy reliable 3 1/2 lb triggers (and for some others as well) which ought not to be a problem for her to use. If she could fire a model 21 with no difficulty, hand size definitely isn’t an issue. If she should have trouble operating the slide, a device called a “slide pull” is available. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxItqx_Paks I’ve never seen or used one but it appears to be a quality product. I agree that a full size likely is a better choice for the reasons noted above, easier slide manipulation and more weight for less felt recoil.
If there is a friend who could go with her, hitting a local or area gun show definitely ought to turn something up that’s used and from a private seller.
Just musing in the hopes it may be helpful.
My mother is 75, slight of build and has severely arthritic hands. Her choice is a single action .22 mag. She can cock the hammer with the heel of her off hand and trigger pull is short and relatively light. Recoil is light and does not pound into the joint of her thumb. Caliber is not optimum, but better than nothing.
Taurus or Rossi, made by Taurus .357 or .38 revolver.
When really anxious about your immenent personal safety – pull the trigger. Repeat as needed until the anxiety subsides.
If time or physical limitations dictate, pull the hammer back before stroking the light trigger to fulfil the immediate job requirements.
I love my XDMs, loved my Glocks, but know full well they are not for everybody.
I’ve had several arthritic students over the years. I’ve found that arthritic hands may not fit a handgun grip “normally.”
I’d recommend a single-action or glock action pistol with a locking barrel. (Most .380s have a fixed-barrel blowback action, which requires stiffer springs and is harder to rack.) 9mm would be a good choice, but .380 or .40 would work.
But make the grip and trigger the highest priority. Have her try as many guns as possible until she finds a gun that fits HER particular hands and trigger finger.
The other two things to remember are:
The heavier a gun is, the lighter it will kick.
The further apart the sights are, the more accurate the gun will be.
I prefer a hammerless S&W J-frame revolver–and carry one 99% of the time. The other 1% I have a tiny Kahr 9mm. But I wouldn’t recommend either for your friend.
I also do not recommend any bargain pistol–go with a full size (“service”) Glock or M&P in 9mm.
That will give her enough power with soft recoil. More importantly, these choices offer great reliability and large magazines.
Your friend’s hands will make rapid reloads and immediate action drills a problem (especially under stress). I feel it is better to avoid the necessity.
Don’t forget to help her pick high quality ammo that functions perfectly in her pistol.
I think the Glock 19 is the right answer for most situations. If it is too expensive or too bulky consider a Bersa Thunder .380, the folks I hear from in the gun biz sell them like crazy and never get returns.
“But might really go for purple. ;-)”
Ah. Just caught that part. Purple, eh?
Clearly she needs a Bussjaeger Hypersonic .04*. Insanely high muzzle velocity, relatively low recoil, and in .04 caliber, about 180 rounds to the magazine. [grin]
—
(* From L. Neil Smith’s The American Zone. It has to do with the sidearm I had when we first met. Let’s just say that in real life, I’m more usually associated with larger bore pistols.)
First, forget the Hi Point. Blow back action makes for serious recoil and poor control unless you have hands of steel. I had one, and sold it gladly. I have very strong hands and couldn’t deal with it.
Second, the trigger pull on any of the semi-automatics is probably not going to be a problem unless she shoots for hours and hours at a time… not likely. The problem will be with manipulating the slide, of course. And yes, the larger the gun, the easier it is. The trigger pull on any revolver might be too much, but doesn’t have the problem with the slide. She might consider using the middle, “social” finger to operate the trigger. The index finger isn’t the only option. Just requires practice and patience to strengthen a different digit.
Bottom line is that nobody on the internet can really do much more than suggest things to try. She needs to find a way to shoot and clean as many different guns as possible to find what type and caliber works for her. Have her connect with a good instructor who can help her find the right gun, and adapt technique and equipment to fit her needs. Wish she lived here, since I’ve been able to do that for a lot of my older, less able clients over the years.
I’ll be glad to send her my little book, “I Am NOT A Victim.” It includes quite a few exercises designed especially for women. I will send a free copy (latest edit) to anyone who requests it. Word .doc file or pdf. mamaliberty at rtconnect dot net. Just replace the “at” and “dot” with appropriate symbold and eliminate the spaces.
And Bear… I WANT one of those guns!! But where do you get the ammo? LOL
I am personally a semi-auto fan and semi auto pistols have some great features, however with hand issues (that typically only get worse), manipulating the slide, loading magazines, and dealing with malfunctions add up quick. Having helped instruct several shooters with hand issues from injuries to advance arthritis, I would recommend a quality DA Revolver in .357 magnum.
Go with grips that fit her hands well and have a competent gunsmith slick up the action to lighten up and smooth out the DA trigger pull. The advantages of the caliber is that light recoiling training ammo can be used for practice, while the hard hitting full power .357 mag loads can be used for defense. This helps with Flinch-Buck-Jerk issues and also makes training fun therefore more training will be sought.
If the .357 is just too much bite, the .327 Federal Magnum is another great choice having close to the performance of the .357 with less recoil.
Ruger SP101 or LCR would be my first choices with the Taurus CIA model 650 or Tracker model 627 as my second.
Hope that helps,
G69
The biggest thing is probably going to be finding a gun that’s not too fiddly — you do not want to be chasing tiny little parts with arthritic hands.
If she is comfortable holding revolvers, there’s a lot less to have to mess with in the way of opening up for cleaning, and it’s not a gun baddies are going to mistake for a joke lighter (like little colorful semiautos, a-hem).
With price being an object, I’m going to point out that revolvers in semi-obscure calibers (.32 S&W, .32 S&W Long, 38 S&W, .32-20) can often be found for very low prices and while the ammo’s not super-common, it’s also more shortage-immune than 9mm, .38 Special, .357 and .45ACP. (Pricing is more stable, too.)
–Around here, even .32-20 DA Colts sell for well under $300. A *good* H&R in one of the other calibers can go for as low as under $200. Bigger names, a bit more, but because J. Random Guy isn’t too sure about the chambering, they don’t command top prices unless you happen on a collectable rarity. One “avoid:” much as I enjoy my terrible old Nagant revolver and despite the typically-low cost, the trigger pull is way too much for anyone with joint trouble. Or, really, anyone else, either.
I started out collecting/shooting .22 “plinker” revolvers as a good way to improve my shooting — if you can shoot a DA revolver accurately, you’ll be able to shoot any handgun well enough — and have ended up with a few bigger calibers from the “other” handgun makers (Iver Johnson, H&R) simply because the price was too good to ignore. For self-defense on a budget, they’re a possibility.
Suggest she look at the Steyr M9. Not terribly common, but fills the bill: full size, common caliber, short relatively light trigger, grip seems to fit almost everybody (as much as anything can), big visible sights. Designed by the same person who designed the Glock and similar to it but not the same.
The Walther PK380 is specifically designed for women and those with hand issues. Yes it’s only a .380, but with good hollowpoints it’ll do just fine. It has a very light trigger and slide, a slim but full-length grip, and excellent ambi mag release.
The Para Ordinance LDA 1911s are also a possibility, though the slide is quite a bit stiffer. The LDA trigger pull more than lives up to its’ name.
The big .40 and .45 Hi Point pistols are also worth considering. They’re huge, ugly, clunky and heavy. But they’re also -completely- reliable, as accurate as any defensive sidearm needs to be, and the weight keeps felt recoil down. When I worked at my parents gunshop, they were among our most popular women’s guns for exactly those reasons (oddly enough, the #1 ladies gun was the .40 XD subcompact).
Last but not least, she might wanna look long and hard at the Kel Tec PMR. Rare as hen’s teeth, but -very- fast to run and 30rds of .22 Magnum is nothing to sneeze at. Light slide/trigger, AWESOME sights, and a very comfortable grip.
Hope this helps.
As a 70 year old with physical disabilities- – -I don’t know if ANY guns are convenient for the disabled or even semi-disabled like me. My problem is arthritis.
Being left handed, naturally, the arthritis is in my left wrist, and when shooting (left handed), I decided until I accept a surgeon’s advise, I will be right handed! Widening my scope to all disabilities, I can’t think of any guns that have been specially designed for people less than perfect! Intelligent gun application has today a needed place as well. Let me throw this out as a starter for all concerned.
I was going to put my 2 cents in about the type of firearm to buy but I think that all the bases are covered. The only thing I will say is that with revolvers there is the option on those models with an exposed hammer to cock the hammer and eliminate the excessive trigger pull. Worked in the “wild west” with single actions. As for autos, if cost is not a factor then let her rip. Just remember that autos take a lot more practice dealing with IA’s in high stress situations.
I have to disagree with the Glock suggestions. I find the glock grip slippery and one has to compensate by gripping harder which will be problematic with weak hands. I think any gun that can be “cocked and locked” is what you want since you don’t need to deal with long heavy trigger pulls. A 1911 if you can afford it. Another gun I really like is the CZ75B (not the BD) which also can be cocked and locked. Put rubber grips on it and it is very easy to hold and points more naturally than almost any gun. It is my carry gun. They can also be a bit cheaper than most.
If she uses light loads she can put in lighter recoil springs making racking even easier. Of course one doesn’t really need to rack guns that often. Get one in the chamber and leave it there!
I’ve also heard good things about Bersas which are known for decent quality at a good price. Don’t know if they are “cock and lock” type though.
It’s even possible a single action revolver might fit the bill. They are not usually recommended for defense but they are a heck of a lot better than nothing, and better than a gun she will have trouble manipulating. A .45LC is also pretty impressive to look at (from the barrel end). Hogue (I think) makes rubber grips for the more common ones like the Ruger Blackhawks, making them easier to hold onto. Revolvers also have the advantage of allowing light loads for reduced recoil while having no worries about the gun not functioning.
Look at armslist.com where you can get private sale guns locally in your own state with no background check.
The Ruger Super Blackhawk single action revolver has an incredibly light trigger pull and the hammer is very smooth and easy to cock. I was amazed at how easy that gun was to manipulate and control without any customization.
They commonly come in 357 or 44 mag. Although the 44 mag version (which I shot) sounds formidable, it accepts 44 special which has a rather light recoil in this beefy gun. I would say the biggest downside might be price – not ridiculously expensive, but not cheap either. A good used model might be an option, and they have some serious stopping power and excellent accuracy.
Doc Holliday and Wayatt Earp are dead. Barring tremendous good luck or enough practice to equal Ed McGivern, so is anybody who tries to SA their way through a hot gunfight. An SA revolver certainly beats a sharp stick, but the question of how -soundly- it does so is debateable. Hit-rate (which is a function of, though not dependant on, cyclic rate) matters. So do reloads. SA revolvers are severely handicapped in both regards.
perhaps ms. wolfe you should make this inquiry to massad ayoob, i believe you might know him.
Very true, VR. And you must train with the same ammunition you plan to use in an emergency… at least a good part of the time. If you can’t comfortably fire the .357m round in practice, you are not going to do well with it fighting for your life.
The key is to carry the largest caliber you can RELIABLY and consistently control well… and, depending on your determination and pain tolerance, what you will consistently practice with. I carried a .357m for years, but I don’t even own any .357m cartridges. I can’t reliably hit a target with them. I’m seriously accurate with the .38+p. The hits are the only rounds that count, no matter what caliber they are.
Add to that the fact that the gun is only about 10% of self defense, and is the last resort. The other 90% of it is situational awareness, avoiding confrontation whenever possible, along with a high level of the will to live and refusal to give up if we ever are attacked.
Sounds like this lady wants to learn how to defend herself and has a good attitude. She needs more than a gun, however, and will benefit most from individualized instruction and coaching.
[Doc Holliday and Wayatt Earp are dead. Barring tremendous good luck or enough practice to equal Ed McGivern, so is anybody who tries to SA their way through a hot gunfight.]
In our third CHL class there was a gentleman, closing in on 70 years old, who brought a .44 SA for the practical. He shot faster than most of the students with semiautos, and reloaded faster than the DA revolver shooters. His 50- round target had three holes in it. (From fifteen yards he had a couple of “flyers” in the 9 ring.)
Pistolero? Nope. He was “just a cowboy.” I was not inclined to argue he needed something “modern.”
Beware the person with one gun…
I also thought of the PMR-30, if only because:
http://olegvolk.net/blog/2013/10/03/pmr30-with-burris-fast-dot/
Yeah, put me down as a vote against SA revolvers — if they were so all-fired great, the ancients wouldn’t’ve been buying DAs for self-defense (even on bicycles) well before the Great War. Many SAs have higher “fiddle factor” than their DA cousins, too.
I still stand by revolvers as a better choice for persons of limited hand strength or manual dexterity.
In the used market, you really have to see what’s available and try holding a lot of guns. That’s my take on it.
On another note, I like to recommend taking a look at Pibgorn on Sundays. Lately, the creator Brooke McEldowney have been writing short missives on and about the Government.
http://www.gocomics.com/pibgorn/2013/10/06#.UlHSmTK9KSM
I, too, am an NRA Certified Instructor, and most of the students in my FIRST Steps Pistol Orientation class are there because they want to buy a gun. My first rule with them is, “Don’t listen to your friends!” I can’t tell you how many students come to the class having purchased a gun recommended by a friend, and it’s totally wrong for them.
She’s got to take the time to see what works with her strengths and weaknesses. After each of my classes, I include the following link to an article I wrote on the subject of buying your first gun. Hopefully, it can help your friend as well:
http://bisonrma.blogspot.com/2012/09/choosing-right-gun-for-you.html
I just remembered this excellent article (which further muddies the waters) on stopping power. It may be of some help to her. http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/7866
I second Jim B; she’s got to hold and dry fire a lot of guns and shoot what she’s seriously considering if at all possible.
I didn’t see CI’s post until after I submitted mine. I think that’s a great article. The rest of the site looks pretty darn good, too.
The SA revolver recommendation was not a general one, but restricted to persons who cannot reliably handle a long, heavy DA trigger pull. It makes no sense to chew on the old chestnuts against SA revolvers unless you can take that problem into account. Anyway I was talking about SA revolvers AND SA pistols; the former is a backup if the latter doesn’t work.
[Add to that the fact that the gun is only about 10% of self defense, and is the last resort. The other 90% of it is situational awareness, avoiding confrontation whenever possible, along with a high level of the will to live and refusal to give up if we ever are attacked.]
Exactly. So many people base their recommendations on what the top finishers are in IDPA competitions, which is almost completely irrelevant in the real world unless you get in a firefight once a week. This is why downrated guns still do the job. Even .22s can fill a defense role better than one would expect since there are so many variables other than the gun itself that contribute to survivability. Most goblins are going to turn and run the instant they see a gun.
It’s all well and good to get into gun-nuttery; I enjoy it myself. But this woman has a specific need; we should address it.
BTW I have heard that some people prefer to use the “social” finger rather than the index finger on the trigger. I don’t recall the details, but that also might be an option.
Re the ‘social’ finger: I’ve tried that and found it _might_ offer a safety problem, in that when keeping the forefinger off the trigger until ready to use, I tend to want to keep the middle finger _on_ the trigger (as a place to rest it). Obviously that’s not the thing to do, so unless you can find another place to put the middle finger when not shooting, it might be a better option to use the forefinger if physically possible.
Also that leaves only the 4th and 5th fingers to grip, and when fingers are weak and/or sore anyway, it’s harder to hold the gun. At least that’s been my experience.
There’s also the problem of getting abraded by the slide of a semi-auto or, much worse, blown off by the cylinder-gap blast of a revolver. Cylinder-gap flame is high-pressure, high-temperature stuff that can easily amputate a finger in proper defensive cartridges.
Well, I’ve got to throw this into the mix – must it be a handgun? The reason I’m asking is that my wife has arthritis in her hands too – no way she can grip a Glock 19, or a 17 for that matter tightly enough to cycle the slide. She did like the S&W 25-2, but DA just wasn’t possible for her. SA worked though. But then again, she had a heckuva time cocking it, and wasn’t able to do it in an efficient manner.
What I was thinking while she was going through this was something like the good old lupara (12 gauge SxS, 18″ barrel or so, either external hammers or all internal )would probably be a decent option. Easy enough to reload, if necessary. Not something you’d want to get into a gun fight with, but decent enough for HD.
GregT, on the subject of a Lupara I’ve learned a couple of things. In 12Ga they have a tendency to serious recoil. One should expect to adjust lenght of pull and add a good quality recoil pad. Many designs, at least until very well broken in, have a latch and/or safety that is very difficult to operate with an athritic hand. They can also be stiff to break open and close. The other, is two rounds, then reload. If a Lupara is the best choice for the situation I would suggest 20ga.
Stoeger markets a sidexside for home defense. It comes in blac, with various bits or rail mounted for sights, lights etc.
I have a 20G shotgun, an M1 .30 carbine, and a 30-30 lever gun in a rack by my bed. The 9mm is on the bedside table when I’m sleeping. They are all loaded, and I know what to do with them.
If the door crashes in while I’m in the office, or the bathroom, however, the chances of me getting to any of the long guns in time is slim to none. I don’t know anyone who’s going to cart a shotgun around the house on a regular basis.
That’s why the 9mm (or the revolver) is in a holster on my belt. Whichever I’m not wearing is on the desk in the office. To be truly effective, the gun belongs on your body. We each have to evaluate the risk we’re willing to take doing otherwise, of course, and be free to take our chances.
The best gun is the one you have in your hand when you need it. The size, type, caliber, etc. is totally irrelevant if you can’t get to it in time.
Claire, above all else I’d love it if you would let us know what she does settle on, and how she does with it. Like others here, I’ve certainly got ideas, but I would value her real data points tremendously. 🙂
In addition to having given the matter lots of theoretical thought (arthritis is most likely in my own future), I have also had the illuminating experience of working with a small, slight woman who had average strength in the distal portion of her limbs, but an unusual weakness in the proximal portion. This wasn’t arthritis, but she nonetheless taught me a great deal about balancing the ideal with the functionally practical.
All things considered, I would think that the partial-cocking, striker-fired auto is the right way to go. There are two reasons for this: slide cycling and trigger action. The amount of hand strength needed to cycle the slide on one of these designs is usually noticeably less than with a hammer-fired auto, which also requires overcoming the resistance of the mainspring. And the partial-cocking striker designs do their pre-load of the striker as the slide closes, which is what permits the lighter trigger pulls that many of these guns feature. For an arthritic hand, these would seem to be important things.
One thing I know I’ve read about in Mas Ayoob’s canon before, as well, is the idea of using the tip-up barrel design for loading. As far as I know this still limits you to the .380 and below for power level, but if that’s what made the difference for me, you betcherass I’d take the .380. (Or .22, if that’s all I could hit with.)
As I see it, the big issue with the DA revolver is going to be the DA trigger itself; without customization most of those pull weights are distinctly heavier than the better striker-fired autos. If the trigger is not a problem, then the DA revolver is a great choice (especially for value); I’d simply make sure I invested in good speedloaders or moon clips, to reduce the amount of fine motor movement required during reloads.
FWIW, that, I think, is the big limitation of the SA revolver–the fine motor movement it would require of a potentially arthritic hand to reload. Beyond that, I’d not knock the SA revolver option. (To paraphrase Jeff Cooper, I’d much prefer my enemy be on full-auto than armed with a SA revolver.)
Fortunately, there seem to be lots of options within the partial-cocking, striker-fired auto category, from the large to the small. The one I stake my own life on is the Kahr design, which is pretty small but still friendly to large hands (my hands are large, but I favor guns friendly to small hands). The one I’d pick if I were starting over is the Springfield XD (the single-stack -S for carry*, and the larger -M for general use). One I would quite like to try out is the Ruger SR-series; I met one of those for the first time recently and if it runs well, it would seem to be a serious contender for the price (it’s the only Ruger centerfire auto that has ever impressed me). Of course, other people like Glocks, SIGs, S&Ws, Tauruses, H&Ks, etc., and truthfully there are a whole lot of designs that seem to have good track records; I’d imagine you could select the fire-control system you want, simply shop for price among the available models, and come away with a win.
I’m with MamaLiberty on the “carry the most power you can hit with” philosophy, and here, trying before you buy is something to do if at all possible. Perceived recoil is not an exact science; for just two examples: I find a .45 1911 to be distinctly less disruptive to fast hits than a 9mm Browning Hi-Power, and in two guns of very nearly the same weight, I find the recoil of the .40 caliber Kahr CW40 to be surprisingly pleasant, next to the rather bone-jarring Smith 442 in .38+P. Likewise, polymer frames seem to flex at least a little during recoil, which can offset a purely linear thinking about how weight relates to kick.
Now…two things I’d keep in mind that are pretty useful guides are 1) all else being equal, more weight is usually better for absorbing recoil (balance this attribute against that same weight at the end of a long day), and 2) the height of the bore axis above your hand and the gun’s “pivot point” influences the degree of muzzle flip during recoil. As a theoretical example: a 9mm revolver is going to seem to recoil “more” than almost any 9mm striker-fired auto of the same weight, because its bore axis is usually noticeably higher.
So, these are some ideas.
One way or the other, again, I’d most like to hear what she goes with, why, and how she likes it. Thanks, Claire, for sharing this process; it’s great to hear about other folks making important decisions that don’t always fit the usual demographics. I suspect a lot of us can identify with that no matter what the topic. 🙂
_____________________
* Note that the XD-S is now available as a 7+1, 23-ounce 9mm, in addition to the 21.5-ounce, 5+1 .45ACP that I was so impressed with in person.
Claire: I have just spent a long weekend with my 82 year old mother, who began shooting pistols five years ago so she could stay in her home, alone. She moved up from .22’s to a .45 Blackhawk, then had cancer surgery, chemo, and radiation. She no longer had the strength to shoot the heavy Blackhawk, and her Ruger LCP stovepiped because she no longer has enough strength to grip it well. I took her shopping to find a pistol that she could carry and shoot, and we found it with the help of a very good salesman at a well stocked gun store. There are many good suggestions for guns in the comments, but I would like to add; look at lots of guns in well stocked stores, with helpful sales people. You will find something that works for you.
When someone ask me about “what gun is right for…” I always remember an interview I saw with Frank Zappa where he was asked what guitar he would recommend for people starting out. He said it was impossible to recommend a guitar, you just need to go into a music store and hold the guitar, see how it feels in your hand, listen for the one that speaks to you. I feel this is right for guns too. Grip is everything in shooting, so you need one that feels just right to you personally.
I am not by any means a “Glock-guy” but if push comes to shove, and someone just needs to be told what to buy, I will say a Glock 19. It is easy to find with plenty of used earlier gen models on the market, relatively inexpensive, shoots well, holds a fair amount of rounds but is still compact, reliable as heck. One of the good things about Glocks is the trigger assembly is easy to find, inexpensive, and fairly easy for someone to remove and replace. You can get a lighter trigger that is easier to pull. I’d recommend a $20 AGI video and it will tell you how to do it. It will show you all you need. A $20 video and a $2 punch and you can do the job yourself, or try a gunsmith than can let you try some different trigger options to get the one that feels right. If you try various makes and models you may find one you like better, but I have never heard anyone say buying a Glock 19 was a terrible choice.