News you can use
I’d never thought about it before but this read from Tam on guns for older folks is worth it. It’ll probably come in handy for all of us someday.
Remember, I do this to entertain me, not you.
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February 9th, 2016 at 6:16 pm
Rent, rent, rent until you know.
I’m mentoring some folks to get them signed up for basic handgun and/or carry and deciding what they want to buy. one of them is old but she is not elderly and I don’t think her husband likes me much. You see, he is a professor at a university, but to her credit, she is insistent that they both get trained and at least own a weapon. Ha Ha Ha. We’re winning!!!
February 9th, 2016 at 7:00 pm
And if you follow Tam, she rates a lot of handguns. One she likes for being light, easy to rack the slide and light on recoil is the Sig 250 in 380. Havn’t tried it myself but her view on light revolvers with heavy triggers is spot on. And the only handgun I have ever had jam so bad it had to go to a smith before it would fire again was a S&W model 19. And this was when I was qualifying for my instructor certificate with the Dept. of Public Safety!
February 9th, 2016 at 10:15 pm
My mother is a 72 year old widow who owns a concealed weapons permit. She used to carry a lightweight semi-auto. The problem was that, as she got older, it was more and more difficult for her to work the slide. She just didn’t have the grip strength to work the slide. To help with this, I bought her a lightweight Smith and Wesson J frame in .38 Special.
Tam is correct, her 72 year old arthritic fingers had trouble with the 12 pound trigger pull, so I took it to a gunsmith and had the trigger lightened up to about 7 pounds. There are those who will tell you that it is unwise to lower your trigger pull from a legal standpoint.
Perhaps if you are a 25 year old weightlifter, having a light pull would be a problem, bur a 7 pound pull is not one that a 72 year old woman who weighs 90 pounds is going to find overly low.
February 9th, 2016 at 10:20 pm
Seems to me there’s a market for the Jitterbang!
February 10th, 2016 at 12:28 am
Jitterbang…interwebz is funny!
February 10th, 2016 at 12:40 am
I find that most oldsters don’t plan to CC so much as they feel the need for a house and/or car gun. That obviates the need for small and light, and for that customer I have found that a good used 4″ K-frame Smif, ideally a heavy-barrel version, is affordable, controllable, easily and accurately operated in S/A mode, and with good medium loads, very effective without being overly sharp. YMMV.
February 10th, 2016 at 12:42 am
Jitterbang is funny…and that Smif damn near is ine!
February 10th, 2016 at 12:43 am
…is one.
February 10th, 2016 at 9:08 am
Barbell training.
February 10th, 2016 at 9:31 am
Divemedic,
“There are those who will tell you that it is unwise to lower your trigger pull from a legal standpoint.”
I’m not worried about that, so much as the fact that going that light isn’t possible without compromising ignition reliability and going light enough on the rebound spring that one can outrun the trigger and tie up the gun.
I’ve several guns that I had flyweight PPC-style DA trigger jobs done on back fifteen years ago that I’ve been going back and heavying the triggers up again.
(On a coil-sprung J-frame, anything under ten pounds is generally a “Federal primers only” situation.)
February 10th, 2016 at 11:00 am
Dead on, Tam
February 10th, 2016 at 11:59 am
Dead on except for… Well, everything is individual. To absolutely reject the SW J-frame is very, very wrong. I have MANY students who can’t operate a pistol for whom the J-frame IS the answer. I have MANY for whom it is not.
I carry a J-frame (SW 642 airweight) off duty and as BUG. My wife can’t carry it. But she does carry a J made of all steel that fits her need perfectly. She can’t operate a pistol. So, would Tam have her carry a small(er) caliber or not at all?
Those of us with a bit more knowledge than the beginner need to remind ourselves when asked for advise that every single person is different and the solution will be different for just about every beginner. I think Tam, in trying to convey that, lost it a bit on the revolver comment.
February 10th, 2016 at 12:15 pm
This is one of those reasons why Beretta needs to continue with their tip-up barrel pistols. .32 isn’t a good caliber, but a gun you can handle is better than one you can’t handle.
That reminds me, I really need to take my Tomcat out for a range session soon.
February 10th, 2016 at 12:21 pm
My brother suffers from arthritis in the hands and thumbs. So what gun should he get? I open the plastic bags for him. I thought of a revolver because of slide issues but according to this the trigger pull and recoil can be a problem.
February 10th, 2016 at 1:24 pm
Sounds like it is time to start engineering some mods for old-timers with weak hands.
Or laser pistols.
February 10th, 2016 at 6:25 pm
I think the Walther PK380 and the Sig Sauer P250 Compact in .380 are both viable guns for folks with hand strength issues.
February 10th, 2016 at 6:45 pm
My Colt Mustang pocketlite is also pretty easy to rack the slide on. It’s a 60% size 1911 in 380. It’s also my main carry gun. If I have to “go to town (Austin)” I usually carry a Glock 22.
February 11th, 2016 at 12:35 am
Sounds like a niche for the Ruger Shopkeeper!