Colt Hammerless (1908 model) as a house gun?

I got a Makarov but Pierce grips are too fat and regular grips are too sharp and 9x18 kicks too much for her anyway and she can't rack it easily. Blowback has to be .32 or similar, locked breech can be .380 though I doubt she could use a Mustang (too small to absorb recoil, hard to aim).
 
Or a katana...quiet and easy on the wrists :)
I think I will get her used to the Buckmark and keep scouting for Remington 51/Hammerless 1908 in good condition and have it refurbished and (maybe) add a red dot sight. Would have to make sure batteries stay fresh though but I do live nearby and she'll know the device works by going to the range occasionally.
 
Oleg,

To hell with the red dot sight for a defensive handgun! What do you do if you need it and the batteries are gone?

And, adding a red dot to such a small gun (a Rem. 51 or Colt) would be an expensive proposition.

While I'm not a big fan of them, you would be better of just sticking an underslide laser on it that is controlled by a grip pad on the front of the grips. That way you still have the original sights as a back up (which you would lose with the red dot).
 
Good point on losing the iron sights. I intend to teach point shooting just in case there's no time for using sights, too.
 
Oleg,
I just now saw the NO REVOLVERS part of your topic......sorry, I too can't see how anyone can find a revolver hard to operate, and an auto easy.....then again.....I went thru this same thing finding my wife a carry gun....I think I got 4 more grey hairs doing so! I'll be completely grey at age 30! Anyway, If she is gonna stick with a .22 might I suggest loading it with the Quik Shok HP's..... They are worth the exta money!
If the gun likes them that is.
CJB

------------------
" I SHOOT BACK! "
 
Lasers?? Nights sights????

guys REALLY its a 32 auto.. install a glow on the dark shotgun bead (if you MUST) and be done with it.. or teach mom to point shoot.

Given the parametes, a colt remmington or svage auto from the 20-40's would serve well... however there were MORE colts made than remmingtons or savages and gun parts has replacement parts available.

In 32 you are definitely looking at FMJ and penetration over expansion. the real question is.. is mom ready for this?? You have GOT to train her in loading/unloading./checking the chamber/use of the safty etc etc etc. No one should own a gun they can't use.

Dr.Rob
 
I plan to train her to use "over the sights" half aimed/half point shooting. Glo bead might make more sense, true.

She will know how to load/unload/make safe but teach her to keep the safety off (as the gun won't be carried). The drill would be point and fire, with one round already chambered.
 
Hey, the recommendation for the laser was in an effort to disuage Oleg of the red dot sight...

And while I'm not a big fan of them in the least, lasers do have one very good quality for an older shooter whose eye-sight may be going...

The point where you focus, and the target, are in the same plane. For those whose eyes no longer focus well, that can be a blessing.

I would agree with the fluorescent shotgun bead, but again, that requires focusing up close, which for an older shooter could mean totally losing view of the target, whereas focusing on the target could mean totally losing view of the fluorescent bead.

I'm 35, and I'm already facing that. I'm finding it harder and harder to focus on the front sight and maintain anything even remotely resembling a decent sight/target picture.

Presbyopia and its counterpart SUCK. :mad:
 
I *hate* battery-dependent devices but still feel that some sort of an optical aide would be helpful for a user with poor eyesight and only marginal training. I can only make mom got shoot every so often and she just isn't that good with things mechanical.

BTW, I found a Remington 51 locally for $550 but not sure I can drop that much on sm-th she has not yet handled. Might bring her to the store (damn, there goes the surprise!)

I might have to teach point shooting an dinsist on practice as laser/red dot can be easily knocked out of alignment or disabled...personal skills may be more reliable.
 
I didn't see any recommendations for the CZ-83. I'm not sure if it's a blowback or locked-breech design, but the pistol comes in .32 ACP, .380, and 9x18, so you have plenty of options in either case. The price is about $300. I hear these pistols are pretty sweet!
 
Oleg,

$550 for a Remington 51 sounds a bit on the high side, by about $100-$150, unless it is absolutely pristine.

I'd love to get one, but you never see the darned things in Northern Virginia.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Oleg Volk:
I keep trying to figure out what the locking lugs do on a 1908 Colt. Isn't it a blowback pisotl?[/quote]

Sorry for the confusion, we are having severe network problems here and I have to type like a madman in between outages - this is my second attempt to post this morning.

Anyway, if you look at the bottom of the chamber end of the barrel, you'll see a row of lugs that help attach the barrel to the frame. These tend to get pounded out of shape in abused guns. The "ramp" at the muzzle end also tends to wear down quickly if a gun was not lubed properly.

Here are some URLs that may help you, since I'm terrible at describing things:

The Colt Pocket Hammerless web page: http://www.wwa.com/~dvelleux/19031908.html

Sam Lisker's Colt Autos page: http://coltautos.com

The Army's ACALA unit at RIA still has some info online, despite Clinton's attempt to kill the military presence on the web (can't have those little people reading about what their money pays for, can we?):
http://www-acala1.ria.army.mil/lc/cs/csi/sahist.htm

Regards,

Strayhorn
 
OK, I guess I have to say it. Personally, I think a Colt 1908 is a lousy house gun for an untrained person. If she can't "get the hang" of a revolver, dealing with a semi-auto has to be difficult too. The safety on the 1908 is tiny and very hard to manipulate. Add to that the fact that you have to deal with any potential stoppages, and it's just not a good choice. If she doesn't keep a round chambered, the optential of screwing up trying to chamber one under stress is significant. If you really want something with a light trigger pull, I'd consider a revolver with some trigger work to lighten the trigger. A steel revolver in .32H&R Mag will have minimal recoil and much more muzzle energy than the wimpy .32ACP. I don't see the reload factor as any kind of issue, since I doubt she'd be reloading under stress.

This is just my opinion, but I just don't see your mom as semi-auto material, she sounds like she's not willing to spend the time to really get familiar with the gun and it's operation. If not the revolver, I'd consider a 20ga shotgun with light loads, should discourage most intruders. :)
 
She's just fine with semi-auto Buckmark but doesn't get revolvers...boggles my mind. I thought of getting a .410 side-by-side but shoulder arms are out (too heavy). She will leave 1903 safety off and have a round chambered, use ball ammo and have a gunsmith overhaul the run. However, sights still suck and I amnot sure what the solution would be. Walther PP from SOG maybe?
 
Oleg,
Im a fan of browning pockett type pistols, some are slightly larger than the pockett type and come in 32acp, I own two of them and find them acceptable,,,,,,,,I would search out a browning, they were at one time imported by the buckett full....you can still find them for around$250-$300 range and you could put that hi visiblity shot gun dot that was recommended on it....if you were near by Id loan you one and let her try it out......but Id work with her a little more...fubsy.
 
Oleg, what you're looking for here (and shame on the rest of you for not mentioning it earlier) is a Czech "Skorpion" machine pistol in .32. They're easy to rack the bolt, somewhat controllable, and accuracy isn't much of an issue as long as you have a good backstop. When you find one, let me know. I'd like to get one too. :D

Seriously, the Remingtons are neat little pistols. If I'm thinking of the right model it even has a "lemon squeezer" grip safety. But the manual safety is tiny and the sights are almost nonexistent--three tiny goosebumps on top of the slide. Dad has one that mom's great uncle bought new a LONG time ago and it's a lot of fun to shoot. They might really be worth $550, though.

Is there a problem with a shotgun? (Yes, I know that's not what you asked about.) I ask because I've been shooting a Remington 1100 youth model in 20 ga. since I was a kid and it's great for someone small. I'd kinda like a 12 ga. now but I can't bear to trade or sell the 1100. It's semi-auto, shoots awfully soft, is very small and somewhat light, and has a huge recoil pad. Plus it's pretty which mom might like and I think it's cheaper than most of the handguns being discussed here. You can get a slug barrel fairly cheap at Wal-Mart and have a great house gun, or you can use buckshot and solve her accuracy problem. The safety on such a gun is simpler and more intuitive than most handguns, I think. And the operation is simpler than a gun with a removable mag, since she can just keep racking the bolt until no more shells pop out.
Just a thought.
 
Oleg,
With all due respect, you aren't listening to your Mom. Your Mom,like my wife, has found her comfort level with the Buckmark. Sure, I would feel worlds better if my wife would learn to use my centerfire's, but she is by far more comfortable with her Buckmark Micro. My advice to her was just keep pulling till it's empty, then put in a new mag. High stress situation, and a lack of confidence is a disaster in the making. A Buckmark Micro w/10 rounds of whatever ammo it likes best is a far better choice than cowering in the corner or making scary faces to ward of an attack. Get her a Micro, lots of range time, and let the bigger stuff come in it's own time, if at all. I know you may feel better if she was better equiped, but really, what you feel is 100% a non factor if there comes a time she needs it. It's how she feels that counts.

Just MHO, based on the number of years my wife and I have shot together. It was only last fall that my wife expressed interest in trying my Hi-Power. This after 22 years of shooting together.
 
RAE,

I think I better listen to you. I will get her the Micro Camper (she tried it at a store and approved the balance. I wonder about red dot sight only because of her eye sight but adding sm-th possibly unreliable and requiring extra switches and batteries probably isn't the way.
 
I'm wondered about the logic of finding a technical solution to a training problem.

I'm not sanguine on the Colt, even though I've seen people shoot them. In fact, I saw an older woman use one to pass her CHL test.

I think the revolver is a better solution due to the vagaries of semiauto functioning.

Semiautos are best when you need quick reloads. I don't see that here.

Try to find a good solid course or trainer that works with women, for example. Teaching people close to you is a bad idea.

I'd bet the revolver problem would go away and one could purchase a decent and reliable 38/357 with a milder but respectable load and then be much better off.

When people have an immediate reaction to a type of gun and people on the list start to suggest substitutes, I would first look to training. Most people of normal health can handle most handguns (excepting the big monsters and vagaries of hand size). I've seen older women run IPSC stages with 1911s.

I know an older women who is a security guard, she is over 60 and carries a 357 with
speed loaders.

So before one goes on the gun hunt and we get the usually plethora of techy suggestions, basic training from a pro is a better way.

No offensive to anyone.
 
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