Defense gun for grandparents

nsf003

New member
I was thinking a New England single shot .410 especially for my grandmother. Anyone have any suggestions?


nsf003
 
Check the Archives, there should be some stuff about 410s for defense.

For seniors, my first choice might be a mid frame 38 revolver loaded with target WCs. Light kick, but reasonably effective and easy to handle.
 
For shotgun, any reliable gas-operated 20ga with a short barrel would do. I've used a High Standard last week and it was 1)light 2)kicked less than an M1 carbine and 3)was very effective even with light loads. Just make sure that the users learn firing it from the shoulder. Reloading it might be harder to teach but 4+1 ought to do for most perps.

PS: fiber optic front sight would be a big help as it can be seen by myopic users even without glasses.
 
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If you think they'd be best with 410 due to weight or recoil, winchester recently came out with a lever action 410, has a pretty good magazine capacity IIRC (just can't remember how many ;) ). Looked pretty nice on their website.
 
Shotguns make great HD weapons for those of us that practice with them. Misused, they are egregious in those situations. Most oldsters resist the idea of practice, and anything that kicks will not be practiced with.

Went through this in the early 80s with my mother's mother, as opinionated and miserly as any woman out of Sicily. She wanted to learn to shoot becaus ethe 'hood was changing and not for the better. She refused to get anything decent for a house gun, but insisted on using her father's top break, nickle plated Iver Johnson 32. I did treat her to new ammo, the stuff she had went back to Prohibition.

A gunsmith friend took it apart,cleaned and lubed the insides, and advised me that it would go bang on command. I tried it at the range and kept them on the paper at 10 yards, and took Gram and her sister to the range. Both ladies were in their 70s at the time, arthritic, and as pigheaded as I am. But, after a trip to the range or two, both could hit a volleyball every time at room range. They pronounced themselve adept, refused to practice, and considered themselves ready for trouble.

If your grands or other seniors are not as obstinate as mine, try a 410 like that little Mossie(W/O the PG). Make sure they practice with it.

Even a 20 has more recoil than most tyros like, and seniors do have limited upper body strength and varied health probs that make a shotgun possibly not the best choice. Go carefully here...
 
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