My beloved 1911 is getting to be too much...

[Sgt127]

I have a small collection of guns destined to be my “I’m old now” carry guns.

A Colt Government .380.
A Colt 1903 .32.
A Colt 1908 .380.
And, a couple Walther PPK’s in .32.


Heck. I don’t think I’m old now. But, I’m just not getting into many shootouts. I dug out an old Sig P232. Stainless slide. Alloy frame. What an absolute pleasure to carry. And, a certain amount of style.

 

[jmstr]

For the OP, is the issue pulling the slide? or is it the recoil?

For those who have trouble with the slide, I've heard great things about the Beretta model 86 .380. It has a tilt barrel, so you can load a fresh magazine, tip the barrel up and insert a round into the chamber, tip barrel down/lock it into place, and you are good to go.

No pesky pulling on the back of the slide to load the chamber.

IF it is recoil, then this won't help.



For the 1911 .380, I went with the Star Model S Super. It is more like a 75% sized Model B super- 1911esque, but not a 1911.


For those wanting .380s that are soft-shooting, I have to say that the softest shooting ones I've had the pleasure of trying were the CZ model 24 handgun [delayed recoil, as barrel rotates to unlock. This absorbs some of the recoil impulse] and the Husqvarna 1907.

The CZ was designed to use the 9x19 round, but the Czech govt wanted it in .380, so it was downgraded.

Then, 3 years later they changed their minds and asked for it in .32acp, so the Model 24 got a new upper and conversion parts to allow the same lower to work with the .32 round- but now in blowback. This was the model 27.

The CZ is small-ish, but still is easy on the hands.


The Husqvarna is an FN 1903 with a 5" barrel, made under license for Sweden. [The FN1903 was sold here as the Colt 1903- non-competition deal between Colt and FN.]

It was originally chambered in the 9x20 Browning Long cartridge, which made around 300 ft/lbs of ME in the original factory loadings.

When it was imported here, a large number were converted to the .380, as it was easier to find.

Since it is so large, and was designed for more power than the .380, it is remarkably stable in the hand, with little recoil.

The only drawback to these two for me is that the sights were 'normal' sights, as designed before 1925. Also known as sights that my old eyes can't make out half the time.

The Walther PP in .22lr sounds like a good fit for your needs. However, if it is the operation of the slide that is the issue, I'd look into the tilt-barrel Berettas [made in .22lr, .32 and .380. ]

Now, if I lived out of California, I'd also look at the S&W Shield .380EZ, as it was designed to be easy to rack the slide. My father and his gal [live in Oregon] love theirs, but I haven't had a chance to play with one yet.

just some random thoughts.


The Star Model S Super is also easy on the hand for recoil, due to the delayed unlock it shares in common with the CZ 24 or 1911, but it isn't noticeably easier to rack the slide than any of the others.

Just depends on what the complication is, that your arthritis is causing.

 

[blchandl2]

+1 for the S&W 380EZ. They also have a 9MM version. I shot a Baby Rock (.380) springs are very stiff, not good for those with arthritus, etc.

 

[lee n. field]

I read an article, many years ago now, about the fabled "one shot stop", the author dug into seeming anomalies in the data, such as .380 hardball having a higher rating than .45 hardball, and what he found, was there really wasn't much difference in performance among handgun calibers, as there is a large proportion of stops of the, "God, I've been shot!" variety; doesn't matter what round they've been shot with, or where, a lot of people give up when shot.
Not until you start looking into "two shot stops", threats disinclined to give up, do the ballistic haves and have-nots start to separate in performance.

That was probably Greg Ellefritz's article An Alternate Look at Handgun Stopping Power. ".380 and above is about equal and markedly better than smaller calibers."

My understanding is that he modified his conclusion regarding .380.

 

[Ignition Override]

Simply making such a gun Clearly Visible to a threatening person is usually enough to make them stop--- and think , for the first time.

He won't know, in most cases, that the handgun is a .22LR - unless you Tell him.
Stopping to think = stopping power.

Even a dude among the extremely violent " specific 13 % " of the US population probably won't know what it is.

"Alex, can I solve the puzzle?" Pardon my frankness but look, we legal gun owners are all adults.

 

[L. Boscoe]

My Beloved 1911 is getting to be too much

Recognizing all of us have different problems in old age, mine are arthritis in the thumb joint, making jar opening a problem. I had a small bone removed and that fixed that. As far as 1911, or 45acp,
if I had to shoot factory loads I would not have any of them; I have a good half dozen and load 750fps to 800fps loads with 185gr and you will find them easier to shoot than a Walther PPk with 380 for several reasons, mostly the weight. My pistols run in the 35 to 40oz range, with fat grips that stretch the old wizened 86year old
hands, and they like that.
my situation is not yours, but you might look into the above.

 

[Mannlicher]

I'm mid seventies and have a good bit of osteoarthritis. I'm still shooting my .45 ACP 1911s though. For CCW, I have moved on to a Glock 21 and a Springfield XDS compact. I can't see me ever wanting a mouse gun.

 

[41 Magnum]

I don't know if anyone here has tried Winchester Silvertips or not ? I bought several boxes of them, and keep my 617 loaded with ten of them all the time now !! I find them very accurate, and amazingly powerful !! To me, they feel way more energetic than Stingers. They are also a segmenting bullet, which will cause a more traumatic wound channel I.M.H.O.
I have no idea how they would perform from any given Semi-auto, but I really like them from the revolver a lot !!

 

[Linker]

Someone earlier said something about a 380 acp in the 1911 format. Well Rock Island makes one. I just saw it on gunbroker.com. I realize not too many people think highly of Rock Island but it is a 380 and it is a 1911.

 

[UncleEd]

Lesser recoil, excellent round, think 9mm.

It's a reason, among others, Bill Wilson of
Wilson Combat has been producing "1911s"
in 9mm.

All the major gun makers are making 1911s
in 9mm. Huge variety of loads exist.

Also, if leaning toward a .380, choose a
locked breech model gun, not a blowback
type such as a PPK or a Beretta. Blowback
models tend to be quite snappy. They also
have extremely heavy recoil springs making
manual operation of the slide difficult.

 

[Armybrat]

My 78 year old arthritic hands don’t like the big bore boomers these days.
Gifted all my 1911 & .44 magnum handguns to my sons.
Kept a Ruger SR9 for my nightstand gun and carry an LCP .380.
The latter is being replaced by an LCP Max which is easier to shoot.

 

[ballardw]

Someone earlier said something about a 380 acp in the 1911 format. Well Rock Island makes one. I just saw it on gunbroker.com. I realize not too many people think highly of Rock Island but it is a 380 and it is a 1911.

Browning as well at a sort of 7/8th scale.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

Someone earlier said something about a 380 acp in the 1911 format. Well Rock Island makes one. I just saw it on gunbroker.com. I realize not too many people think highly of Rock Island but it is a 380 and it is a 1911.

No, the Rock Island Baby Rock .380 is not a 1911. It's an almost exact clone of the defunct Llama Micromax (which, in turn, was a copy of an older Spanish Star pistol).

https://ezine.m1911.org/showthread.php?240-Armscor-Baby-Rock-380-Review

 

[CajunBass]

Thanks for the link to that AB. Like the author, I used to drool over the Shooters Bible and Gun Digest and just dream about all the guns I wanted. One that I stared at more than the "Playmate of the month" was that Llama 380. It was inexpensive enough that I could actually imagine being able to come up with enough money to buy one some day...when I was older of course.

Never did get one. I'm not sure I ever even saw one, but it was a neat dream.

 

[jar]

I have quite a few .380 pistols but at 80 years young I'll admit the S&W 380 EZ has really impressed me. I still carry and shoot heavy full size and commander 1911s but the S&W 380 EZ has been getting more than it's fair share of WalkAbout. I like it enough that it has its very own Privateer Leather (Wes Dahl) IWB Cutthroat holster.

 

[camsdaddy]

We have a gentleman in town who has always carried a 5" M&P or a Glock 34. I saw him yesterday at a local restaurant wearing a tucked in T and having a hard time walking. I have a feeling he has gone to carrying his wife with him (who probably has a larger handgun) and he is using an LCR as his back up. Time has a way of catching up with us.

 

[tarhealcracker]

Lesser recoil, excellent round, think 9mm.

It's a reason, among others, Bill Wilson of
Wilson Combat has been producing "1911s"
in 9mm.

All the major gun makers are making 1911s
in 9mm. Huge variety of loads exist.

Also, if leaning toward a .380, choose a
locked breech model gun, not a blowback
type such as a PPK or a Beretta. Blowback
models tend to be quite snappy. They also
have extremely heavy recoil springs making
manual operation of the slide difficult.

Can you suggest a few models in .380 that meet your criteria ?

 

[Kreyzhorse]

If it's the "biggest" you can carry, shoot and practice with, by all means. A gun is still a gun.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

Thanks for the link to that AB. Like the author, I used to drool over the Shooters Bible and Gun Digest and just dream about all the guns I wanted. One that I stared at more than the "Playmate of the month" was that Llama 380. It was inexpensive enough that I could actually imagine being able to come up with enough money to buy one some day...when I was older of course.

Never did get one. I'm not sure I ever even saw one, but it was a neat dream.

Rock Island still makes their copy. It's not especially expensive.

https://rockislandarmoryusa.com/bbr-standard-380acp-7rd/