Pick a gun from inventory for my Mom to take CCW

J

j357

New member
My mother is finally planning on getting her CCW license. Thankfully we both have a number of guns to choose from (except the Ruger MkIII possibility which I have been considering purchasing). I am interested in personal insight and feedback on picking one of our pistols/revolvers for her to use in during her class.

She is 66 years old, has some arthritis and lack of muscle strength issues, with what I would consider a typical (for her age) concern about being able to shoot 100 rounds over the course of two hours. She currently has two .38 revolvers (Det Spl and SP101) for protection in her house and can shoot them both well for a few cylinders worth. Extended use in the class is her primary concern in the form of becoming recoil adverse and fatigued from holding the firearm at arms length.

Colt Detective Spl, .38, = 21 oz
Colt Model 1903 .32 = 22 oz (easy to chamber, but may become tiresome)
Makarov .380 = 25 oz (tight on racking the slide for her as I recall)
Ruger SP101 .38 = 25 oz - I gave this one to her as a Mother’s day present many years ago :D
Ruger MKIII .22 = 32 oz
SW Model 10 .38 = 32 oz

My initial thought was the Colt M1903 or the Makarov , but dealing with loading the magazines and chambering rounds may wear her out as she is less familiar with autoloaders. The Ruger MKIII 22 is a good thought but the overall weight and being an auto may be a no go. After typing this out I am considering suggesting the Detective Spl or SP101 as I am a reloader and could supply her with a 100 rounds of 148 grn wad cutters over 3 grns of Universal that have little recoil in my larger 38s.

I plan to have her shoot each of the possible guns but would like to give her the best chance of success from the start and make the most of our range time prior to the class. Anyone have any recent similar experience or thoughts on which of the six might be best for her?
 
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Is the class an "official" part of the testing/licensing procedure, or is it just for learning & practice? I'm wondering if there are any minimum caliber requirements, or if the type of gun (semiauto vs. revolver) matters in your state.

In Texas, you have to use a .32 caliber or greater handgun on the qualification test. Also, if you want to carry a semiauto with your CHL, you must qualify with a semiauto on the test.
 
My mother was telling me that she was having trouble pulling the slide on her pistol and wanted to get something she could handle better. We went through the safe and she selected what she though felt good in her hand and off to the range we went. After a couple of hours she started to narrow the list, we did the range with her short list several time always narrowing it until she found what she was most comfortable handling and shooting. Now she and a couple of her friends(all in there late 70's early 80's) go to the range 2 or 3 times a month and shoot. (I lost my S&W model 36 with a 3 inch barrel but now have her fathers 1911 service pistol resting in it's place.)
You might try the same thing, let mom shoot what ever she want and let her decide what will work best for her.
 
Good questions Scott. She is in KY, with no caliber requirement or license what you carry limit. However, she will be required to clean (and perhaps field strip, which may limit her to revolvers depending on instructors). Thanks for the question.
 
Thanks danez71, I edited the original post to add highlight to the obvious, just so there is no confusion, as that is exactly what I plan to do.
 
Excessive loading of magazines for 2 hours would be hell on her fingers if she has arthritis. Seeing as she has two revolvers of her own it seems that's what she prefers, get her a good set of shooting gloves so the excessive range session wont be too bad on her hands. Also she can wrap a bandaid around her trigger finger if that's a concern.
 
What are the chances of getting (for example) 10 mags fully loaded for the Ruger MKIII .22 with the intent that all she'll have to do change mags in the gun and not have to reload mags with rounds?

Or maybe 5 mags?

Can she use that concept to her advantage?

Just trying to explore options.......
 
Dragline, thanks the thought on the shooting gloves, that is a +1^.
Thanks to Danez71 for the though of preloaded mags. I agree that loading the mags would be tough for her as well, as I'm rubbing lotion on two "paper" cuts on my right thumb from shucking and reloading one Makarov mag right now.

The thought of loading up multiple MkIII mags is interesting. She will only have to qualify with shooting 11 shots of 20 in the outline of a B21 target at 7 yards. I'm thinking 7 mags would be good and get her through 20 or 30 practice rounds then qualify with 2 mags and a leftover 2 if a retest is required.

None of that would be feasible with the Model 1903 due to lack of mags at a reasonable price.

Leaning toward the MkIII and the Det Spl more today.
 
Is buying a new gun out of the question?

A 1 lb. 2" .32 Mag 5-shot stainless Charter Arms Undercoverette could be inexpensive enough and she could practice mostly with regular .32's. Low weight (they even have 12-oz. ones in pink and lavender). Manageable recoil. Enough power when you really need it to matter.
 

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The semi-auto,,,

In my state if you test with a revolver,,,
You may only carry a revolver or derringer.

If you test with a semi-auto,,,
You may carry any of the three.

Aarond

.
 
My wife took the test with a auto,and all she had to do was load the first round in the magazine and they finished it for her, and racked the slide for her if she needed help.

She carrys a Walther PPK/S with a round in the chamber and the safety on with her in the car, and a S&W Model 637 in her purse.

In Texas you have to take the test with a automatic, if you want to carry both.
(she is partial to revolvers though)
 
I would definitely get her some trigger time prior to the class so she could better decide but if the instructors dont have a problem with the pre-loaded mags, then the MKIII sounds like it has it's advantages.
 
That's alot of shooting for a simple CCW test. Most places seem to require 50rds or less to qualify. I would go with the .22 if they allow it and there is no restriction on using whatever you want to actually carry.
 
It sounds as though she's already fairly comfortable with a revolver, so it would probably be best for her to stick with that platform. Of the three revolvers you listed, the S&W M10 will probably be the easiest to shoot for extended periods because of its trigger and weight.

S&W K-Frames have larger, heavier hammers than Colt D-Frames or Ruger SP101's do which makes it possible to use a lighter mainspring, and thus get a lighter trigger pull, without sacrificing reliable primer ignition. Also, the 30+ oz weight of the K-Frame will dampen recoil the most of the three revolvers making it the most pleasant to shoot. While lighter recoiling guns do exist, I've yet to meet anyone who could not handle the recoil of a S&W K-Frame loaded with standard pressure .38 Special ammunition.
 
My wife used a 6 shot .22LR revolver (a Model 34 snub nose). She doesn't have the hand strength to rack a slide so it had to be a revolver. Once we got her in the groove she was thumb-cocking the hammer and then nailing the target. 4 shots at 7 yards were just shy of being in one hole!

And for those that are interested, in SC the test is 50 shots. And there are no restrictions on your carry gun based on what you qualified with.
 
Colt Detective Spl, .38 with wadcutters
BBWC.jpg
 
The thought of loading up multiple MkIII mags is interesting. She will only have to qualify with shooting 11 shots of 20 in the outline of a B21 target at 7 yards. I'm thinking 7 mags would be good and get her through 20 or 30 practice rounds then qualify with 2 mags and a leftover 2 if a retest is required.
Click to expand...

http://www.gunblast.com/Cliploader.htm

This thing makes loading MKIII and 22/45 mags a breeze.
 
Good questions Scott. She is in KY, with no caliber requirement or license what you carry limit. However, she will be required to clean (and perhaps field strip, which may limit her to revolvers depending on instructors). Thanks for the question.
Click to expand...

I have my Kentucky CCW. I don't believe she will have to field strip or clean her gun in class. The instructor will exam her gun to make sure it is in good working order and discuss cleaning them but that should be it.

As far as the range exam, I believe she will shoot something like 20 rounds and have to hit her target 10 to 15 times out of those 20 shots to "pass". The target is a full sized silhouette at 7 yards. Nothing too difficult.

So long as she is familiar with the revolver and can reload it, she will be fine. She can shoot in either SA or DA if one suites her over the other.
 
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