Pistol for 64 year old mom

A

American Dad

Inactive
So my mother is getting a little older in age and does not have the hand strength she used to. I want to buy her a pistol for Concealed Carry and have a few concerns and am open for suggestions:
1. Automatic or revolver, mom is familiar with firearms. I prefer semi-auto because the trigger pull is usually not as heavy as a revolver. My S&W J-Frame is to much pull for her.
2. Caliber. recoil is an issue as well, no use having a weapon that she cant control or one that will not do the job.
3. I guess the last one here is, what would you suggest for mom?

Thank you for your input
 
You'll probably want a lower caliber

My suggestion would be to get her a 9mm, 380, or 32. Along those lines, I'd stay away from Kel-Tecs, which also have a long DAO trigger pull. Have her try a DB380, CM9, BG380, Kahr P380, or a Seecamp. Of course, you could also opt for a Glock or an XD.
 
Ahoy American Dad,

Welcome aboard !

Three off the top would be:

A Lady Smith S&W J-frame 7-shot 22Mag or Walther PPK 32 ACP (NOT 380 and NOT PPK/S) or a Sig P238.

The above are all very popular with gentle hands that like to shoot straight, but don't like recoil....all are small and hide well. The Lady Smiths have smoother/easier actions, with the PPK if racking the slide is difficult, the hammer can be pulled back first and then the slide, and the Sig P238 is a soft shooter...the 'rainbow' edition is very attractive.

All the best, and remember to check your 6.
 
Welcome aboard, and thank you for your service.

I have no quibble with the above replies, but I will point out that the choice between pistol and revolver is not clear cut. Both racking a slide and pulling a double action trigger can be difficult for people with compromised hand strength. That choice will be very individual based on her exact abilities and disabilities. Since you expressed a preference for pistols, I would suggest that you pass along to your mom the excellent Cornered Cat website, authored by a delightful lady who appears here under the screen name Pax. She has an excellent description of how to rack a slide with minimal effort.
 
There's no reason to guesstimate.
Especially with such an important decision.
It could mean life or death.
Surely there's a gun range, with gun rentals, somewhere nearby.
If not, call all your friends and invite them to a day at the range, with all the suitable guns they can bring.
You mom should try out a bunch, actually shooting them, and then decide.
 
Clifford L. Hughes

American Dad:

Racking the slide of an auto loader is a chore for the eldery. A good smith can cut a coil or two from the recoil spring to reduce the strength required to rack the slide. However, this has a risk: the failure of the slide to fully cycle causing a malfunction.

An action job on a small revolver like your J frame Smith can transform it into an excellent pistol for your mother. The Smith will smooth the action, lighten the trigger and the hammer pull. For example, I have a 625 Smith & Wesson that has the above mentioned modifications. For me it's eaiser to shoot well than my match grade government modle .45 acp. It is my bedside gun.

Keep in mind, that the lighter the pistol the harder it is to control and to shoot accurately. With this in mind nothing smaller than a J frame Smith will do.

What is important is that your mother not only practice at the range but dry fire at home. For dry firing she needn't a target, she just needs a blank white wall. The object here is to develope the skill to release the trigger without the sights moving. Another benefit is that she will strengthen her trigger finger allowing her more control and accurate shooting.

It does little good if you kill and intruder and he kills you before he dies so I don't recommend anything smaller than a 9mm/38 Special.

Semper Fi.

Gunnery sergeant
Clifford L. Hughes
USMC Retired
 
Thank you

ALCON,

I appreciate all of your advise and input on this matter. I am going to go the route of the S&W J-Frame and get both .22 mag and .38 and have a trigger job done on both. She can fire them both and determine if the .38 will work or if she needs to step down to the .22. If she likes and can handle the .38 then she has a range gun out of the .22 if the .38 is too much then I have a new pistol.
Take care all and God Bless-
 
man or woman. young or old. the selection process is still the same. borrow and rent all the pistols you can and let her shoot them. you already know a revolver is out because she can't pull the trigger but if you cock the hammer for her how does she handle the recoil? get an idea of her recoil tolerance and then go to the store and handle EVERYTHING. then go to another and another and some gun shows and whatever else. then when she finds something that feels right, in a caliber she can handle research it to make sure you're not buying her a POS.

wouldn't be a terrible idea to try and find a gun that .22 conversions are available for or there is a similar gun in .22lr
 
I guess the last one here is, what would you suggest for mom?
Click to expand...

Whatever she wants!

Rent everything you can get your hands on. Don't be shy, try out some 45's. She may surprise you.

My GF likes my Glock 21SF the best and shoots it to good effect in IDPA. Granted, I load my 45's down quite a bit, so nothing hot.
 
My Mama is 92 and she likes her Model 37 Airweight. I did swap out the +p ammo for some of my milder wadcutter reloads. I figure 146 grains at 700 fps is much better than a sharp stick.
 
I second the suggestion to take Mom to the store/range with you... you'll never be able to judge her comfort zone better than she can.
I also wanted to mention that not all autoloaders are difficult to rack. My Sig P238 is the second-easiest pistol I've ever racked, just behind the Ruger 22s.
 
""I second the suggestion to take Mom to the store/range with you... you'll never be able to judge her comfort zone better than she can.""
copied from just above

For any woman--take her to the gunshop and wait outside in the car for a while. Let her try all the guns they will let her handle. Then she will have an idea what she likes. Have her shoot the 3 best and then decide.

If you have a club, someone suggested, go there and have her shoot all she can. Many will be very apparent they aint gonna work, right away.
 
Hopefully there is a good range in your mom's area that rents many different types of guns. Let her handle lots of types and various brands and have her select 5 or 6 that she really likes and have her shoot them.

If hand strength is a problem, then semiauto jam clearing drills can be a pain. For this reason, make sure that she tries out some revolvers. I find that the Ruger LCR small revolver has a much lighter trigger pull than the J frame S&W so I would definitely have her check that one out.

A K frame such as model 10 or 12 or 14 would be a great thing to find used in maybe a 2" or 3" barrel. It would be concealable, very shootable and it would have a nice trigger. The extra K frame weight might help with controllability.

Also, a used Detective Special in good condition would be a very handy thing to have and it would not be hard on the hands.

Also, very importantly, be sure to enroll her in a good defensive pistol course.

Good luck.
 
+1 Mr. Hughes.
When my mother suddenly had to live alone at age 82, I bought her a stainless steel S&W J frame with Uncle Mike rubber grips. I had an amazing gun smith who had worked on S&Ws for many years do a trigger job on it yet kept it reliable. It has a very smooth and light trigger. The SA is too light, really a "hair" trigger. The DA, which is how I taught her to use it, is very easy to pull even for her weak hands. She was very accurate with this little revolver. She has gotten to a mental state at age 90 that I don't feel she can make quick and totally logical decisions so I have brought the gun home for my wife. I put 148 gr. wadcutters in it and the recoil is very light. She enjoys shooting it. I can't get her to clean it though. I believe the pistol will serve her well if need be.
 
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