Suggestions please....

IMTHDUKE

New member
Looking for suggestion for a pistol or revolver for an ole maid retired school teacher who has a budget of $250. She just plans to use it as a house defense gun. And yes, she is scheduled to take a basic gun course on handling etc. I am thinking Makarov or small 38 but not sure I can locate one for that price. Thanks for any suggestions.
 
I would look for a used S&W .38 revolver most likely an old law enforcement gun. I know places like Bud’s and J&G Sales has them on the internet, but I suspect you could find them locally if you look.
 
help her out, toss in a few bucks and get a real gun that will be reliable. and then once a month, take her to the range, and tell her that she needs to help you get rid of some old ammo you have laying around.
 
You should be able to get a new Armscor M200 revolver (.38 SPL) for $250. And if they still have them, J&G Sales had 9x18 CZ-82s for under $250, in very decent condition.
 
CZ-82s and PA-63s both in 9mm Mak are less than $250. Both are easy to care for, simple to use, and very reliable. The CZ-82 would have less felt recoil due to greater mass but the PA-63 may fit a small hand better.
 
A revolver that can be cocked is probably going to be the best option.

My mother is in a similar situation and my brother and I tried the auto route for her. She doesn't have the hand strength to cycle the slide and she had trouble with the safety.

So we finally got her a .38 revolver that she can keep loaded and thumb the hammer back as needed.

We have looked at getting her a semiauto with a tip-up style barrel (Beretta), but they are hard to find locally for her to try out and even more "complicated" than the semiauto that she used to have trouble with.
 
Nothing in the original post indicated she can't rack a slide or pull a DA revolver trigger. I know a lot of retired teachers and let me tell you, they aren't weaklings.
 
The problem with revolvers and thumbing the hammer back is, who will help with de-cocking the piece. Get a quick phone call, then run out the door yelling over your shoulder I'm going to help un-cock the school marm. Just sayin'.
 
Nothing in the original post indicated she can't rack a slide or pull a DA revolver trigger. I know a lot of retired teachers and let me tell you, they aren't weaklings.

I didn't say there was a problem. I merely made a suggestion based on my own personal experience, that I detailed.

It was not something that we had anticipated when we got her the gun/s originally. It was only later during the evaluation stage when we were practicing with her. She was having alot of problems and these were all locked breech guns, which have signficantly lighter recoil springs compared to blowback guns (several which have been recommended here)

Just because you can't operate a slide on a semi-auto doesn't mean you are a "weakling", my mother definitely isn't one.

What do the retired teachers that you know carry/use?

What are their mean ages?

Do they have any problems with arthritis?

The problem with revolvers and thumbing the hammer back is, who will help with de-cocking the piece. Get a quick phone call, then run out the door yelling over your shoulder I'm going to help un-cock the school marm. Just sayin'.

Ummm...

There is no more force/energy involved in lowering the hammer than there is in cocking it.:confused:

A gun with a transfer bar will not fire if the trigger is released, even if control of the hammer is lost.

Apparently my experience is outside the norm.
 
Why bother with thumb cocking??? This is not Camp Perry, . . . this is a bg within sniffing distance, . . . needing to be snuffed instead of sniffed.

I am not sure how it is done, . . . but I have seen DA revolvers that ol' arthritic Aunt Jenny could have poked holes in a bg with, . . . it's all in doin what needs to be done to the trigger mechanism.

Plus, . . . I have abosolutely NEVER shot a .38 short barreled revolver that wasn't louder than an ADHD 3 year old. When the bg hears that, . . . and hears hot lead coming at him, . . . maybe thumb cocking won't be necessary.

As an aside, . . . if she has arthritis problems, etc. a speed loader is an absolute present from an angel.

May God bless,
Dwight
 
Of course a simple, reliable, effective .38 revolver is pretty ideal.

A Makarov? How in the world did u come up with that anchor? They developed a cult-following by guys when they were $89. Just like The Mosin Nagant is the finest rifle ever made to these cheapos. Nonsense! My Mak is the one gun I couldn't care less what happens to, right down to the rust spots it got leaving it in the trunk...
 
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