Handgun.. Arthritis

[Shorts]

Oh, I wouldn't go too small a gun either. Manipulating tiny parts with a strength/mobility issue is tough too. I can't go smaller than a P238 and still work a gun with one hand.

 

[benenglish]

A guy I was talking to at a LGS had a rather small wife, or was it daughter, that was very recoil sensitive. He somehow talked her into shooting his G.I. model 1911. That is now the only thing she will shoot.

I admit to being "that guy" at the gun shop/indoor range a while back. In the lane next to me was some guy showing his girlfriend her new concealed carry piece that (pretty obviously) he had picked out for her. It was one of those flyweight miniature .380s. Even I find those things painful to shoot.

She went from excited to horrified to withdrawn over the course of 5 minutes. She refused to shoot the pistol any more. She stepped back off the firing line and she was on the cusp of never wanting to set foot on a shooting range ever again. Even though I knew it would piss off the boyfriend, I turned into "that guy". I flashed my EAA Witness Elite .45 where he could see it. When it caught his eye, I struck up a conversation and offered to let him shoot it. He demurred. I offered it to his girlfriend...and didn't give her a chance to refuse. I loaded one round in a magazine and put the pistol in her hands. It was too heavy for her to hold up so I inserted the mag, held up the weight of the pistol by making my arm into a benchrest for her, then dropped the slide.

"I can't see how to aim it." I made sure it was pointed safely downrange and I replied "Just pull the trigger and see what it feels like." I swear she closed her eyes and turned her head when she pulled the trigger.

Then a shocked look of complete amazement came over her face. Confusion, too. "That didn't hurt at all!"

She was actually smiling. I explained to her, complete with visual aids (holding the cartridges side by side) that even a much more powerful gun could be more gentle to shoot if it had enough mass to soak up the recoil for her. I played the "shared victim" card, too, complaining about how much it hurt me to shoot those little .380s. Of course, the EAA was way too big to carry but (for her) the .380 was too hard to shoot. I gently suggested that "Maybe you need to look at something in between?"

She was excited and told her boyfriend she wanted to look at some of the other pistols in the shop. Boyfriend looked at me like, well, if looks could kill I wouldn't be posting any more. I justified my actions to myself by concluding that any boyfriend who buys his girl a gun without conferring with her first deserves the kind of wake up call I'd just delivered.

Itty bitty guns are harder to manipulate and more painful to shoot. I'd been through this in the 1990s with my sister; she wound up with a Glock 17 as her carry gun and still loves it.

The OP asked specifically about a home protection gun and they've apparently decided a handgun is indicated. Given those two parameters, I say "Get the biggest and heaviest gun that ergonomically fits and that she can comfortably hold at arm's length. Get it in a minimal chambering like .380, .38 Special, or 9mm."

It's friggin' arthritis, not some completely debilitating disease.

Arthritis can be completely debilitating. Rheumatoid can be crippling.

My sis developed serious rheumatoid arthritis while she was still in her 20s. Now, in her late 50s, "crippling" is a rather kind way to describe how it impacts her life. People who have to deal with that sort of challenge in life deserve a little empathy. They also need guns that don't kick much and are easy to manipulate.

I see lots of 38spl but no suggestions as to ammo load.

I know this makes me sound like an obsolete old man but, well, that's what I am. 148-grain target wadcutters have the lowest recoil of any half-way suitable .38 Special load. They cut a full-diameter hole. Penetration testing has shown they tend to overpenetrate just a bit, though nowhere near as bad as 158-grain round nose.

There's a reason that target wadcutters were a common carry load 50 years ago. They're not ideal but they work pretty well and don't kick much. There are still people for whom they are a reasonable choice.

If you want to look at a semiauto 380, look at the Beretta Cheetah 86. It has the tipup barrel and it is a large frame for the caliber. Makes it very easy to shoot. The tipup barrel makes loading/unloading easy.

So insightful.

Because my sis is deteriorating, I bought her an 86. She liked it, so I'm having it restored. It may replace her Glock 17, eventually, but it's definitely a good option for people with specific needs.

One caution - I spent a long time looking and could never find one in trustworthy condition. I swear, it looks to me like most of the former owners tipped up the barrel and then proceeded to beat on things with it. I couldn't find one that properly, smoothly tipped up but I found one that was close and fixable. It was still ridiculously expensive. If Beretta ever needed to put something back into production, it would be the 86 with slimmer grips, a bigger trigger guard, and better sights. If that were available, I'd be recommending it all the time. I wouldn't hesitate to carry it myself.