Mom wants a handgun.

[Waffleobill]

My mom is 60 years old, has carpal tunnel in both hands, has hand strength issues and has never handled a gun in her life. Before I get her started in the process I'm looking for age / ability appropriate suggestions from those in the know.

I'm thinking a small frame, small caliber, lightweight revolver is the place to start (Ruger LCR series). Reason being she would have difficulty loading magazines, charging the slide, handling in general, etc. with an automatic.

Any suggestions or information regarding past experiences would be appreciated.

[Citadelgrad87]

I have made this recommendation before.

Most people hate it.

Get here a .410 pump from a reputable manufacturer and teach her to use it.

My dad has an LCR, he's very familiar with firearms and it's difficult for him to shoot well, and he practices every couple weeks. Plus with the grip issues, I think a handgun is difficult to master and she likely won't want to practice.

[SonofWWIIDI]

I have made this recommendation before.

Most people hate it.

Get here a .410 pump from a reputable manufacturer and teach her to use it.

My dad has an LCR, he's very familiar with firearms and it's difficult for him to shoot well, and he practices every couple weeks. Plus with the grip issues, I think a handgun is difficult to master and she likely won't want to practice.

This is a good idea.

Also, maybe take her to the range to try out some of your guns and she can see what works for her.

If she's dead set on a handgun, a 9mm without a lot of recoil would probably be the best bet. But again, take her to a range that rents guns and let her try a few. I've found my G34 to be very recoil friendly with 115gr factory loads.

[Pally]

My mom is 60 years old, has carpal tunnel in both hands, has hand strength issues and has never handled a gun in her life. Before I get her started in the process I'm looking for age / ability appropriate suggestions from those in the know.

I'm thinking a small frame, small caliber, lightweight revolver is the place to start (Ruger LCR series). Reason being she would have difficulty loading magazines, charging the slide, handling in general, etc. with an automatic.

Any suggestions or information regarding past experiences would be appreciated.

This would be a good post in the ladies forum, yes you will take some initial crap about what you're thinking is right for your mom...however there are some seasoned, mature shooters there who can probably help you out with some good advice.

[movie zombie]

search in this forum and you will find any and all answers but the end result is your mother has to be active in the buy meaning you can't choose for her.

she needs to go to a range and shoot as many pistols as she possibly can.
only then will she understand her limitations and find THE pistol that fits HER hand.

a small light weight pistol IS NOT the way to go for a newbie.

tryout revolvers.
try her with .22lr.

not large enough caliber?!
the only caliber that is going to be big enough is the one she practices with.
same re the pistol.

again, there is a lot on this topic already in this forum.
and repeating myself once again: she must be involved in this process!
otherwise, you're merely buying yourself another pistol and you might as well buy what you want.

and while I like the idea of a .410 don't just buy one unless she has fired such a weapon herself and says I WANT THIS!

[grantar2]

Have you considered taking her to a local range and letting her try some different guns.

Revolvers are very hard to shoot well, and have limited rounds. Light weight frame revolvers are worse.

Yes they can be easier to load, but speed loading isn't likely to ever be an issue for her.

Find out first if she can shoot, and let her start with a light .22 and move from there. That early expense will help her learn to shoot (if she doesn't already know) and let her find the right gun and caliber.

Pretty much the same path for every shooter from kid to retired.

[Accounting_mom]

[QUOTE=movie zombie;16786094]search in this forum and you will find any and all answers but the end result is your mother has to be active in the buy meaning you can't choose for her.

she needs to go to a range and shoot as many pistols as she possibly can.
only then will she understand her limitations and find THE pistol that fits HER hand.

a small light weight pistol IS NOT the way to go for a newbie.

tryout revolvers.
try her with .22lr.

not large enough caliber?!
the only caliber that is going to be big enough is the one she practices with.
same re the pistol.



This and the others are all good advice. A small frame revolver in anything more than .22 would not be a place to start. They are not a confidence builder. I have enjoyed shooting since my teens, but I HATE practicing with my small frame LCR .38 sp. Trigger pull is long. Recoil makes it harder to control even without the physical issues your mom deals with. Accuracy is harder to achieve. Don't set her up for failure with a bad first experience.

Help Mom find an NRA intro to handguns class that includes some live fire. An all-women class would be ideal. They have a lesson plan, they have the visual aides, they have the experience to get a new shooter started right. My daughter took one and there were several women of your Mom's generation in the class. They were having fun and learning.

[movie zombie]

and given you are in San Jose i'm guessing that perhaps maybe Mom is nearby.

our very own Carla operates a range opportunity every month in San Jose.

this is her thread in the Ladies Forum re that range event: http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/s....php?t=1101428


it would be a great opportunity to try out pistols! and Carla is a very experienced shooter and would be a great person for your Mother to get info from.

Accounting mom is so very right re not setting your Mother upf for failure with a bad experience. I shot a light weight snubbie revolver in .357 and I almost didn't pick up another pistol! and very good advice re getting to a handgun class as well.

[71MUSTY]

I have made this recommendation before.

Most people hate it.

Get here a .410 pump from a reputable manufacturer and teach her to use it.

My dad has an LCR, he's very familiar with firearms and it's difficult for him to shoot well, and he practices every couple weeks. Plus with the grip issues, I think a handgun is difficult to master and she likely won't want to practice.

This^^^ is actually the best answer. Having dealt with this issue myself in the past. Simple, easy to learn, easy to use, easy to remember, easiest to shoot with arthritis, nerve damage, etc.

And impossible for mom to stick in her purse and accidentally pull out at the grocery store or under her pillow and accidentally discharge.

[kcjr1125]

get a SxS either 20g with LOW recoil or 410. i would say 410. Pumps can jam, they do require some force to work action, i know not much but it can be an issue if there are medical conditions in the way...

seriously 410 SxS or 20G would be MY best opinion and if i were in your shoes what i would get her. look at a coach gun like stoeger, you want it to be somewhat light and not too long.

[Asphodel]

My mom is 60 years old, has carpal tunnel in both hands, has hand strength issues and has never handled a gun in her life. Before I get her started in the process I'm looking for age / ability appropriate suggestions from those in the know.

I'm thinking a small frame, small caliber, lightweight revolver is the place to start (Ruger LCR series). Reason being she would have difficulty loading magazines, charging the slide, handling in general, etc. with an automatic.

Any suggestions or information regarding past experiences would be appreciated.

Hello, Mr Waffle,

Yes, as mz noted, I do a monthly 'newbies' outreach' basic firearms orientation event at the old San Jose range, every second Saturday.

You and your mother are quite welcome....... : )

I don't have one of the new Ruger .22 revolvers, but she could get some basic familiarisation fire with an older Harrington Richardson or Iver Johnson double-action .22, which are functionally identical.

There is the question of her hand strength, relative to the double-action pull of a revolver, which can only be found by trying it for herself. The simplest way to do that would be at a gun shop, using inexpensive plastic dummy rounds to 'dry-fire' the revolver. (unlike a centre-fire pistol or revolver, a rimfire must never be dry-fired without a dummy round in the chamber, to cushion the hammer nose or firing pin tip)

There have been endless discussions on Calguns regarding alleged 'minimum caliber' for self-defence.

I regard the modern 'maximum-power' .22 rounds as capable of effective close-range self-defence, but only if their user has taken the time and effort to learn to fire reasonably accurately under high-order stress, which, let us be very clear, is 'not easy'.

And.....yes, a shotgun, say, a .410 or 20ga. double, shortened to 'riot gun' length, would be a very effective short-range defence weapon. There is little question that a shotgun slug or #4 buck round would positively stop a human assailant, if hit 'centre of mass'.
Ideally, of course, in an armed self-defence situation, the criminal will see that the intended victim is armed, and will turn and run, for the obvious reason.....but a presented pistol dare not be a 'bluff'......one must be mentally and emotionally prepared to fire, if there is no other realistic choice.

(edited.....I shortened this comment a bit.....seems I'd gone off on a little bit of a 'rant'.......which related to some other discussions on Calguns, awhile back........sorry about that..... : ) )

cheers

Carla

[jeremiah12]

Take mom to the San Jose Newbies shoot. Before getting mom a gun, let her learn how to shoot. .22s are are great platform to learn on. The new shooter learns to the basics of shooting without having to deal with recoil. If, for whatever reason, that is as far as a person progresses, a .22 can be used for self-defense. (I had to 40 years ago).

After becoming comfortable shooting .22s, the she can move up to a larger caliber and try out other handguns.

Lighter guns have more felt recoil, heavier guns have more mass to absorb the recoil resulting in less felt recoil. I have arthritis in my hands and thought I did not have the strength to operate a slide. The owner of a LGS showed me a way to rack the slide that did not take a lot of hand strength and after some practice I do it just as fast as anyone else.

For Glocks, you can get a slide pull charging handle (http://www.glockstore.com/custom-par...harging-handle) to make racking a slide easier. There might be similar devices for other semi-autos.

Your mom may not be limited to just revolvers. Ultimately, she needs to make the choice and in order to make the right choice for her, she will need to first learn to shoot and then try out a lot of different guns. There are so many different ones available there will be one that she can easily use and will enjoy taking to the range once a month or so to practice with. Regular practice is important.

I have found that regular shooting has helped with my arthritis. It does break up the adhesions and loosens up the joints. If I go too long between shooting, I feel it much more when I finally get to visit the range.

[BonnieB]

OP, I think the place to start is: "Does your mom even WANT to shoot". Does SHE want to shoot, or do you want her to ?

If "No", then stop right there.

If "Yes, she really does" then "why?". Home defense? Carry? Outdoor fun at the range?

I have a feeling that YOU want her to have a gun. But does SHE want one? Really?

If it's for carry or home defense, she ought to sit down and have a long brutally honest discussion with herself about whether she can really shoot down an intruder, blow his arm clean off, put him in a wheelchair? And then face his mother in the grocery store two weeks later. I had that discussion with myself, and came out, after much soul-searching with "yes". Not "hell, yes", just yes. If my life, but not my property, were on the line. And the very best home defense gun in the world is a loaded 12 gauge shotgun.


Until she answers these questions, there's no point in talking caliber or model.

But it still doesn't matter, if she doesn't really WANT to shoot.

If she just wants to pop away for fun on the range, a 22 revolver or SA will be fine. Every woman I know has had to build up some muscle strength in order to rack a slide or remove a slide. I was in tears with my first gun, but I just had to strengthen up my hands. Which I did, squeezing a tennis ball, watching tv for two weeks. After that, no prob. Also, there's technique involved...

If OP's mom has bona fide medical issues with her hands, etc., her doctor ought to be in the conversation.

If she does actually want to shoot, for whatever reason, is she really going to go to the range and practice at least once a month? (And two or three times a month would be better). If she leaves the gun in a bureau drawer for a year and then thinks she's going to do home defense, she will probably be the one to get hurt (god forbid).

Just because she's 60 doesn't mean she's not competent. I'm 67, RSO's tell me I'm shooting in the 90th percentile, I'm shooting in my first handgun league in September. And no, I haven't been shooting for 20 years. More like five. It's my "retirement hobby".

And I shamelessly use a Magula to load mags, wear baseball gloves to shoot in cold weather and ask for help from my shooting buddies if I need it.

['ol shooter]

Alarm system, panic bracelet, pepper spray, safe room, cell phone.

[jimmykan]

If your mom has carpal tunnel syndrome and weak grip stregth, I am not so sure she can effectively pull the double action trigger on a revolver, regardless of caliber.

A S&W J-frame from the factory will have a trigger pull in the 10-lb range. You can get it down to 8-lbs if you swap out the springs. Maybe even lower with some gunsmithing, but you may reduce ignition reliability.

The 410-bore PUMP shotgun recommendation makes sense to me. It would require the least hand strength to operate.

Break-action shotguns are a no-go in my opinion. They require some muscle to open due to the cocking action.