Firearms and the elderly!

Love 1911s. Yeah I'm an old fart.

A few years ago arthritis in the thumbs no longer allowed for slide racking. Had corrective surgery and after almost a year they were not like new but plenty good enough to rack a slide. So 1911s it is for a little while longer.
After that maybe switch to a wheelgun, but will put that off for as long as possible.

 

Running into that problem with my wife. Bought her a model 642 S&W airweight DAO a few years ago. She can't pull the trigger even after I installed a spring kit. She has an old Makarov that she can rack the slide on and operate single action, so that's what she keeps in the nightstand. Bought the revolver because she wanted something that was light enough to carry.

I like to shoot it with +P .38 Spec (the revolver is rated for them by S&W) it's a little powerhouse. But the recoil with those loads is a bit much for an 89 pound woman. The revolver weighs only 14 or 15 ounces. Would never consider such a light revolver in .357.

Maybe one of these days I'll run it past a gunsmith to see if they can lighten up the trigger pull. We can choose more controllable loads for her use.

 

Just kidding....

The OP goes a long way to show that the ideal firearm choice , will be best determined by the individual , who needs to use the firearm.

No matter what you think...the best firearm / caliber for someone , is the firearm /caliber , that they can handle safely and shoot well with.
Andy

 

At 72 I'm working on that myself. Mrs. Dawg however, is looking askance at the idea....Wimmin!! No sense at all sometimes.

 

Another syndrome that people get after years of sitting at a desk typing is Cubital tunnel syndrome. Elbow pain and tingling fingers. Sitting at a desk year after year is so harmful to your body. I know, I am a victim of.

Elderly and firearms, one thing I noticed when we were going through Dad's guns was that they were dirty. I have concluded that he could not take them apart 100% to clean them. Arthritic hands and failing eye-sight made it hard for him to take care of things properly.

 

I'm getting up there too. Already getting mail from AARP! LOL. But I'll keep on shooting until it's impossible for me to get to the range.

 

What! I'm getting duns to buy myself a plot !

 

We get nearly new handguns traded in frequently that elderly shooters found they couldn't handle. One gentleman who's nearing 90 went through several small semi-autos and light revolvers. (Including the 340PD, that was uncomfortable even with .38 Special loads.) He finally found a revolver he was comfortable with. A six shot Ruger LCR in .327 Federal Magnum.

I know a petite mid 50's lady with tiny hands that carries a Keltec PMR30. Having carried mine for a week under a rain jacket as Hurricane Florence crawled over us, I can see why she likes it. It's ammo sensitive, but shoots Aguila Silver Eagle .22WMR into one penny size hole at 7 yards and will ring the 80 yard gong 4 out of 5 times. I honestly wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of even the least accurate .22WMR ammo, but it's comforting to know that the Aguila is going to hit where it's aimed.

Even plastic guns have their place.

 

At an age where I'm having problems with recoil myself I have had to make changes. The M1A has been handed off to the younger ones. The lever 30-30 is no longer reached for first. The 12 shotty is now loaded with reduced recoil rounds. I too was against the AR at first but finally one of the sons convinced me to at least try it. Took a bit but have come to respect it as a viable weapon. So much so that I now build my own. The "lego block" rifles suit me fine nowdays and is the first rifle reached for now. Pistol is my downfall. Can't find anything to replace my 1911s that I trust anywhere near as much. Aside from the fact that I've been using one for more than five decades and am very good and familiar with them I know personally what the round is capable of. And what it is not. after trying the 9mm in some of the plastic guns I have given up for now changing. I did retire my beloved 1911A1 as daily defense and moved to either an officers model or better still one of my alloy framed Star PDs loaded with 185gr. hollow points. Near the same feel, operation, hold, and stopping power so I'm happy. Hardest part of the whole damn process was admitting to myself that it was time to recognize that I AM aging and maybe listen to the wife and kids a LITTLE bit more.

 

Dirty, yet fully functional?

I'm guilty of that. Rarely do I do more than drag a bore snake down the bore and wipe things down with Ballistol. Depends on the firearm. There's one that's intentionally never been, and may never be cleaned. Others depend on design and materials. I'll always clean the bolt face, bore and chamber, but usually little else more than annually. Some because of the intrusive nature of the disassembly, and wear from too aggressive cleanings. I've been shooting most of my favorites for 40+ years and have found a comfortable level of "dirty." Black powder and corrosive ammo shooters obviously require more care.

 

Some might appear to be dirty until you look closer. But yeah, I'm a little lazy sometimes with some of them. I've also become a fan of spray brake cleaner(non-chlorinated) and Liquid wrench lubricating oil and chain and cable lube. Their white lithium spray is used as an assembly aid and protectorate sometimes. Lucas gun oil is the only heavy oil I use anymore when called for.

 

I must agree on the .357 mag /.38 special caliber being the more practical round .
A dual action revolver is going to be the simpler gun to load and reload over handling magazines especially for challenged hands .
being a revolver one can also use snake shot ,something a semiautomatic cannot cycle .
Rossi makes a fine lever gun in .357 mag , which can also feed the .38 spl just fine .

 

Very good point, as even some commercially produced (legal) JHP ammo is questioned. Are Hollow-Point Bullets Illegal For Personal Defense

 

Arizona also has both Castle Doctrine and Stand Your Ground. Unfortunately, that is not the case for every State and some people have what I believe to be unrealistic legal expectations of them when they are in their own home.

 

It's not the legality of a bullet type that concerns me. It's the potentially endless civil lawsuits brought by the family of the deceased. No need to give them an opportunity to claim I had loaded "especially deadly" ammo.

 

Not to derail my own thread here, but this brings up a serious consideration I have had to come to terms with. We all know that a pistol is a poor weapon in a fight, accuracy is questionable when speed is essential, and bullet performance is much less then any of us would like, my own experience bears this out. I choose to carry the most powerful semi auto I can reasonable operate and shoot accurately ad fast with. The mighty 10mm auto. Unfortunately, the factories have been extremely slow to offer any kind of defensive ammo for this flavor (Not counting predator loads) so i am forced to choose less potent factory loads, or roll my own and take my chances against a state that has a very corrupt justice system. It's my belief that I should carry the most power I can and stack the deck as far in my favor as I can, justice be dammed! What really boggles the mind here is having a justice system that tries to claim premeditated murder by choosing one caliber over others, and bullet type, as extra deadly, he'll yea their extra deadly, I don't want to just mostly kill some one, I want them all the way dead!
I figure my chances might be a little better if I can get a good lawyer who will listen to what I tell him!

 

FWIW - this is the guy that did mine. Never needed the opiates post surgery either. Nerve block stayed for a week, and then ibuprofen was sufficient.

 

You know that the AR platform you have can lets say ''support'' a 300 blk-out witch is a 30 cal,Also 7.62x39 which is a hoot but I prefer the 300 since its 30 cal, 9mm is another option for the hallways, Nothing really heavy duty for conversion in most cases,BCG,Upper and different magazine with the exception of the 300 blk-out witch is only the upper being changed out and you can roll smoke with a dirty thurty!!! lol