[tkaction]

I have been diagnosed with essential tremors. It means that I shake a lot.
One of my favorite things to do is shoot pistols. I want a concealable single action light trigger pull 9mm. I have a ruger LC9 and I shoot palm size at 10 yards. I wonder if I could do the same at 20 yards with a single action of approx. the same size? Any suggestions from experience?

[gspn]

A buddy of mine has the same thing. He was a bit down about it and how it affected his shooting...I told him not to worry because if he ever needs to use his gun it will likely be at close range anyway. Just shoot and have fun.

[oldandslow]

tk, 12/13/12

Essential tremor can be lessened with a number of medications (primidone and beta blockers like Inderal). If you have enough tremor to affect your activities of daily living (especially shooting) then ask your doc for something to slow the tremors down a bit.

If you're looking for a light, SA pistol then that probably means a 1911 of some sort. CZ also has some SA 9mm pistols too. Then there are the precocked DAO pistols which have a fairly light, short trigger pull (think Glock. I think this also applies to the SW M&P and SA-XD series but I could be wrong).

If you can still shoot palm size groups at 10 yards then you're still doing pretty good. If your groups start to open up then just move the targets closer- as long as your having fun.

best wishes and Merry Christmas- oldandslow

[BSA1]

How much control do you have over your temors?

Years ago I knew a very good bullseye shooter who had temors so the sights were constantly moving. His technique was to weave his gun so the sights formed a figure 8 on the target. When the upper and lower parts of the 8 crossed he fired the gun.

Like I said he was a very good bullseye shooter especially with the 1911.

[tkaction]

I should study my tremors and see if I can figure a technique. I was avoiding meds but may change my mind soon. I wan a pistol that is of compact size for carring.

[brnmw]

I have the same issue and I have had it really all my life even as a teenager, however it has gotten a little worse with age and I am not that old (34 Years old). Rifles I have always done pretty well with, but pistols are another story. I really realized just how bad it was when I affixed a laser sight on one of my pistols, went to the local gun range turned on the laser and pointed it at my target. That laser was dancing all over the place. The range officer walked up being me and said..."Don't be so nervous son that's a great pistol you got there it ain't gonna hurt ya!" It was very embarrassing so I turned off the laser took a shot and nailed the target right in the center, he had a very surprised look on his face. I told him my problem, and that I do have control but it is just a little harder than say a normal steady person. The laser just made me realize just how bad it really is at times. The good news is that I almost always hit what I am aiming for so no worries there. I qualified quite well in my CHL course.

I carry a Taurus M85 "Ultra Light" .38 Special snubbie that is SA/DA great little gun, and yes it is .38 Special+P capable as well.

Good Luck. :)

[brnmw]

if I can figure a technique

Exactly, It is not easy and I can't really even tell you how I do it, but with practice and patience... along with a gun that feels right in your hand it can be done. I am not on any meds either, don't like taking anything other than Multi- vitamins or the occasional Advil or allergy medication. It can be done though.

[bainter1212]

I don't have the tremor issue, but I can suggest a gun. Springfield EMP. Compact 1911 in 9mm. Not too many compact single actions out there......

[RTR_RTR]

I have been diagnosed with essential tremors. It means that I shake a lot.
One of my favorite things to do is shoot pistols. I want a concealable single action light trigger pull 9mm. I have a ruger LC9 and I shoot palm size at 10 yards. I wonder if I could do the same at 20 yards with a single action of approx. the same size? Any suggestions from experience?

IANAD (med student), so I have a rather small knowledge base, but from a brief read, it looks like propranolol is recommended as 1st line treatment if you decide to pursue medications. Propranolol is also an effective medication for high blood pressure, so if you're hypertensive and worried about tacking on an additional medication, you could talk with your doctor about the possibility of substituting propranolol for your current regimen, rather than just tacking on another pill to take. Of note, in case it comes up, alcohol does alleviate essential tremor, but tolerance builds, and it requires increasing quantity to achieve the same effect, so I would recommend against that.

Outside of medications, I, like another poster said, would recommend "messing around" with your tremor to see what type of actions make it worse. Commonly, they worsen as you try to increase your precision (e.g. as you get closer to your face while trying to touch your nose, or extending your arm and holding it steady). It's possible that intentionally moving your sight picture a little while you aim (like the figure 8 pattern mentioned earlier) could cut reduce the tremor.

If you don't mind a bit of medical lingo, I'd be happy to PM you an article summarizing the medication options.

Edit: You shoot better with a mouse gun and a tremor than I do with a full size pistol and youth :o

[brnmw]

Of note, in case it comes up, alcohol does alleviate essential tremor, but tolerance builds, and it requires increasing quantity to achieve the same effect, so I would recommend against that.

Lone Star Beer and Rebecca Creek Whiskey have always seemed to work well... I did not realize a high tolerance to alcohol was considered a problem! j/k of course... :D

[jim243]

It is time to start benchrest shooting with a rifle. As a life long pistol shooter, I now spend all my time on the rifle range and very little on the pistol range. With todays lighter rifles and adjustable triggers, you will be supprised at how accurate you can shoot.

Just a suggestion.
Jim

[MachIVshooter]

Commonly, they worsen as you try to increase your precision (e.g. as you get closer to your face while trying to touch your nose, or extending your arm and holding it steady). It's possible that intentionally moving your sight picture a little while you aim (like the figure 8 pattern mentioned earlier) could cut reduce the tremor.

+1

I've never known people who were actually diagnosed, but have had friends that just always has a case of the shakes. They developed a snap shooting technique. They never tried to carefully steady and aim the gun; they learned to squeeze the trigger quickly but controlled the instant they had a desireable sight picture. I myself found this technique can produce rather decent results with practice. I'm hypertensive, I smoke, and I also used to have a bad habit of killing an entire pot of coffee before a range trip. I generally have very good fine motor control (heck, I model in T-gauge, which is 1:450 with 3mm rails, 1/3 the size of N-scale trains), but when you combine hypertension with a lot of stimulant, you get shakiness.

[tkaction]

I spend a lot of time shooting and was pretty good for a while. All my pistols xcept my p32 are very accurate by themselves so a hand size group at 10 yards is disappointing to me. Some days after coffee it is the size of a paper plate. Yesterday I rested my smith 2213 (about 3 inch barrel) into about 6 inches at 25 yards but it was a calm day for me. By the way my 2213 is the nicest little 22 I have ever had. I have owned 422, 622 and 2206's and this was my favorite and most accurate(for its length it would outshoot the 422's)
I think that line of smith was the nicest looking 22 design I have ever seen.
I wish they still made them.

[Furncliff]

I have a tremor as a side effect of a medication I've been taking for a long time, I'm 67. MachIVshooter suggested a snap shooting technique, which is essentially what I use. I only shoot at paper targets when bench resting a pistol, I shoot at reactive targets. Some of the targets are 6 and 8 inch gongs, some are blocks of wood. Almost all my shooting is at 10-20 yards. The gun comes down between shots. up... front sight on target, shoot, lower the gun and repeat. After I feel warmed up I'll shoot the reactive targets (10 or so), one right after another. It's a little bit of a Zen thing because when I'm doing my best I'm not aware of the tremor, or the other actions that go into hitting the target.

I shoot my 1911's in 9mm or .45 the best, partly because of the trigger.

[r1derbike]

I've been on propranolol for over 35 years (migraines, tach., hypertension, slight tremor). Benadryl also helps me, and does double duty for my allergies.

Long guns, I have a windage pulse on bench that I've tried to minimize by various position changes to my body, and hold techniques. What works the best? Timing the shot!

[hemiram]

I have days where I have the "shakes". I don't have a clue what causes them, first time I can remember having them was about 40 years ago, in high school. Normally, I have zero, absolutely no shake at all, I do a lot of electronics work for friends who are very shaky at 55+. But sometimes, and I can tell as soon as I wake up if I have them, they are bad to the point I shouldn't even bother shooting anything less than a scoped .22, it's pretty hard to mess up with one of those. I went shooting at a friend's house a while back and I shook BAD. I was all over the place. The next day, I was shakeless, and the others were shocked how much better I shot than before. None of them seem to have days with the shakes, so they had no idea what I was talking about. It has no pattern that I can decipher. Caffeine seems to have no real affect on me, morphine has pretty much none either. I was heavily dosed with it in the hospital for pain after knee surgery, and nothing happened, I didn't even get drowsy. The nurse came in time after time, giving me more and more of it, and couldn't believe I was conscious, let alone totally wide awake. Must be an inherited thing as my mother was the same way, it didn't really affect her much either.

I recently decided to pass up a chance to shoot several full auto weapons as I was having a major shakes day. Next day, I was fine. I have no idea why. The doctor ran tests on me years ago and found nothing. I had them really badly that day. After 40 years, I'm pretty sure it's not fatal.

[taraquian]

I also have essential tremors and have been shooting about the same size groups, although I tend to use heavier guns. I seem to open up my groups with lightwieght guns. My 1911 does me pretty good but my cz 75 compact is one of my favorites and is a little smaller.