Nerve damage from revolvers?

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Slamfire said:
Kinda like the dog that chews on electric cords. Eventually, the dog will get the message.

A Bullseye Pistol shooter with a President's 100 patch showed me the hand scars from the surgeries on his shooting hand. He almost had more trigger finger operations, than fingers!
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Col. Jeff Cooper I know had hand issues towards the end. Kind of like NFL players eventually having health problems, the game always wins.

At 63 my handgun shooting is with .38s, 9mm, .380, .22 or shooting with the off hand.
 
.308 Norma said:
Without actually watching you shoot and re-cock your revolver, I have no way of knowing. I can only tell you that I just tried re-cocking the 2 SA revolvers I have handy (a Ruger Blackhawk and a Freedom Arms Model 1997) and my ring finger was nowhere near the trigger guard with either of them.
That's not to say that that Ruger Blackhawk (a .45 Colt) won't make the tendonitis in my right elbow scold the heck out of me if I run a cylinder full of "Ruger Only" loads through it. And my wife deals with arthritis in her right wrist and thumb joint - leftovers from her IHMSA days with a Ruger Super Blackhawk .44 Mag. But I just asked her, and she told me she doesn't have any problems with any of her fingers.
My wife did have to have an operation for carpal tunnel syndrome in her left wrist. But that was the result of too much time spent on a computer keyboard (she was an Administrative Assistant) and Workman's Comp paid for everything. :cool:
Edited to ask - are we talking about the same finger? I mean, when you say, "ring" finger, are you talking about what I might call my "middle" finger?
If so, I take back what I said about my "ring" finger not being anywhere near my revolver's trigger guards. Of course my middle finger is right up against my revolver's trigger guards. It's just that I don't call that finger my "ring" finger. :)
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I had tendonitis develop in my elbows after going to the range every week for a year or two. Including hot rounds in small light guns.

I also was working out a lot, but in decades of working out, I never developed these elbow injuries until I began shooting regularly. May or may not be related.
 
Hot loads (that's +P) in a revolver kick. Small hands or a poor grip make for an uncomfortable experience. Choose a different hobby or get ahold of things. I recommend being proficient (and confident) with right and left single handed grip, and a two handed grip.

Multiple hot loads in one range session make no sense to me. Take care of yourself and your revolver, and leave it to Rambo (on the screen) to go wild.

Ammo for an actual SD situation is another discussion.
 
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Hikingman said:
Hot loads (that's +P) in a revolver kick. Small hands or a poor grip make for an uncomfortable experience. Choose a different hobby or get ahold of things. I recommend being proficient (and confident) with right and left single handed grip, and a two handed grip.

Multiple hot loads in one range session make no sense to me. Take care of yourself and your revolver, and leave it to Rambo (on the screen) to go wild.

Ammo for an actual SD situation is another discussion.
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I think there is a place for a cylinder or mag full of hot ammo per session that's slated for SD, such that one tests it in their firearm, knows how it shoots and how accurate, and if reliable. But beyond that, no. I probably do this about every other range session, put some +P type stuff through one of my carry guns.
 
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Autodidactic said:
I never developed these elbow injuries until I began shooting regularly. May or may not be related.
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Yeppers, I agree - the tendonitis in your elbows may or may not be related to your shooting regularly. In my case, I'm pretty sure the tendonitis in my elbows is not related to shooting. In my younger (and some people claim more "foolish") years, I did a lot of rock climbing. That, and occationally running a 1/2 horse power, hand-held drill motor at work put a lot of wear on my elbows.
Nevertheless, the tendonitis in my elbows now doesn't bother me until I've ran a cylinder full of .45 Colt "Ruger Only" loads through my Blackhawk. Then it reminds me that maybe I should have taken it a little easier on my elbows back when I was in my 30s and 40s.;)
 
.308 Norma said:
Yeppers, I agree - the tendonitis in your elbows may or may not be related to your shooting regularly. In my case, I'm pretty sure the tendonitis in my elbows is not related to shooting. In my younger (and some people claim more "foolish") years, I did a lot of rock climbing. That, and occationally running a 1/2 horse power, hand-held drill motor at work put a lot of wear on my elbows.
Nevertheless, the tendonitis in my elbows now doesn't bother me until I've ran a cylinder full of .45 Colt "Ruger Only" loads through my Blackhawk. Then it reminds me that maybe I should have taken it a little easier on my elbows back when I was in my 30s and 40s.;)
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Right, the shooting may not have caused it, but shooting powerful handgun loads may aggravate it lol.

Although, I do think it's possible that the shooting was additive. Heavy weight lifting, plus weekly shooting.
 
The Super Blackhawk square back trigger guard is known for banging knuckles.

Without SEEING you shoot and the resulting pain, it is near impossible.

A Dr visit could be your best answer.

Rubber grips may help. Though, I hate the way they look. Wood grips only, for me.
 
.308 Norma said:
Yeppers, I agree - the tendonitis in your elbows may or may not be related to your shooting regularly. In my case, I'm pretty sure the tendonitis in my elbows is not related to shooting. In my younger (and some people claim more "foolish") years, I did a lot of rock climbing. That, and occationally running a 1/2 horse power, hand-held drill motor at work put a lot of wear on my elbows.
Nevertheless, the tendonitis in my elbows now doesn't bother me until I've ran a cylinder full of .45 Colt "Ruger Only" loads through my Blackhawk. Then it reminds me that
1f625.svg
maybe I should have taken it a little easier on my elbows back when I was in my 30s and 40s.;)
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Yes to the 40's thing. I was always incredibly resilient and bounced back from injuries, if I even got any. Suddenly at about 39/40, it's like all the exercise, hard living etc, caught up and I had a left knee injury + tendonitus in both elbows. Now the only one that remains is the left elbow of the three, because I've been babying them all for a year lol. BUT, it's still lingering a year later.
 
I will have to say the BFR Bisley grip is wonderful for heavy recoil, large hands and user friendliness as it does not bite my knuckles even with potent loads. I was getting and have a small knot on my middle finger from the Ruger Bisley grip with much more sedate loads.
 
Regarding the ability to bounce back, I
remember Chuck Norris commenting that
when he hit the age of 50 he started
letting stuntmen do more of the action
stuff. He said he was just not healing
very well.
 
I have torn rotator cuffs in my right shoulder and I daily have the ring and pinky on my right hand go almost totally numb, just by using the mouse on my PC. I notice if I shoot anything more than .32 ACP, it seems to amplify the depth of that numbness. The last time I shot my S&W 629, the two fingers went 90% numb on the first cylinder, and after the 4th or so, it stayed numb for a while after I stopped shooting. Normally, I can get feeling back in less than 30 seconds by just stopping whatever I'm doing, and shaking my hand and moving my shoulder. I'm not planning on shooting anything stronger than .45ACP in the future.
 
Well, I have shot about as much as most, maybe more, and mostly Single Action revolvers. I do have a knot on the joint where it contacts the trigger guard, but no other sensation, or lack of one, in that finger or hand. Of all things, the middle finger of my left hand (my off hand) is slightly crooked from arthritis. I've shot my share of magnum revolvers and a smattering of auto pistols (yes, I have both owned and shot autos) but so far have suffered no such maladies. In fact, the worst injuries to my hands have been while doing household projects. Now, those are bad for you!

Bob Wright
 
Paul7 said:
They also better be saving up for hearing aids.
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Huh? What was that? Speak up...

Working in machine shops did more damage to my hearing than rock-n-roll or shooting, but none of it helped. I got real bad tinnitus, and hearing aids don't help. I bought some of the kind that are supposed to noise-cancel tinnitus. Nope. No go. Still have that constant ringing. I just hear everything else a little better. Very little.

Wearing ear plugs in a machine shop with sulfur oil hanging in the air is bad juju. ENT said plugs and muffs just seal in the oil and it eventually tears up the anvil and drum. Still better than not wearing anything.
 
My hearing suffered from all the time in Navy jets and on aircraft carriers. My bunk was right below the #3 Jet Blast Deflector (very loud during flight ops) with 6,000 psi hydraulic lines 18" from my head. Slept with plugs and muffs or didn't sleep. Shooting likely did not make my hearing any better.
 
People can be "injured" by typing or using a mouse. Any repetitive motion can, over time, aggravate joints and tendons and may even cause significant disability.

https://www.healthline.com/health/repetitive-strain-injury

Yes. Shooting can cause nerve damage, numbness, tendonitis, swelling, stiffness, etc. Pay attention to your body--you feel pain for a reason, those symptoms are there to give you notice. That doesn't mean you have to stop shooting, but it may mean you need to change things around a bit, perhaps treat the issue, perhaps consult an expert on the topic for recommendations.
 
Just want to add some idea. Your symptom might be totally unrelated to shooting. Numb finger or part of a hand can be caused by spinal damage, your doctor (or Google search) can determine which spinal joint causes which finger's numbness. And you can have spinal damage by improper sitting posture, accident (a fall, for example), or just aging. It's worth checking this up too.
 
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csirre said:
Just want to add some idea. Your symptom might be totally unrelated to shooting. Numb finger or part of a hand can be caused by spinal damage, your doctor (or Google search) can determine which spinal joint case which finger's numbness. And you can have spinal damage by improper sitting posture, accident (a fall, for example), or just aging. It's worth checking this up too.
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This is true. About ten years ago I had what I thought was sciatic nerve damage, service related. I went to the VA and the doctor told me to move my wallet to my left hip, stop using it for a briefcase and buy a new one that was longer and slimmer. He said carrying it the way I was and sitting all day in an office chair was causing my hip and back to go out of alignment. I thought he was a total quack but did it anyway just to prove him wrong. Nope, my "nerve damage" cleared up in about a month. The quack was right, I was wrong, glad I followed his advice even though I didn't believe it would help.

BTW: Dr. Google is a lousy physician. ;)
 
GeoDudeFlorida said:
This is true. About ten years ago I had what I thought was sciatic nerve damage, service related. I went to the VA and the doctor told me to move my wallet to my left hip, stop using it for a briefcase and buy a new one that was longer and slimmer. He said carrying it the way I was and sitting all day in an office chair was causing my hip and back to go out of alignment. I thought he was a total quack but did it anyway just to prove him wrong. Nope, my "nerve damage" cleared up in about a month. The quack was right, I was wrong, glad I followed his advice even though I didn't believe it would help.

BTW: Dr. Google is a lousy physician. ;)
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Ergonomics including form, posture, balance, etc, matter a lot
 
JohnKSa said:
People can be "injured" by typing or using a mouse. Any repetitive motion can, over time, aggravate joints and tendons and may even cause significant disability.

https://www.healthline.com/health/repetitive-strain-injury

Yes. Shooting can cause nerve damage, numbness, tendonitis, swelling, stiffness, etc. Pay attention to your body--you feel pain for a reason, those symptoms are there to give you notice. That doesn't mean you have to stop shooting, but it may mean you need to change things around a bit, perhaps treat the issue, perhaps consult an expert on the topic for recommendations.
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Another option is to change types of guns for a bit. For example, shooting long arms isn’t affecting my arms and elbows the way a handgun does. Shooting my shotgun affects my shoulder if anything.
 
this may be way off base, but something to think about -

how's your neck?
i have some issues, stemming from neck problems, one of which is numbness in my fingers. the problem moves around, and sometimes presents as numbness, or tingling, or itching, or aching.
will do one thing for awhile, then change.
 
A couple of years ago I tested a .45 colt Uberti clone with 50 rounds of factory ammo. Not light loads but not optimized for T-Rex either. This was my first time shooting a single action revolver. I wasn’t trying to be a pistolero or anything but I definitely thumb-cocked it and operated the pistol one handed save for when I needed to reload.

I didn’t have numbness but afterwards I absolutely had mild pain in the base of my middle finger, like the gun’s weight had been resting on it and strained or tore something. This pain lingered for a year or so. Not excruciating but the kind of thing you feel once in awhile and it reminds you that you did something stupid.

I never got this when I shot a S&W of any frame size, double or single action.

It definitely cooled my ardor for a SAA type gun.
 
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