Bad wrist searching for lightest recoil 9mm

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JBrady555

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Hey Guys, I have a extremely bad right wrist and I'm trying to stay active shooting without ending up in pain. Right now the gun I shoot the most is a Sig P250 9mm Full size. After 75 to 100 rounds this gun starts to hurt my bad wrist. Now the other day I shot a Ruger P89 and that gun felt almost like shooting a 22lr. The first thing I thought was that the heavier all steel ruger was absorbing more recoil due to weight, but my sig is only 3oz lighter than the ruger. Is 3oz of more weight able to lighten the recoil that much? I guess the main reason I'm starting this thread is to get gun recommendations that have the same felt recoil as the ruger P89. I would like to get a glock but after my experiences with the 32oz ruger and my 29oz sig, the 22oz glock scares the crap out of my wrist and I've never even shot one, lol. Thanks for any info.

P.S. I know that I could just 22lr to take care of my wrist but I'm trying to find a good light recoil gun for carry/home defense.
 
Recoil is so subjective because of hand/wrist geometry that it is hard to measure in a meaningful way.

Weight, spring sizes and slide velocity factor in, as does ammunition, bore axis, grip shape, moving and stationary weight, frame rigidity, etc etc

So you would have to experiment with a bunch of guns and the same ammunition load to really get the info you need ... or learn to shoot left-handed ... or get a gun with a rimfire conversion and shoot .22 for recreation and 9x19 for proficiency only.
 
if you re-loaded than your problem disappears with a slight powder adjustment and possibly a lighter spring to keep the gun 'in balance'.

the H&K P7 is gas operated and has a mellow recoil. chrome refurbished are out now for$808 shipped. but the hand squeeze may be a draw back for you. if your grip is good and your purse can handle it....
 
Heavy guns soak up more recoil than lighter guns. If you want the lightest recoiling gun, get a 9mm 1911.
 
CZ 75b and add a Kadet conversion and you'll have a the steel 9 with a .22 conversion. I like the ergos on mine and I've had light weight women shooting it. Your situation is as good as an excuse to re-load as I've heard. Lots of loads out there to tame the 9mm recoil. Failing that perhaps buying a one of each 9mm ammo brands and different bullet weights and experiment.

I've had some good results wearing a glove, and changing grips so that I get a better purchase on the pistol. I went through four sets of grip panels before I was happy with my 9mm.
 
Ruger P95 and Glock Gen 4 17 both are also good. I have the same problem. I had a KelTec P11 and that just did not feel good after the first few rounds.
 
I agree on the HK P7 and CZ-75B, SP-01, etc. You can also start reloading and practice with lighter 9MM target loads, and with the addition of the CZ Kadet Kit, can also have cheap .22LR practice.
 
You might also look around and see if you can locate one of the old Steyr S-model pistols. They're extremely ergonomic and have less felt recoil due to the bore axis being quite low.
 
Sounds like you already found your answer. Just pick up a P89, sell off the Sig. It is a great firearm, and cheap to boot. Use the extra cash for more ammo/range time!
 
My glock either model, is about as light as I have felt with the proper ammo. 1911's, are great, but if your wrist is bad, u may have a problem racking the slide on the micro ones, like the emp, mine is in 40, but it is the reason the guy before me, couldn't use it. He also was a younger healthy man, but left handed and could not rack the slide. Test them first, but glocks are pretty soft shooting in 9, along with lightweight. If you want even less recoil, then a steel gun is what you need, like a Barretta or cz, or an older model S&W 39 or 59 series. There are also many revolvers that have moon clips made to shoot various calibers, you may want to try those also. Or the older model Rugers.
 
How the gun is tuned for cartridge power to recoil spring certainly plays some part. But overall it's strictly down to mass of the gun. The heavier the better in terms of lessening recoil. My 40 oz CZ Shadow has less felt recoil than any lighter gun I've shot.

And yes, all else being equal I don't doubt that 3 oz would make that much difference. Especially if the amount of recoil is so close to the edge that it takes that many rounds before it bothers you to that degree.

If your wrist were in worse shape it would only take a magazine or less to bother you. In such a case there likely would not be ANY options for guns which you could shoot without discomfort and pain. But since it takes a few magazines to get to that point a slight change to a heavier gun for your range sessions will do much to extend your 9mm shooting.

What about mixing in a bunch of .22 with your 9mm practice? Trigger time is good time. So shoot a bit of .22 then a mag of 9, then a couple of .22 then another of 9, etc.

As for worrying about this for defensive purposes I wonder how much shooting you expect to encounter. If it takes 5 or 6 magazines worth of 9mm to bother your wrist then the half to two magazines needed to deal with any sort of normal "social work" isn't an issue. So just continue to carry the lightweight gun you have now for daily carry.

You'll also want to practice with it for obvious reasons but maybe just limit your practicing to a smaller amounts with some other shooting of lower recoil stuff in between to extend your range session and avoid the impacts adding up so fast in a short time.
 
There is a wrist wrap named "Professional's Choice" that kinda looks like a boomerang when opened. It has a thumb hole where the thumb is placed then you simply wrap the rest around the wrist and it velcro's closed. It doesn't add bulk to the palm of the hand but does support the wrist extremely well. Thinner than many shooting gloves. This could help but dealing with arthritis pain can be a bear. Anti-inflammatory meds help of course. Changing the handgun is an option though you may want to reduce range time to keep from further aggrevating a bad wrist. Sometimes the condition just is what it is and a lower caliber/less recoil option may be forced upon you.

A few years ago my support (left) hand had 3 surgery procedures and my doctor was reluctant to clear me for my CHL renewal range proficiency after a 2 week healing until I told him I'm only shooting 50 out of a Sig P239. He's a gun guy so just smiled and said good luck on the range.

Best of luck finding a happy medium.
 
I expected my CZ 75B to be very light recoiling but it feels like most any other 9mm to me, probably because of the high bore axis. Too much muzzle rise for a bad wrist IMO.

9mm 1911s are the lowest recoil 9mms I've ever fired.
 
Beretta 92FS. I am amazed at just how little felt recoil is present with this pistol. I shot a hundred rounds of .45 this morning and then shot my Beretta. It seemed like a cap gun to me.
 
A 9mm 1911 is very soft shooting. Its the only 9mm my wife (5'2", 110 lbs) actually enjoys shooting.

The 9mm RIA "Tactical" has great sights, very nice trigger, works fine with the Metalform 9mm 1911 mags from CDNN, and the price is very nice ~$450 brand new.
 
I'll bet trigger finger fatigue could be a factor as well.

I recommend a fullsize 5" steel 1911 in 9mm. I think Les Baer offers those. And Ed Brown will surely make one.
 
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