Handgun for those with arthritis?

[DrDeFab]

My father will be 80 soon, and is determined to be independent as long as he safely can. He's worried about home break-ins targeting the elderly. It's not a big problem in their small town, but it has happened.

In the past, he's relied on a old 20g SxS, but he keeps it downstairs and would like a backup in the upstairs bedroom - which makes sense to me.

The catch is, his arthritis makes it difficult to operate most handguns. He's plenty strong enough, but has lost too much flexibility in the finger joints. Revolver triggers are too long a pull, reloading a 1911 is a lengthy ordeal, and so on. He's currently set up with a Beretta 92F with a "D" spring, and he seems to be able to manage that - since he has 18 rounds before having to reload. It's kept in condition two.

However, if there are better options, I would love to hear about them.

...and yes, the day is coming when I will need to collect his car keys, the Beretta, the SxS, and his Henry Golden Boy. But I'm in no hurry.

 

[bradepb]

I know you asked about handguns but what about .20 Gauge double short barrel shotgun if its for in the house. easy to load/unload and fire. Something like a youth model so it would be easy to manuever

 

[481]

How about a slide-action (like the Rem 870) in 20 ga (of perhaps .410 if recoil becomes a problem) for backup in the bedroom?

Or is he absolutely bound to having his backup being a pistol?

My mom has really bad RA in her hands and has had to go to a Ruger single action (bearcat) revolver in .22.

 

[rcmodel]

Ruger's new LC380 is supposed to be ideal for that sort of situation.

It is a 9mm size gun, but has a much lighter recoil spring that should be easier to operate.

http://www.ruger.com/products/lc380/index.html

Of course the DAO trigger pull might be a problem??

rc

 

[tarosean]

A derringer?

 

[rcmodel]

Derringers are hard to cock.
Even if your hands don't hurt.

rc

 

[BCRider]

The problem is that he would need to actually try any of the suggestions. It's going to be pretty much impossible for anyone to know what he can manage or not given his particular state of difficulty in hand and finger movement. What works for one person with arthritis may not work for another that has a different or more severe set of symptoms and mobility issues.

I'd suggest that if the shotgun he has downstairs works well for him and if he's content and capable with it that he/you get another one just like it for upstairs. That way there's no new lessons to learn.

 

[Archaic Weapon]

Why not get another SxS, like a Stoeger Coach Gun? If he likes it, and can use it, it's hard to beat, and hard to forget how to use a SxS.

 

[Byrd666]

A friend of mine is going through something similar with his wife. She has extreme case of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in both arms and can barely lift up a small cup of coffee let alone a rifle or full size pistol. My recommendation for her was a Kel-Tec PMR-30. And so far it's working for her. Might work well for your father too.

 

[beeenbag]

reloading a 1911 is a lengthy ordeal, and so on.

I don't understand this concept. Is loading the firearm with the magazine the lengthy ordeal, or is it loading the magazine itself? In either case it is going to be the same with any autoloader.

I would highly suggest a SA only semi auto for someone in this situation. Have a couple mags loaded for him so all he has to do is change them if he needs them. They make some really nice speedloaders that makes loading the mags really easy now a days too.

I might even suggest a Browning Hi-power, 13 rounds on tap, SA trigger, absorbs recoil nicely and completely safe cocked and locked. All he has to do is sweep the safety, then pull the trigger.

 

[stogiegila]

The Ruger LCR is a small lightweight revolver (.38 special) the trigger pull is the lightest of any revolver I have experienced including those that have had trigger jobs on them.

The one without the laser comes with a nice Hogue like grip which helps on recoil.

Otherwise I'd suggest a G26 or G19. Have it loaded and racked for him. He may only be able to get a magazine through it but you are looking at 10 to 15 rounds of 9mm, which should get the job done. Recoil is manageable. I actually found the G26 had less recoil than the G19. Definitely put a Hogue sleeve grip on it to absorb recoil and help his grip.

The Glocks are substantially lighter than the Beretta and there are no switches \ safeties or decockers to deal with.

Just my 2 cents, but best of luck

 

[threefeathers]

We have this problem in many older people we are teaching. We have a class that allows folks to shoot many handguns and there are three that arthritic folks tend to like.
1. The Walther P22.
2. The Ruger LCP
3. The Beretta Bobcat.
Yes, we are sometimes surprised, as we were with a 81 year old lady who could handle a Glock 26 as long as we loaded it.

 

[tarosean]

reloading a 1911 is a lengthy ordeal, and so on.

Those Maglula loaders make it extremely simple.

In my last CHL renewal class there was an 80yr old woman that couldnt work the action on her snubby due to the same issue and did not pass. However, earlier in the class the instructor was demonstrating one of the mag loaders and I watched her load magazines for her son with the Maglula.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

In the past, he's relied on a old 20g SxS, but he keeps it downstairs and would like a backup in the upstairs bedroom - which makes sense to me.

If that works well for your dad I suggest buying the same gun and putting it upstairs in his bedroom. Don't forget to buy him a good small flashlight too.

 

[xxjumbojimboxx]

A friend of mine is going through something similar with his wife. She has extreme case of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in both arms and can barely lift up a small cup of coffee let alone a rifle or full size pistol. My recommendation for her was a Kel-Tec PMR-30. And so far it's working for her. Might work well for your father too.

good pick!

 

[herrwalther]

I always recommend pistols with tilt-up barrels for weak hand/arthritis shooters. Beretta 84, Taurus PT-22/25 and Beretta Bobcat/Tomcat are the only ones I know of. Great little pistols, but very limited on cartridge power. .22LR, .25ACP and .32ACP aren't the best for defense but they are better than a stick.

 

[Deaf Smith]

As herrwalthere says, Beretta makes a .380 with tip up barrel (and also the Tomcat .38 and Jetfire .22 that have tip up barrels.)

No racking the slides and easy DA triggers.

Take a look at them Dr.

I may pack a Glock but I can tell you Beretta makes good ones!

Deaf

 

[golden]

NO MORE BERETTA TIP UP 380's

Deaf,

Beretta is no longer listing the model 86 .380ACP pistol and stopped selling it a couple of years ago. In fact, the last time I checked, their website did not list any of the model 84,85 or 86 pistols.

You can find the model 84 on the used gun market without much effort. It has light recoil, large magazine capacity (13 + 1), good trigger and sights and can even be "cocked and locked", though I would advise against it if your dad can pull the double action trigger.

If the recoil or operation of a .380ACP prove to much, then a .32ACP loaded with an expanding bullet like the SILVER TIP, GOLD DOT, COR BON Powerball or HYDRA SHOK might be the answer. Recoil in a mid size gun like the BERETTA model 81 or 82 or WALTHER PP should make them easy to shoot.

My wife has problems with shooting now and I gave her my old SIG P-6 police trade in. The grip and trigger are good for her, but she cannot reload the empty mags, so I load them up for her.
I also gave her my old BERETTA Tomcat, which she can load by tipping up the barrel and inserting a round. The small size makes it easy for her to operate and it is just large enough to avoid recoil or grip control becoming a problem.

good luck,

Jim

 

[340PD]

Revolver with a nice trigger job. Preferably one that uses moonclips. You load up a few for him and he is good to go.

 

[il.bill]

My wife has serious issues with calcium build-up in her fingers. After quite a bit of experimentation we have settled on .38 spl. HP loaded in a Uberti SAA clone and a S&W Model 10. Most times she cannot pull the trigger DA on the S&W but she can cock either revolver with the heel of her left hand and fire it single action with no problem. They are a little heavy, but hand strength is not her problem, only finger issues. Firing the 158 grain .38spl. HP does not hurt her hands in the .357 magnum Uberti nor the Heavy Barrel 10-8.

While this is certainly not an ideal configuration, it works for her. Between the two of them she has eleven shots under her control in a home invasion situation.

 

[Tcruse]

Agree, Glock is good solution. I would add G17 Gen 4 to the mix. You may want to put a "-" connector in for him to reduce the trigger pull weight. Since a Glock has a square slide you can load the first round by using any square corner (like desk top) to push the slide back.

 

[Certaindeaf]

I think you can have arthritis and still be strong in the torso. Knock on wood.
This question gets asked here very often.
If he won't limp-wrist it, I'd suggest a loaded high-capacity Glock with high performance ammunition.
They usually work (so they say) so racking the slide/clear before lock-back shouldn't be an issue.

 

[mljdeckard]

In addition to the new Ruger, a Walther PK380 has a very easy rack.

 

[Claude Clay]

over the years i have helped many peoples with varing abilities...and now i am having arthritis and doing as i've taught others.
i passed along my lightweight 642 for a PRO 3"
defender became a Sig C-3
both these weigh an extra 5 ounces which is a big difference re percieved recoil

yet there will come a time when these nolonger work well and i'll move on to:
S & W 66 with a action job and speed loaders
tip-up 380 baretta
M-1 Carbine as a house gun
minimize re-coil with a 22 WMR 7 shot S&W 351pd
--with the lead ring on the face of the cylender and its recessed bbl it presents as a 38; and if it comes down to pulling the trigger, 7 rounds bets heck out of crying uncle.

not often is anything perfect but many items will work. and work better the more you work with them.

 

[Schwing]

I actually think your current Beretta 92 setup is a great choice. Like ArchAngelCD mentioned, getting a good re-loader will help. My family has a genetic predisposition to severe arthritis. i am only 39 and already have major problems with my left hand. Thankfully my right is ok.

My Dad got so bad a few years ago that he had to give up his revolvers completely because he can't pull the hammer back on any of them and doesn't have the finger strength to even pull the trigger on a DA. He is 77 and still in great health aside from that so I still go out with him. He really likes the 92 because he can actually pull the slide back and doesn't have any trouble loading the clips himself with the loader or pulling the trigger.

Recoil is also quite painful with his arthritis and the 92 has very little. It still bothers him some but has been the best I have found so far.