If you HAD to, What pistol?

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ihopewewin

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Recently there's been a some what credible increase in danger for my family. I currently have a 870 supermag for HD for ME but my mother is going to considering a gun for herself(she can't use the 870 about to state why). She's 51 years old and had multiple surgerys on her shoulders and has pretty bad arthritis in her hands. This has made holding up the 870 pretty difficult and when we go to shoot skeet she'll only shoot once or twice. I'm looking for a pistol that she can fire and would be comfortable practicing with. I'm asking you if you HAD to buy a HD pistol in a very low caliber (.22-.38sp) what would it be? I know the consequence's of a caliber that low but she just can't handle the recoil of anything much higher. Just 1 or 2 shots from the 870 with birdshot gives her a really sore shoulder. Preferably something with a pretty high capacity. I know the amount of bullets fired does not make up for bad accuracy but with a caliber that low she may need alot of shots to stop the threat. I'm already set on everything besides the pistol. Keep the house locked, alarm on, 105pound shepards well fed etc. But I just need help finding her a pistol that she can comfortably shoot and practice with. Size doesnt really matter because this will be nothing but a HD gun it does not need to be concealed. From what she's said it doesnt matter if it's a revolver or not but I would like a list so I can show her and maybe take her to rent a few to see what she likes best. (Wrote this in a hurry the situation happend today and kind of put us in a bad spot may be editing if I forgot something). Thank you very much for any time put into helping my family find a firearm. :)
 
A full size steel 4" or longer barrel .38 revolver, no safety, just pull the trigger or something like a sig DAK P229 or P239 in 9mm. There is enough weight on those the felt recoil is very mild.
 
I'm sort of leaning towards the revolver side(I was just thinking of jams etc.) not to mention ease of use. Plus I think she'll have an easier time with an (old fashion) revolver then a polymer killing machine:neener:.
 
.38sp is not a "very low caliber" at all. It's only slightly less than 9mm (in non +p).

If you're open to .38sp, get a K-frame Smith and Wesson revolver. A slightly less powerful caliber would be the .380 - still decent stopping power and available in autoloaders with higher magazine capacity.

But if you're willing to go .38sp, you might as well look at 9mm and then you are pretty much open to all sorts of autoloaders.
 
Well can she already be accurate enough with the 870? If so then maybe defending against a robber is worth a sore shoulder.
 
My bersa .380 is a great gun. my wife loves shooting it (.45 and .40 rattle her too much, 9mm is ok. if she shot more she would be able to handle all, i think).
anyways, very reliable, accurate little gun. can be bought new for < $300 .380 is the 9mm's little brother.

but that being said, get her to a shop to handle different guns and find what fits her best and then get her some TRAINING!
 
A full size steel 4" or longer barrel .38 revolver, no safety, just pull the trigger

Another vote for the same.
 
Retgarr the problem with the 870 is that i'm worried about followup shots she can't really hold the gun up that long without extreme difficulty/pain. Not to mention if she had to keep the gun drawn down on someone she would have to constantly let it rest back down which would IMO make her look like a weak target to attack if she can't even keep the gun up.
 
Something in .32 H&R mag would be better if she is arthritic. SP101 or an old detective S&W. Stay away from the feather weight models.
 
Any good quality .38 or .357 revolver, if she is extremely recoil sensitive, load it with .38 wadcutters. Being able to hit what she is shooting at is more important than caliber. A .32 Mag is a good round, actually more kinetic energy than a standard .38 but, ammo is stupidly expensive making it a costly alternative to practice with. As stated, you can pick up a decent quality Model 10 S&W for well under $300, ammo will run about $12-15 a box, unless you can hook up with someone that you trust that reloads.

Proficiency is the key. Don't get complacent because after 100 rounds down range, she was hitting the target pretty good. It's the first 6 that count.

Wheeler
 
Go for the +P rated .38 spec revolver, you can get very mild loads for practice and then keep it loaded with a suitable defense load. She should also do some practice with the defense load.
 
I'm going to disagree with pretty much everyone here... I would probably go with a Smith and Wesson Model 617 Revolver. It is a medium frame 22lr with 10 rounds. Use the hottest 22 load you can find and get a really good trigger job on the gun... I'm talking a really light pull. She would then have negligable recoil and miniscule effort to keep on target and lightly pull the trigger. What good is a 6 round 38 if she can only manage to pop of 2 rounds?

10 rounds of 22 will still kill a man.

Another option would be something along the lines of a ruger mark II or III with a single action trigger pull. Extremely accurate and 10+1 with light recoil.

Plus practice ammo is so cheap, she could shoot with it all day for 12 bucks.
 
Based on what I've got in my collection... well...

For a low recoiling handgun suitable for HD I'd say a nice heavy Ruger pistol in .44Mag or .45 Colt would work. Just use some .44SP or .45 Colt "Cowboy" loads in it. Should be pretty docile.

That said, I'd probably find a shoulder fired weapon that she can shoot comfortably. A 10/22 maybe, a .357 lever gun with .38 specials, maybe a Saiga .410?
 
One of those full-size beretta .380s might work here. Small grip, high capacity, "weaker" round, she might find it more managable than 9mm.
 
If she can shoot a shotgun twice, it'll do more damage than 6-8 shots from a .22 -.38. Being sore is worthwhile to being attacked.

I really think that a shotgun would be easier for her to control and shoot than any pistol if she has arthritis of the hands. Perhaps a .410 can lessen the recoil.

If you are dead-set on a pistol, the bigger the better so she can get a better grip on it. Any full-size revolver in .32 -.38. Teeny guns with tip-up features still aren't easy to hold or control for those with limited hand use.
 
Like CWL said, I think a pistol is a poor choice, especially a small pistol. Pointing a shotgun is much easier and certainly more effective. And, if she can shoot it a couple times normally, then in an adrenaline situation I would think she could certainly handle a few shots. The other thing to look into is getting a semi auto shotgun. If you get a semi auto with a good recoil pad (like a limbsaver) and low recoil defense loads I'd bet the recoil would be 1/2 of that from the 870.
 
The Ruger P95 is a gun that many people with low hand strength and recoil issues can still deal with.
 
ihopewewin

My vote would be for a medium frame 4" barrel .357 revolver, maybe with a set of Crimson Trace grips. I just think that her trying to load a magazine or rack the slide of any auto might get to be too difficult for her to do, given her physical limitations. I believe that something like a heavy barrel S&W K frame, loaded with some sort of SD .38 Special load would be make a decent choice in her situation.
 
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