Being 70yo for a while now, and having arthritis in both hands will force me one day to make some choices for HD. I am guessing that one day, I will be forced into the position of using a .410 pump with 00-000 buck, or maybe a light weight .38 revolver with an action job. Perhaps a .22 Mag revolver or rifle. Any advice? Thanks jim
Look into a compensated semi-auto pistol. You lose a little bit of bullet velocity, but you also lose a LOT of recoil! A buddy of mine in Texas has hands that are all gnarled up with arthritis. I had him try my Glock 27 (.40 S&W, subcompact), and he got 3 shots off, and set it down. Said the recoil was just too much. So I pulled out my Glock 17C (the "C" stands for "compensated"), and had him shoot thru a 10 round magazine. He finished, set it down, and said, "That's one of the sweetest shooting pistols I've ever shot!" The two slots at the end of the barrel made the recoil much nicer. Add to that, it's a full frame semi-auto, so it's not going to kick as much as a subcompact, either. According to this page, Glock offers the compensated barrel in their 17 & 19 models (both 9mm, full frame & compact sizes), model 21 (45 ACP) and model 31 (356 SIG). GLOCK Compensated pistols - Reduced recoil and increased precision.
We went through this with Dad, and what we found was quite telling! My combat experience bears this out, but few have that kind of experience so..... When you need something, you don't fight it, your body goes into flight or fight mode and recoil or noise means nothing in the heat of things! In the past, folks would use a .357 Mag and practice with lite .38 Special, the idea is they can practice with the light stuff and when in the rotation for HD/SD, it's loaded to full pop +P! Dad's 86 years young, feisty as hell, and full of piss and vinegar, so finding something for him to rely on was supposed to be the challenge, but ultimately, we found that he could still handle a full power .45/70 lever just fine when things got sporty, for home use, the little AR carbine is his go-to light, simple, and accurate, with plenty of stopping power to deal with any threat, and for the Side Arm, his trusty 60+ year old beater 1911 still throws 230 gr flying ashtrays just fine, and more importantly, he can hit with it every time! So, the reality is, don't change, adapt to your age and limitations by simply changing how you practice/train! The day I can't run the bolt or lever on a .30/06 is the day they put me in the ground, until then, I don't worry about such trivial things as arthritis or busted knees or anything! If Recoil is an issue, load light for practice and then go back to your normal loads for real!
Thanks gents! Ura-Ki, your dad would get along very well with the men in my family! I only worry about arthritis due to strength loss, pain is not a factor, as it will always be there from old injuries. I still exercise with dumbbells and a stationary bike. I was worried I would reach the stage where an auto pistol would not function in my hands due to a weak grip. My quick twitch reflexes are still very good. My operator son says that I am surprisingly fast on the draw and still very quiet as I move around so I guess all ain’t bad. That light weight carbine sounds like just the ticket, and maybe a compensated pistol too. jim
I'll be 72 soon and did heavy work most of my life. Living in the mountains and learned a lot about apple cider vinegar and honey for colds and flu. Actually it helped me deal with cold, my circulation is better because of it I think. Some use it as a dietary supplement for loosing weight. Later I learned about dealing with arthritis using apple cider vinegar. For some folks it works really well. I can't speak for those that never used it. Roughly a shot glass a day. I've not had any arthritis but the vinegar is my go to for questionable foods. If I was going for a first home defense weapon I recommend the Judge It is a short bareled revolver rifle ideal for close quarters defence and will shoot 410 shot shells, .45 long colt , and with a moon clip .45 ACP. Being a revolver rifle you an load it with varying charges depending on the culture you must deal with. I have chickens here so I deal with varments during the night from time to time. The first 2 rounds might be shot, next round .45 ACP, and following that .45 long colt. I own other guns and can't afford another so I live with what I got. A friend let me shoot their Judge and it is a hoot to shoot, very accurate.
A normal frame 38spl with actual 38spl ammo seems pretty reasonable. Or a full size gun shooting 380.
Big fan of both-One they are fun to shoot and two they are easier on the wrists and shoulders. Not sure of your tastes, but don't overlook the PCC's. One of these loaded up with 147gn HPs for 9mm or 200/230 HPs for .45ACP will put a hurt on most anything but your shoulder out to 100 yrds. Both are easy to suppress as well-easy on the ears. The .300 Blackout fits in with the above as well with more range if needed/wanted. There are many options for running a comp gun out there as well. My personal fave is a 1911 series 70 combat commander. With the comp installed it will still fit the full sized(5inch) holsters for my other full sized 1911s. Many of the current plastic pistols have options for drop in replacement barrel/comp set ups a person can install themselves. As much as I still love the big thunder sticks of my youth it is kinda nice not to have to add too any more of the aches n pains that this 59 yr old already has.
For an Auto Pistol, I would always recommend a full size, like the Beretta 92 or Jericho 941, the CZ 75, or the Browning High Power in 9 mm and run the lighter 124 grain Ammo like the Speer Gold Dots, or lawman, or Remington Golden Sabers, they are snappy, but the recoil isn't all that bad and combined with the natural grip angle and weight, they should be THE answer you seek! That little Taurus Circuit Judge Revolver Carbine is slicker then snot, but limited to only 5 rounds, and I choose full pop .45 Colt runnin near the very limit with 250grain hard cast hollow base blunt tips! Recoil isn't bad, and the stopping power is super for those cranked up meth head two legged deer!
You know. If in the future, if i need a handgun for protection and my grip and strength begin to fail me. I'd actually consider a Keltec PMR30. That is 30 rounds of 22 magnum. Imma tell you what. a few hollow points of that and I'm pretty much sure a 2 legged critter is going to be leaking all over the place. Minimal recoil and lots of follow up shots available. Is it a one shot stopper? most likely not. couple of shot convincer to exfil to a safer place for the intruder .. i kind of think so. Used 22 mags to put down steer i'm thinking it works for other things as well. Is it too little gun? Maybe not. Convince me I'm wrong.
Im only 62 and got a PMR30 as my retirement gift from the PD. I am still capable of an m4 with a glock 21 and full load out but dont want to on a daily basis. I took to carrying the PMR30. Sight are dayglo line up quick gun is light and I got 30 rounds of love. I was so impressed once I got it I took it to show my 86 year old friend as a carry/fighting option, he was impressed and handled it with no issue. On top of all this they now make a CMR30 polymer carbine that uses the same mags. So i see that in my future once the AR is too heavy and I am old, god willing.
My only complaint on the PMR30 and its carbine brother is loading the magazines, I finally bought a mag loader for mine and that helps. Reliability is pretty good, no where near as good as a good AR with good ammo but the Kel-Tec’s are light and easy to use, good sights and you can carry an awful lot of ammo for the weight. The CMR30 can also be suppressed. As for me, my favorite 1911 has gotten to the point of hurting my wrist, the .40 is debilitating and the .38 Super hurts as well so I’m down to a Glock 17,19 or CZ P 01 in 9mm. However, revolvers are another issue altogether, a S&W M 29 or 327 don’t bother me at all - go figure, they are a bit bigger, heavier, noisier and hold fewer bullets, but… . I figure a 180 grain bullet at 1500 fps might stop better than any 9mm on the market. The downside is that our local communist DA is a total hoplophope so for the time being it’s the lighter 9’s.
Around here they are running at 99%. Several older folks in the church have switched to these after trying my uncle's. All of them love the PMR, and actually seem to shoot theirs fairly often because it is easy on them. We had to send one back because of light primer hits. I found the problem, called and sent it back. Came back within 10 days with a completely new slide! Has worked 100% since. That has been the only problem I have heard of or seen personally. We have seen close to a dozen of these pistols sold to friends and family in this little area. The .22WMR has several defense offerings that are pretty good. Sass and I both carry a .22WMR as a small back up gun loaded with the Hornady Critical Defense rounds. Like VT mentioned, it's most likely not a one shot stop, but with 30 at hand...
