I know a woman that kinda wanted to go to the range with me, years ago, but begged off because she had a tendon thing in her forearm near her elbow. Injured in a car accident, and has since had surgery, But still not 100%.
I took my father to the range. He had some slowness cocking a hammer as he had had surgery on the tendon for his thumbs. They work ok, but still a little weak. Pushing, like with the cylinder release was ok, but pulling was not 100%.
Alphecca's arthritis has been bothering him lately, and I bet I'll get arthritis soon enough.
James at Hellinahandbasket helps new shooters, including those with physical handicaps that restrict their ability to get the most out of just any firearm. Though some potential pupils are a lost cause.
Obviously this will be highly situational, but what is a good gun to select when you are tender from the elbow down? We can't all have the vise like hand grip of Jerry Miculek, though that would be ideal.
Breda's Bersa or JayG's Snubbie from Hell are hard on the hands, so that's out. Something easy to grip, so the fatter double stacks are out. I'm looking at YOUR product line, Sig... Probably should avoid the really robust cartridges and get a fullish size gun to keep the recoil manageable for weaker shooting hands. 9mm striker fired items is probably the way to go if you find you can manipulate all the controls there at the gun shop display counter. The XD slide spring is famous for being extra robust, so check that. But I'd lean toward Glock or M&P. Any platform I'm not considering?
Ohhh, rifles! For home defense certainly. That's a possibility.
Experimentation is the answer, IMHO. I have a friend with grip strength issues who could not load Glock mags or manipulate the slide due to the stiffness of the springs. A trip to a range with a rental gun program. After some experimentation, a S&W M&P 9c was rented. The new shooter could load and manipulate the pistol fine.
ReplyDeleteMost don't realize the smaller the pistol, caliber being equal, the stiffer the recoil. Spring strength in semi autos varies between brands and often between models.
+1 on Sigman, and look at .380s... Lighter recoil spring, easier to operate. Also, revolvers with custom Hogue or Pachmayr grips.
ReplyDeleteI know an Older Gent who Downsized to Revolvers in that .327 Federal.
ReplyDeleteAnd if Tam hasn't bought them all up, maybe an older .38 S+W . One of those WW2 Lend-Lease Victory Models. I've stashed one for my Dotage.
Oh, if one can't Thumb Cock? Slowly use the Palm, like one was Fanning a Peacemaker (which one should never do, BTW, unless its been specially modified).
My wife has always been unable to rack the slide on any semi-auto pistol due to low grip strength.
ReplyDeleteI added a "racking lever", mounted in the rear sight dovetail and projecting enough to the left that she can get two fingers on it.
Problem solved.
Now I need to make the gun silent, as she hates the noise. :(