Posted on 02/16/2012 5:20:08 AM PST by marktwain
I had a very pleasant 70-year-old patient in today. He is disabled from multiple sclerosis and bound to a motorized wheelchair. I was evaluating him for hand weakness. He mentioned that his weakness was leading to malfunctions when shooting his Glock 19. I mentioned limp wristing, and he picked up that I was also a shooter. That led to a very pleasant discussion . . .
He mentioned that he does not carry a pistol anymore due to his weakness and is considering a Taser. He wears a fanny pack with various essentials front and center and I think it would be a perfect place to conceal a pistol. No one is more vulnerable than the elderly, the disabled, and those among us who are both. Unfortunately, most pistols are made for the healthy.
What self defense handgun would you recommend for someone in this man’s position? I personally recommended that he look in some of the .22 WMR or .32 DA revolvers on the market, and consider a .38 if he can stand it. For a recoil sensitive person, I can’t imagine a better (or noisier) round than .22 WMR.
Do you guys agree, disagree have other recommendations?
I think this would be a highly individual decision, and each individual will have to try several firearms to see what works for them.
In all seriousness, a Taurus Judge may be the best option for him.
Is he still living at home? Because nursing homes would likely frown on handguns.
Check this link out. It's titled “Handguns for Handicapped and Very Recoil Sensitive Shooters “
The Beretta 84 (I have one) is a tough slide to actuate. Requires quite a bit of muscle. The trigger is pleasant though. If he has a fanny pack, I would suggest the KelTec P30 .22magnum pistol.
It’s weight, easy of function and day-bright sighting would be my vote. Also, .22 mag comes in some pretty devasting rounds. It’s comparable even to my FN five-seven.
Expand, please.
It’s a revolver and he can fire varying types of ammo from .410 buckshot, birdshot, slugs and .45LC. I’d opt for the shot in his case to compensate for the potential problems he may have with control or accuracy.
With my handguns it does take more effort to rack the slide on my 1911 'clone' 9mm due to an old left hand tendon injury that flairs up occasionally(1). But I can still rack my Mak okay and I still have my .38 Colt snubby with +Ps for 'old reliable'. So I'm set for a few years. As long as my eyesight's good a handgun will do the job for me just fine.
So for this man I'd say get .38 Snubby Revolver. He doesn't even need +P loads, Hollow Points will do the job for him. And it'll fit in his fanny pack perfectly. Taurus makes some fine wheel guns and for reasonable prices.
(1) was okay for decades then re-injured it trying to stretch for a Chuck Barry 'special' guitar chord. That man has hands and a finger stretch that's HUGH.
BUMP to Taurus Judge, loaded w .410 shells rather than the .45 colt.
The weight should hold down recoil.
I’ll leave it to others with immediate access to the patient to determine whether relaxing trigger action might be appropriate.
"You might consider" a .22wmr revolver like this:
http://www.gunblast.com/Taurus-941Ultralite.htm
Smith makes a couple of good ones made for concealed carry too.
A head-band laser like they use on sharks.
The point that the person suggesting the M84 Beretta was that you do not have to operate the slide to load the pistol. You can tip up the barrel to insert the first round. Were they wrong in that assumption?
Take a look at a Walther P22. It’s a .22 caliber semiauto, small and light. It requires very little hand strength to put a round in the chamber. Best thing is that there’s virtually no felt recoil. 10 or 12 round magazine, IIRC.
A hit with a .22 is better than a miss with a .44.
Ruger makes a couple of dandy little pocket pistols equipped with laser sights. The Ruger LCP in .380 caliber and the Ruger LC9 in 9mm.
Polyframe Judge with PDX ammo used in SA mode. Also consider taking it to a smith to rework the hammer for more leverage to make it easier to cock and to also make the trigger easier to pull.
Thank you.
How is the recoil of a Judge with .410? I’ve shot .410 and the recoil was negligible but that was in a .410/.22 over/under which probably has a lot more weight than the Judge.
Yes, laser sights are important.
His at home wheel chair could have something mounted on it?
Carry gun could be any small cal. with a light trigger action that he’s comfortable with.
Take advantage of his mounting platforms.
Claymores for example... ;-)
Range report: Smith and Wesson Governor. This last weekend we took a family members newly purchased Governor out (along with four 1911 clones) to try it out. For the record, I have always thought of the Judge and the Governor as "gimmick guns">
Not anymore, family member purchased the Governor for following reasons: Wanted something to pack around for stream fishing and possibility of running into angry black bear or other critter, wanted something for the occasional fool hen along the road, wanted something that would make shooting easier with aging eyesight (so he purchased the model with Crimson Trace laser grips)
We shot OOO Buck, Slugs, the Winchester PDX load (three disc's plus 12 BB's) and finally number #8 shot. Very satisfying was to watch the laser on a paper plate at 27' turn into several large holes (OOO buck). My recommendation would be the mild shooting PDX load for home use, I feel most anybody could comfortably shoot this load with the anticipated satisfactory result.
Will respond to any questions later in the day and try to post a short vid or two.
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