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Carry Choice for Women with Arthritis in Wrists and Fingers

12K views 14 replies 13 participants last post by  flnt4evr 
#1 ·
Hi All,

I need your advice, especially if you have experience with women with some arthritis in hands and fingers carrying.

My wife has decided that she wants to carry now. The latest news story of some nut job former realtor who chained a woman in a metal box put her over the top. My wife had previously taken an NRA shooting course but was just hesitant to carry before. I think that is finally past now.

She has arthritis in wrists and fingers. She is able to use her hands for sure, but the weapon she carries must be light enough for her to shoot, the kick must not be too much either. Also, if it's a semi, it must rack easy or maybe it's simply better to go revolver. But trigger pull is an issue, too. And I am concerned about her remembering to unsafety in a panic situation. On the other hand I personally like the extra protection a safety gives.

I know I am asking for the world here. And I know every weapon has a trade off. I am less concerned about stopping power and more concerned about her being willing to carry and practice and most importantly having some kind of an option in the event of a bad situation. If we get something she will use but it's light on power, then there's a better likelihood of down the road stepping up a notch after confidence and skills build.

Minimizing impact on her wrists and fingers is paramount, or else she won't practice as much, and I am an absolute believer in practice practice practice, whether on the range or dry fire at home.

Any weapon suggestions? I've been looking on line but to be 100% honest I am suspicious about many online gun reviews.

Thanks!
 
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#2 ·
For people with conditions such as your wife's most all semi-auto pistols are, unfortunately, not going to serve them well. The slide will be difficult, if not impossible, to work and the magazines will be nearly impossible to load. I know, I've tried this with my own wife and she only has mild arthritis in her hands.

This leaves a revolver. Take her to a major gun show and let her handle and hopefully, work a bunch of revolvers until she finds something that she can operate comfortable and with confidence. As for recoil, I would suggest going with a .38 Special to keep the recoil down and manageable for her but make sure that the gun she picks will handle .38 Special +P loads.

Good luck in your search.
 
#3 ·
+ 1 for my wife. We got a SP101 357+ wolf spring kit using Hornady Critical Defense in 38 Special. works for her. She can't cock hammer but she uses a two finger trigger pull on double action. With a little practice now she can hit a 8 inch paper plate at 7 yards.
 
#4 ·
My 73 year old mother had a really hard time finding a gun she could shoot comfortably and rack the slide. After much searching, she chose the Sig Sauer P938. Despite its small size, it is one of the lightest recoil 9mm pistols I've ever shot and the slide is extremely easy on the hands. I would highly recommend checking it out. If I'm not mistaken, most Sig Sauer pistols tend to be easier on the hands than most other brands.


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#5 ·
You'll get a lot of ideas here, but one option to consider seriously is the Beretta Tomcat. It has a tip-up barrel so racking the slide is not necessary, and can run in SA mode. It has a safety and slide lock too. It is a 32 ACP pistol, which would not be my first choice for self-defense, but would certainly be an option to consider.

If she liked the Tomcat, you could also get her a Beretta 22 LR Bobcat for practice, which has a similar manual of arms. That could be a confidence builder with inexpensive ammo and limited or no recoil.

My wife had an extremely painful RS injury in her wrist and arm, combined with arthritis, and liked her Bobcat for practice. She gave up knitting and crochet, as well as a standard transmission and hand-brake on her car due to her injury, as well as her Glock 26 during that period. After an extended period of therapy she now shoots an LCR with some success. Left handed shooting is also an option for her.

I'd suggest you try to find a retailer where she can handle and manipulate some options, and even better would be shooting some of the options.

Best of luck, and keep us posted!
 
#6 ·
You'll get a lot of ideas here, but one option to consider seriously is the Beretta Tomcat. It has a tip-up barrel so racking the slide is not necessary, and can run in SA mode. It has a safety and slide lock too.
If a used gun is an option, and you can find one, you might also consider a Beretta 86, which is a somewhat larger pistol in .380 ACP that shares the Tomcat's tip-up barrel. Not as easy to conceal as the Tomcat, but still very possible, and the extra weight to help with recoil and longer sight radius would likely make it easier to shoot, plus you get 8+1 rounds of .380.
 
#7 ·
If you can find a Ruger LCR in 22 mag it may work. If the trigger is as smooth and light as my LCR357 your golden. See if a shop has one that she can dry fire. The 357 would be good if she can handle 38 in a 17oz gun. 22 mag. Would be a lot easier.
 
#9 ·
My wife has the same issue.. Terrible arthritis in the hands, and bent , swollen misshapen fingers because of it. She is 63 and has had bad arthritis since she was in her 40's.... NO hand or finger strength at all.. She had been carrying a Ruger LCP Custom, and was happy with it.. For a while. Lately she has hand more and more trouble racking it, and her hands would start to hurt very quickly when shooting it.
We bought her a Sig P238.. Its a lot less snappy, it racks much easier, and has a lighter trigger than the LCP Custom... I thought that little Ruger was a first class little gun.. UNTIL we got the Sig.. there is a REASON its double + the price of the Ruger.. It will be a small learning curve getting used to the SA, but after only one short trip to the range, she seems much more comfortable with it, and like it a lot more than Her LCP custom... Sig makes really good stuff.. As far as semi auto's go, I doubt there are any better out there for a woman with hand and strength issues than the Sig P238 or P298 ... They are very user friendly..bob
 
#11 · (Edited)
Powder puff loads

Similar challenge. Best compromise solution in our case is a 3" S&W model 36, with cushy grips.

A downloaded practice load of a 148 gr wad cutter over 2.2 grains of Bulls Eye works for limited to moderate use. Average velocity = 618 fps,
ES = 23, SD = 8.

Carry load is Federal NyClad 125 grain Personal Defense, originally known as the Chief's Special load. Another mild standard pressure carry load is the Remington 110 grain SJHP R38S10.

One of the advantages of a revolver is the versatility of loads they will accept. Powder puff loads will not function in a semi-auto.

Your wife's situation calls for compromises, with neither high firepower nor high energy ballistics being at the top of the list of priorities.
 
#12 ·
If you look into the P238/P938 route the P238 is quite a bit easier to rack than the P938 although the the P938 isn't hard either. The P238 is very soft shooting. Both come with a safety of course but you must be comfortable carrying cocked & locked which can be a hurdle for some.
 
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