[scarab]

This is a tuffy: For anyone with weak arms, arthritic hands, and little experience, what are the best guns for personal protection in the home? (by model name). It seems that if a gun has a light trigger, it's a bear to rack and load, leading to misfeeds and short-racking. If it's easy to rack, it's too heavy to hold. If it's light enough to hold, the heavy trigger jumps it off-target. It seems you can't have a gun with all three nice features for the home, in shotgun or handgun, at the same time. Any suggestions? Please also consider those semi-autos which offer a choice of lighter spring change-outs by a gunsmith.

 

[onondaga]

I'm old and likely worse. I don't consider picking up a gun first. I grab my Shillelagh. Cold Steel makes them weapon grade in 3 sizes, I have the 37", This will severely bash in a skull. I also have a home made 12 ga bang stick and "O" Buck loads clipped to it in seconds reach disguised in plain sight. Cold Steel:

https://www.midwayusa.com/s?userSearchQuery=cold+steel+blackthorn&userItemsPerPage=48

Slamfire bang stick plans are easy to find online.

Gary

 

[JBelk]

Seems your best bet is a DA revolver. No problem to load and you can use two fingers to pull the trigger if you have to. No safeties to remember and no stoppages either. Another pull of the trigger gives the gun fresh ammo in the remote chance of a miss-fire. Simple, safe and easy to remember! Try any of the OLD S&W J frame guns of the model 36 'snubnose' style.

 

[Trent12]

Everyone’s condition is a little different.

I’d look for a medium size/large size 9mm that I can still get my hand around. Maybe something with a hooked rear sight so I can use a table, belt, holster, etc... to work the action.

Sig Sauer is doing that with their newer P229’s and P226’s. They’re pricy though.

Or just do what JBelk said and buy a DA revolver. A J frame or K frame would be my choice.

Tell the gunstore what you’re dealing with and they will more than likely be willing to let you try out a few things.

 

[JBelk]

BTW-- Large grips on small revolvers makes sense with weak/hurting hands. I have a round butt M63 with old S&W 'Banana' grips on it that feels a LOT better than they look!
I'm beginning to think too many bad guys chewed on my knuckles when they were still young and unscarred.

 

[Cheezywan]

Depending on the particular "hurt", a single-action revolver might not be a bad option?

 

[BearBio]

Background: 68 1/2 years, arthritic elbows, knuckles, ankles & toes. Prior broken wrist, currently a fracture elbow and a cast for a double fracture of my humerus, at least two broken fingers from high school. Wife has weak hands and weak upper arm strength.

Solution for me: I carry a Glock 43 in 9mm for quick errands. Has a Recovery slide grip, extended magazines from Hyve and fiber optic front sights. Trigger pull is 5.5. Due to the lighter slide of the G43, Mas Ayood told me to use 147 HSTs (the lighter +P loads cycle too fast and over-run the slide)

Wife: Has a G434 set up like mine for EDC in her purse. Since fire season, we have had more large animals coming into town, so she tried a G17 in 9mm for walking the dogs before dawn (extra firepower for our increasing gang presence, also)

My "normal" EDC is a G27, converted to 357 Sig Old wives will tell you ammo is hard to find (Bull-I buy cases at Sportsmen's warehouse and performance loads on-line) and expensive (costs same or less than 40 S & W)-I also have the factory 40 S & W and 9mm barrels. Same "extras" as the G43

 

[stevechr]

Seems your best bet is a DA revolver. Try any of the OLD S&W J frame guns of the model 36 'snubnose' style.

I must respectfully disagree with getting a J-frame for home defense. Get a K or L-frame because a good trigger job will drop the double action pull to 5lbs. J-frames cannot be modified to get reliable double action trigger pulls this light. My choice for a revolver house gun would be any S&W model (K or L-frame) capable of chambering .38 Special with a 4" barrel. If recoil isn't a problem, I'd get one in .357 Magnum. If recoil is a problem, I'd go with an L-frame .357 Magnum and load it with .38 Specials.

 

[crabtree]

Never really felt the need to carry. Have always worn a large sharp blade and am proficient with it. I also live very rural and don't really see crime personally. Sure it happens but typically to people who somehow bring it on themselves.

 

[JBelk]

I carry a gun everywhere because I don't consider a pocket knife the proper weapon for rattlesnakes or skunks.

 

[bearman49709]

Check out the S&W M&P 380EZ, made for people like you.
Easy to load mags, easy to rack and easy to shoot.

 

[BreezeeRidge]

Racking the slide does get easier the more the gun is used, but it can be a real bear on a brand new gun. A revolver is probably the best for home defense. Something like a Smith and Wesson .38 Special "airweight"

 

[Whydah]

I bought my wife a Springfield XD Compact in 9mm. The slide was so hard to rack that she couldn't do it without several attempts.

She now has a Glock 43 in 9mm and can rack the slide easy.

 

[crabtree]

I carry a gun everywhere because I don't consider a pocket knife the proper weapon for rattlesnakes or skunks.

That's OK by me. Freedom means free to choose.

 

[Rangr44]

.


Cut to the chase & get a revolver. (+4)


.

 

[xjsdvr]

Semi-auto----- NO WAY--

This is a tuffy: For anyone with weak arms, arthritic hands, and little experience, what are the best guns for personal protection in the home? (by model name). It seems that if a gun has a light trigger, it's a bear to rack and load, leading to misfeeds and short-racking. If it's easy to rack, it's too heavy to hold. If it's light enough to hold, the heavy trigger jumps it off-target. It seems you can't have a gun with all three nice features for the home, in shotgun or handgun, at the same time. Any suggestions? Please also consider those semi-autos which offer a choice of lighter spring change-outs by a gunsmith.

You'll have nothing but problems loading the "clips" --- not to mention "stovepipes" up the ying-yang due to weak wrists and grip.

 

[BearBio]

I think you mean "magazines"

 

[xjsdvr]

I did but..

just had to go with clips.

 

[JBelk]

If you're loading 1911 'magazines' during the First World War, you were loading 'clips' because that's what the Army manual called them until after the Second War.
It is safe to say the words are now interchangeable and only grates on the nerves of ones prone to details. Like hearing phony Southern accents .

 

[BearBio]

From Handgun Magazine's Editor:

When at the range, I frequently hear other shooters referring to how many "clips" they have for a gun or how many rounds a "clip" holds. I've also heard the term "magazine" used for what I think are the same parts of guns? Is there a difference between a clip and a magazine? —Earl J.



A: The terms "clip" and "magazine" are incorrectly used interchangeably these days. Purists, myself included, consider a magazine as the ammunition reservoir for charging the gun's chamber, and the "clip" as the reservoir for charging the gun's magazine. Unfortunately, reality is not so black and white. For example, there are internal magazines such as on the Remington Model 700 or SKS and detachable magazines as on the M1A and most semi-automatic pistols. There are also internal magazines that are detachable, such as on the Browning A-Bolt.

There are "stripper clips," which hold cartridges that are stripped down into a detachable or integral magazine that are removed from the gun before firing such as with the Mauser '98. There are also charger clips that are placed along with their component cartridges into the magazine. The best-known examples are the M1 Garand and Italian Carcano. There are also "moon" and "half-moon" clips meant to allow the use of rimless semi-automatic pistol rounds in revolvers.

For most folks, who have only general knowledge of firearms, the terms will continue to be interchangeable. For others the difference between the terms "clip" and "magazine" is comparable to the difference between the terms "wheel" and "tire."--sem


Matter of using correct terminology versus incorrect "slang" Southern accents are hardly correct English. I posted to (in a friendly way,) to chide the poster and get his goat! Apparently I did!