Ranger17,

You are being given a lot of information, but I see very few questions. I have been disabled for almost 13 years now, and since I came out of the coma, I have blocked 99.9% of the pain. I don't know what issues you are having with arthritis in your thumbs, so I must ask.

Is the arthritis impairing your ability to grasp objects, or is it a dexterity issue?

If it is a dexterity issue, I would anticipate that you will have difficulty working the cylinder release. If it is a grasping issue, I would suspect that it is an issue with racking the slide.

If your arthritis is causing a dexterity issue, I would avoid a revolver like the plague, because your ability to reload in a self-defense situation could be extremely impaired. If it is a grasping issue, you can mount a racking aid on the slide, and you can grasp the aid with your index and middle finger, push with your firing hand, and your pistol is combat ready!

__________________
Judge control not gun control!