Hard Moves

[Dave Haynes]

I'm 79 and have the same issues. I had very strong hands but arthritis robs you of this strength. I bought one of those Calif approved Shields. What a ***!! Everything is difficult from racking the slide to trying to fit 10 rds into the magazine. It has been moved into the "Take Me" pistol roll. I started using my Mod 39-2 and it is the answer. Easy to rack and that de cocker is the cat's meow. Safety is my number one concern. That pistol is the most safe one I own. Double action for the first shot isn't a big deal. You are not on the 50 yd line punching paper. You will probably miss on that first shot anyway. The second shot trigger is great. That and a 1911 cocked and locked. Take your pick.

 

[ColColt]

I don't have arthritis in my hands or anywhere else I know of but you just get weak over time everywhere, including arms and legs. It's the price you pay for hanging around too long.

I guess that particular day was just a fluke as I haven't had that kind of trouble since. Maybe I was just rusty as it had been several years since I even picked it or any other pistol up. After losing my Corgi a little over five years ago I just lost interest in everything. The last year and a half he was still with me I got so I was too anxious being away from him at the range or anywhere else, couldn't concentrate and just started staying home and taking care of him.i still don't have much desire to go shooting but enjoy handling and caring for the ones I have. I think I'll be good to go if necessary.

 

[Brian Parrish]

I guess that particular day was just a fluke as I haven't had that kind of trouble since. Maybe I was just rusty as it had been several years since I even picked it or any other pistol up....I think I'll be good to go if necessary.

It is so good to hear this! Just a bad day.

I was sad to think about you and your Corgi because there is an old weenie dog that I miss every day for years now. My daughter and sonny law brought over their long-haired dachshund tonight. I enjoyed playing with the dog but it made me miss my old friend.

 

[wproct]

I'm 78 also and have lost considerable hand strength. My Kimber 1911 in 9mm has become one of my favorites because of lighter recoil spring and easier to rack the slide. My preference for house gun is a double action revolver, and being in a night stand by the bed is close enough for me. Don't want one under my pillow.

 

[ColColt]

It is so good to hear this! Just a bad day.

I was sad to think about you and your Corgi because there is an old weenie dog that I miss every day for years now. My daughter and sonny law brought over their long-haired dachshund tonight. I enjoyed playing with the dog but it made me miss my old friend.

Maybe I'm not as inept as I thought! Bubba was the love of my life. He was all I had left. I had just lost the last of my family, a younger brother a year and a half earlier and then Bubba succumbed to a hereditary disease called Degenerative Myelopathy, which is the canine version of Lou Gehrig's Disease(ALS). We fought it for 2 1/2 years but it won.

 

[GypsmJim]

My Dad was a very competent shooter. He could handle a 1911 better than anyone I ever knew.

One of his favorite things to do was to go to the family camp, have a cookout and target shoot. He never had arthritis, but in his later years he couldn't walk downrange to view his target. So, I bought him a spotting scope and mounted it to our shooting bench.

The last few years things had changed a bit. He could rack the slide, but his strength was so bad that he limp wristed and jammed his beloved 1911 on every round. Same problem with our Garand. His last year he simply shot a bolt action .22 Winchester. (still hit the bullseye every time)

I know that when I get to that age, my carry gun will be a revolver.

 

[ColColt]

I know that when I get to that age, my carry gun will be a revolver.

It's sad when you reach the point in life of not being able to do the things you did before. I guess if my times comes and I'm sure it will being nearly 78 now, I can resort to my Mossberg 12 ga pump with a 20" barrel. I'll be sure I can rack it back before I decide on leaving it by the bedside close. A revolver may be the only logical choice but it's my last resort. I just never did all that well firing one double action.

 

[GypsmJim]

It's sad when you reach the point in life of not being able to do the things you did before.

My Dad could not shoot any more, but he was content to just come over to have a burger on the patio. We were happy to pick him up. When we had to put Grandma in the nursing home, he grabbed me by the arm and said: "Don't you ever put me in a place like this". Happily, that never happened.

 

[ColColt]

I can still shoot, I just lost the interest when I lost Bubba. I had to work in one of those God forsaken places for three years. I saw things that haunted me and gave me nightmares for years after leaving. I'd rather be in the middle of the wilderness alone than be there.

 

[ColColt]

Fast forward about a year and a half. I had the opportunity last night as to what may happen in the event I needed that 4506 in an emergency.

Lying in bed nearly asleep and the house alarm went off. I sprang out of bed, reached for the 4506, tapped the bottom of the magazine to assure it was all the way in, racked back the slide and cautiously walked slowly down the hall. I got to the end and could see the front door and back door that leads to the deck were both closed. It made no sense for the alarm to get triggered.

I walked over to the door that leads from the dining room to the deck to discover the dead bolt wasn't locked as I thought. The wind blew the door open just enough to trigger the alarm. Relieved, I went back to bed. This morning I noticed my left thumb felt a bit sore and this what it looked like. I've
had that pistol for 35 years and that never happened before. I guess maybe due to my age(79 now) and thinner skin and weaker hands is the cause. Perhaps cocking the hammer next time is in order. Be nice now guys. I'm just an old man trying to survive.

 

[Alk8944]

I wouldn't keep a freshly lubed anything in my bed.

If you are under 60 years old rethink this comment carefully.

And for OP, yes, cocking the hammer will make retracting the slide easier on any semi-automatic pistol. Remove the magazine first though, that way if you have an AD the gun won't re-load and possibly fire more than the one round!.

For all others who were critical of OP, just wait until you are 80 years old, or close, you are in for a great surprise (disappointment)

 

[ColColt]

For all others who were critical of OP, just wait until you are 80 years old, or close, you are in for a great surprise (disappointment)

Here, here!

 

[mikerjf]

Reviewing this thread, I want to add a comment on something else the OP mentioned. He didn't want the blast of a 357.

I've been considering phasing over to big-bore low-pressure rounds, just for the lower sonic blast. It came down to 45ACP and 44 Special as the two contenders. Since you like your 4506 and presumably have ammo for it, a 45ACP revolver might help the age/strength issue.

 

[ColColt]

mikerjf-Many years ago(1975) I had one of the best defense revolvers you could buy, a Model 26 in 45 Colt. Like a fool I later sold/traded it. I've regretted it many times.

 

[smoothshooter]

When you're handling an unloaded gun that's always a good choice if you have hand issues, whether weakness, arthritis, injury, etc.

It's also a good choice if you're loading a pistol that has a decocker - there's no point in fighting the hammer if you don't have to. Rack the slide/load the round, decock the hammer. That's what the decocker is for.

The real issue only arises if you're handling a double-action pistol that does NOT have a decocker. Then you have to be skilled at releasing the hammer gently by pressing the trigger with one hand whilst tightly gripping the hammer and slowly lowering it into what will be its double action position.

It's actually not as difficult as it sounds but it is dangerous and you have to be focused.

There's always cocked and locked, of course, which I personally despise, but 1911 fans love it and that's their choice.



It's not my favorite thing, either. I'm not concerned about a negligent discharge as I am about having to dig the gun out from under my head when I need it. It's way easier to keep it handy on a nightstand where it's easy to reach. Or even on the floor - or, better yet, in a made-for-a- bed holster.



You've been wrong, then, for many years. Especially if you have weakness in your hands. You might be better off with a revolver, actually.

One presumes that you sleep alone, of course......

Avoid leaving a gun in plain sight while you are sleeping. Someone quietly getting into your bedroom while you are sleeping could pick up the gun and shoot you with it.

 

[ColColt]

smoothshooter-It resides under the pillow. That's where it's been now some 20+ years. I doubt anyone could quietly slip in as I have a loud ADT monitoring system that rolls you out of bed should any door be compromised an inch. That's what happened last night.

 

[StrawHat]

I enjoy the 45 ACP cartridge, but loathe most self loading firearms. My solution, one of the ACP revolvers from S&W, currently the Model 22-4.

Kevin

 

[ColColt]

I'd love to see S&W come out with a K-frame 44 Special. That would be great. I still don't understand how I hurt my thumb. Of all the years I've racked that slide and that never happened before...not even with the harder 4516-1 I have.

It's still a mystery to me as to why after so many years did I manage a slight cut and bruised thumb for just racking back the slide. I wish I knew what I could have done to avoid that next time.

 

[StrawHat]

I have posted this before for the 1911 fans, but no one can tell me who made it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=HXZcjZLxsMs

Kevin

 

[CALREB]

CC, the 4506 recoil spring is way overbuilt. It does absorb some of the recoil for you though. Those guns used to come with a lighter "break in" spring. That you were supposed to switch out after 500 rounds. If you hardly shoot the gun and are not shooting some +p round in it switch to one of those springs. I would test fire a magazine to check it out. I am sure someone here has one. If not, I will try to search one up for you. I was an armorer for about 20 years on a dept where at least 2000 people carried 4506/66 guns. I have seen those come in with such a worn recoil spring that you could run the slide with 2 fingers and they still functioned fine. Just real hard on the gun. And a lot of complaints when it left with a new stouter spring.

One nice thing about the decocker is it allows extra purchase on the rear of the slide for racking it, and an added degree of safety loading and unloading. Maybe the oil on the rails had dried up a bit or got gummy. A light bit of thicker oil "Miltec" or Mobile 1 5-20 just on the rails, so it doesn't get messy. As far as your thumb, I am 70, and I swear anytime I bang into ANYTHING, I end up with a bruise. DR says just loss of collagen in the skin as you age. Good luck.