A revolver for mom

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RussellD

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This weekend my mother turned 79. She is a saint and wonderful mother. My father wanted her to have a pistol for self defense and thought their vintage Colt pocket positive in .32 was less than ideal.

I visited this weekend and took several samples for mom to try. A heavy barrel model 10, a 2" model 10 and a model 12. Mom could shoot the model 10 just fine but she did not care for the weight.

We took her to the indoor range and let her practice. With crimson trace laser sights she could hit the target 100 percent of the time at seven yards. After a warm up, mom was able to produce three center mass shots and three head shots. She was feeling confident and comfortable.

So I gave her a model 12-2 equipped with crimson trace laser grips, some Speer gold dots and a bore store bag for storage.

And now I feel good knowing mom has a nice tool should she ever need it.
 
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This is interesting. My mom is 67 and struggles with mobility issues and her ability to hold and grip things due to RA. She and her husband have recently purchased a motor home and she has expressed an interest in getting a gun to keep as they travel. My first thought has been a medium frame .38 with a 4" bbl to balance between recoil and weight. I do not think there is anyway she could handle managing the function, or racking the slide, on a semi auto. I am also positive she could not handle a long gun. She has little to no experience with guns. Does anyone have any (reasonably priced) suggestions?

BTW I am not trying to hijack the thread, so if there is a more appropriate place to post, please point me in the right direction.

TIA
 
tinman931 said:
This is interesting. My mom is 67 and struggles with mobility issues and her ability to hold and grip things due to RA. She and her husband have recently purchased a motor home and she has expressed an interest in getting a gun to keep as they travel. My first thought has been a medium frame .38 with a 4" bbl to balance between recoil and weight. I do not think there is anyway she could handle managing the function, or racking the slide, on a semi auto. I am also positive she could not handle a long gun. She has little to no experience with guns. Does anyone have any (reasonably priced) suggestions?
TIA
Click to expand...
Well, I had several suggestions until you said reasonably priced. I guess I would think about a Mossberg Maverick in 20 gage. I would suggest #4 buckshot.

Another possibility is a Diamondback DB380. The slide is actually pretty easy to rack. Downside on these little autos is limp wristing causes a lot of failures to eject or failures to feed.

Last is a snub nosed .22. Not much of a manstopper, but probably all she has to do is point it. The American Rifleman has an article in this month's issue about using a .22 for defense.
 
My mom is 79 also and I did the same thing and left her with a nice 64 no dash about 3 years ago. 6 weeks ago she calls me up ans announces that she went ot Academy with her friend and her friend bought the cutest little gun and she wants that one instead of her 64 :rolleyes: She says it feels much better and she likes the way it doesn't kick and would I please buy her one. So I did. The gun...a Ruger LCR in .22lr. Good news is I get my 64 back ;)
 
I went through the same thing recently with a 70-year old friend with small hands. I started out thinking Model 10, but it turned out a used 3-inch Ruger SP101 was a perfect fit for her. Economical, too!
 
jaykellogg said:
Well, I had several suggestions until you said reasonably priced. I guess I would think about a Mossberg Maverick in 20 gage. I would suggest #4 buckshot.

Another possibility is a Diamondback DB380. The slide is actually pretty easy to rack. Downside on these little autos is limp wristing causes a lot of failures to eject or failures to feed.

Last is a snub nosed .22. Not much of a manstopper, but probably all she has to do is point it. The American Rifleman has an article in this month's issue about using a .22 for defense.
Click to expand...

Interesting. I hadn't really thought of a .22, as I was thinking of at least a .38 for stopping power if she needed to use it. I have an LCR that I love. I don't think she could handle that in a .38 due to the recoil from the light weight, but a .22 might be the way to go.
 
Darkenfast said:
I went through the same thing recently with a 70-year old friend with small hands. I started out thinking Model 10, but it turned out a used 3-inch Ruger SP101 was a perfect fit for her. Economical, too!
Click to expand...

Good thought. I may be able to get my hands on one for her to try and see if it works.
 
I also recommend 38 wadcutters.
Especially for someone like her that can place her shots.
Low recoil - Accurate - Deadly.

All in all though - For in-house defense a short shot gun is the best. Now that they make low recoil buck shot (I haven't tried them to see if they are really low recoil though) that may be the ticket.
 
DeadAye said:
I also recommend 38 wadcutters.
Especially for someone like her that can place her shots.
Low recoil - Accurate - Deadly.

All in all though - For in-house defense a short shot gun is the best. Now that they make low recoil buck shot (I haven't tried them to see if they are really low recoil though) that may be the ticket.
Click to expand...

My first recommendation to anyone is always a shotgun in either 20 or 12 gauge depending on their physical stature and condition. In this case however, there are times when she is unable to use her non dominant arm due to the RA, so that simply is not an option. What I'm thinking at this point is to take her to a range with rentals and try .38 and .22 revolvers and see what she is able to accurately handle.

One other thought...I have never fired a Judge. What is the recoil like with the .410? I don't think she could handle the .45.

The suggestions have been great and very helpful. If anyone has another that I haven't thought of, I would be very open.
 
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