Aging has caused me to change

[CATI1835]

Inspired by another thread but I didn’t want to hijack it.

As much as I hate to admit it, I am getting older. I’m not sure how that happened. And before anyone dismisses this, be assured, this WILL happen to you. You WILL get older and your body WILL be affected. Anyway, I have had to adjust my handgun ownership and carry habits to accommodate my physical abilities. Arthritis is beginning to take a toll on my hand strength and dexterity, particularly my left (non-dominant) hand. It has caused me to change my EDC rotation.

The first victim was my Shield. The slide was never easy to operate but became increasingly hard. Mag seating was problematic too. All .22WMR revolvers have also been eliminated, DA trigger pull is simply too hard.

I have found some handguns however that do make the cut, for me anyway. Here they are:

S&W 432PD – After a trigger job from Teddy Jacobson.

S&W 43C – After replacing the hammer spring with a slightly lighter one. No failure to fires yet, but still evaluating.

Beretta 3032 Tomcat - .32ACP, tip up barrel, no slide operation required.

Remington R51 - 9MM. I know what many of you are saying, a piece of junk, unreliable, etc., etc., etc., ad infinitum. I have the version 2, 100% reliable through 1200+ rounds. Not a single failure, honest injun. And the slide is relatively to operate. Remington seems to have gotten V2 right.

HK VP9 – Full size 9MM. Has what HK calls “charging supports” at the rear of the slide that make charging easy.

Virtually all .22 Semi-autos. – I say virtually all because obviously I have not handled every .22 semi-auto made. I will say all current production models and the Colt Woodsman and High Standard. All in all, a class of handguns designed for easy operation.

Many .32ACP semi-autos. – Probably because of the short length of the round and relatively light recoil spring, there are a number of good (for me) examples. Beretta 85, Colt 1903, Savage 1907 and probably others I have not tried yet. Don’t overlook the older guns - quality, affordable and reliable. The Walther PPK however was not for me.

What about the rest of you? How are you addressing similar issues?

 

[Wprovence]

Captains of crush. Working on hand strength. I've never really had a powerful grip and it's only getting worse the older I get. It has helped.


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[JohnRippert]

I have one of those miniature foam footballs the doctor gives you. It's about 3.5in long. I use it every day to strengthen my hands and forearms. It works, and I highly recommend anything that functions the same.

I know what you mean about getting older. I'm only 54 and arthritus it starting in my fingers and the joints that I have messed up over the years. I dislocated the last middle finger knuckle in my right hand about a month ago. It popped out and back in while I was tucking a towel under the back of the LaZBoy our whippet likes to lay in. Thankfully I am loose jointed and it did not mess things up too bad.

 

[walkin jack]

Aging changes us all. No one can avoid it, no exceptions. The secret to getting the most out of aging is to be able to keep a positive attitude. Learn to accept with grace and forbearance all the changes that come your way and resolve to make the best of the what you have left and what you can still do and what good health you still may have.

You don't have to be miserable because you are going through some changes. You can learn to make the best of things and if you do you will have a much happier old age.

I learned this from my dad who passed away at 90 years of age, severely hearing impaired and almost totally blind due to macular degeneration. He lived and died on his own terms and passed away in his easy chair in his own home while cleaning his hearing aids.

He was always cheerful and even though he'd had to give up his music and driving and reading and his beloved crossword puzzles he soldiered on and made the best of things.

I'm not half the man he was anyway but I'm sure gonna try to live up to the high standard he set for me on this. I may not be as successful as he was but I'm going to do my best. And I think I'm about to find out just how successful I'm going to be. I'll be 73 in a month and "things" are startin' to get serious around here I do believe.

Best of luck to the op as you travel though the "golden" years.

 

[bigwheelzip]

If a cocked and locked .380 appeals, the Sig P238 is very easy to rack. Perhaps it's slightly bigger brother the P938 is similarly easy as well.

 

[OLDNAVYMCPO]

Ageing has certainly taken its toll on me as evident from the photos.

First picture is of me at age twenty with an 03A3

Second photo is me at 73 with an AR-15

 

[Retired Chief]

I can do everything at 73 I could do at 23, just not as fast, as often, or as long.
That said (to my wife one evening), I commonly carry a Star PD in .45 ACP cocked and locked. Rack the slide, insert a mag, hit the slide release and set the safety. After that, the slide locks back when empty, reload, hit the slide release. Only have to rack the slide once, and that is at the start of the day when things (you know, hands, arms, etc.) are working best. Nice short single-action trigger pull. Smaller than a 1911, but still holds 7 rounds of .45 and shoots well.

 

[Rustyt1953]

Cancer surgery has left nerve and muscle damage to my left shoulder and neck. I can no longer use long guns as I can't hold them steady. Thankfully I can still rack the slides on all my semi's (.45 down to .380)

As you know, I spent my life as a musician. I can no longer play but I now neither dwell on nor miss it. The joy of raising three grandkids and cherishing my wife fills my days.

I do not dread the day when I am no longer able to shoot. But, I will certainly enjoy it to my up most until then.

Jack, if I never said it before, "you're smarter than a house cat".

 

[rwsmith]

Try the cross body rack...

It's not as good as the slingshot, but it works.

Keep the gun close to your waist. Reach across with your left hand and grab the slide from the top. PUSH with your right hand.

It takes a little practice because you don't want to block the ejection port if something is there to eject and it's easy to ride the slide rather than just letting go.

I realize that this is only a TEMPORARY fix for all of us as muscles, joints and nerves age. All you can do is try to use them up until the time you can't.

 

[Old cop]

At 70 I've noticed a few changes, the smaller & lighter the better.

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

Older? What do you mean? Isn't that Eisenhower kid still president?

 

[Whitwabit]

As you get older ones eyes seem to be the first thing that goes but glasses easily fixes that for many years .. then the firmness of ones hands in both strength and shakiness ..

that pistol sitting at 4:30 now seems to be 3 or 4 times as heavy as it once was and the back pain seems to be a new concern ..

then breathing becomes troublesome when around loud perfume and the smell of cleaning fluid starts to bother you ..you put that off to allergies ..

shooting indoors causes close to an asthma attack because the range isn't well exhausted and the allergies get worse .. you start shooting out side only ..

Yep getting older can pretty much be the pits if you allow it to .. especially if your told you have something that can't be cured and the knowledge that your health will only get worse over the next 5 years .. if your still here ..

But Dang it was a good ride to get here !!

 

[perryhd]

My 22s get shot way more than anything else. I can still handle my M&P 9c but only enough to stay familiar with it. When its just for fun its my 15 22 and my Mark IV.

 

[LostintheOzone]

I wasn't as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I always was. Unknown.

We will all deal with it. I'm no spring chicken as they say so getting geared up to face the decline.

Moving firearms that I can't use anymore as I write this. Not pleasant but a fact of life.

 

[Kanewpadle]

Well, I'm only 56. But I feel it.

I dread the day I can't shoot my guns. For the last several years I've watched my father slowly progress to shooting low recoil calibers.

I used to be as strong as an ox. But now I'm only strong for a few minutes.

I bought one of these a while back.

It has really helped regain my grip strength. The key is not to over do it. $15.00 on Amazon.

 

[rwsmith]

Things change....

As you know, I spent my life as a musician. I can no longer play but I now neither dwell on nor miss it. The joy of raising three grandkids and cherishing my wife fills my days.

I do not dread the day when I am no longer able to shoot. But, I will certainly enjoy it to my up most until then.
)

Things that I said I would always do I'm not doing and things that I said I'd never do I'm doing. We acquired a son and I had to go on disability and my health has been horrible. Though it has presented some HUGE challenges, taking care of our boy (now 17) has been the most satisfying thing I've done in my life. If some things replace the things that you have lost, it can actually be a blessing.

We were both serious musicians but circumstances have put that so far on the back burner we don't do it anymore. But I've got plenty to keep my plate full.

 

[shouldazagged]

Starting to sneak up on eighty. Vision and hearing gone to hell, lungs turning to cardboard, nasty arthritis in both hands and the length of my spine. Walk with a cane, both legs shot.

Other than that, getting old has been a breeze.

I'm not willing, yet, to stop carrying my all-steel DAO .38 Special J-frame. I am considering a Ruger LCP, initially as backup and maybe later as primary EDC as walking and squeezing a trigger get tougher.

And as much as some of the side effects of getting old suck, I plan to stick around a while, if only for fear I'll miss something. Hell, I've already been privileged to observe the most complex and fascinating nearly-eighty years in all of human history. Why quit now just because I'm falling apart?

 

[rwsmith]

Easiest thing in the world...

Other than that, getting old has been a breeze.

I'm not willing, yet, to stop carrying my all-steel DAO .38 Special J-frame. I am considering a Ruger LCP, initially as backup and maybe later as primary EDC as walking and squeezing a trigger get tougher.
/QUOTE]

You are right. All you have to do is hang around long enough and you'll be old before you know it.

I like my J-Frame. They make the triggers on these somewhat stiff for safety. If my hand strength was getting where I couldn't handle it, a trigger job would be the first stop for me.

As long as it doesn't have that 'hair trigger' that people always say about guns that show up in the courtroom. I saw the other day some lawyer saying that a gun had a 'hair trigger' so they got it tested with a scale and passed it around the jury.

 

[Bat Guano]

My exact age is classified because I don't want to admit it, even to myself. But--yeah, it's about managing your decline and utilizing what you have sensibly. I value every chance I have to crank up the ATV and hit the range; let's face it--we don't know which day will be our last outing. I'm grateful for every time I get there.

My eyesight has made iron sights history--so thank God for optics! I can't do muscular stuff as long, fast, or hard as I once did. I loaded up a ridiculous amount of ammo on a single stage press last fall and my wrist still hasn't forgiven me. If I take it easy I can shoot moderately. I feel recoil more than I used to; my .45 ACP pistols are shot sparingly and mostly with 185 grain loads. A new .45 Shield is proving to be a soft shooter, which is a pleasant surprise indeed. The 9mm BHP is nice as well, and slim and compact; I can wear it comfortably all day in a belt slide; it actually bothers me less that way than a 442 in a pocket holster does.

AR carbines are light, have no recoil, and are fun to shoot. Position shooting nowadays means either close and quick offhand or prone. At distance I use a bipod... Sitting is just a memory and kneeling is out of the question.

When I don't feel ambitious or don't want to pick up brass, I use a 15-22. I have an M&P 10 in 7.62, but although it's only about 10 pounds ready to go, it's a lot harder to throw around and manage. More weight, definitely less fun. A while back I got a Ruger Scout, but my wrist really hates running that bolt hard. Unfortunately it came along about 25 years later than it should have, at least for me.

I shoot a fair amount of .22 in pistols. With the proper glasses I still shoot the irons pretty well, and the fun factor is high. The last acquisition was a Ruger Lite (NOT the gaudy ones!). With a Volquartsen trigger and other minor mods, it's very light and nice to handle. With the optic it picks up some weight, but I will probably be able to shoot it well when nothing else works anymore.

 

[vonn]

Every day I get a little older and things change but you just have to change with them as much as you can. I believe that staying as active as you can is the best you can do towards keeping yourself going and healthy.