Pistol recommendation for my 75 year old dad with bad arthritis ?

Markit said:
Thanks for all the suggestions.

I think I'm going to take him to the range again and see what other range guns there are for him to try.

Wheel guns are out due to his arthritis. 1911 had the easiest trigger for him at 2 lbs and he loves the platform, but Ergos aren't good.


Recoil was not a problem for him in 9 mm on any of the platforms he tried.
My plan was to reload some softer ammo for him - he used my reloads at the range during past sessions with no issues when trying mine, and ammo for the range guns was what they supplied - they don't allow home reloads to be used in their rental fleet likely for good reason.
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I agree about revolvers. Double action requires a heavy trigger pull & single action requires moving the grip and cocking the hammer.
Both are difficult with a wheel gun.
Since you reload, I would suggest not only some soft loads for less recoil but that way you can go to a lighter
recoil spring & lighten up racking the slide.
Try & go with a second strike option in the event of a misfire. That way he can simply
pull the trigger again rather thank rack the slide for a new round.
Front serrations on the slide might help him also.

Arthritis sucks ( I know ). But there are ways to make shooting easier.
 
If you are set on a polymer 9mm pistol, you really should check out the FNH FNS 9L.
Adjustable grip size, aggressive factory stippling, no external safety, fully ambidextrous controls, really nice trigger pull, very very easy to manipulate mag release.
Comes with three mags. Very reasonable price ($575 at Williams Arms on sale).
BTW, I own this gun and a Glock 17 and the FNS is way better feeling to me at least.
 
In your first post you mention cutting away some of the plastic on a polymer gun then getting it re-stippled. But keep in mind that the walls on most plastic guns in this area are not all that thick. So cutting away plastic is going to leave it overly weak if you remove anything significant.

Shape counts for as much or more than actual grip size. So once again if cutting away any material results in a compromise to the shape such that he can't get a firm all around grip pressure it's likely to reduce his ability to hold the gun well instead of increase it.

So I'd suggest you find a gun which fits his hands right out of the box and skip the idea of sanding and stippling.

One gun which fits the bill is the Ruger SR9. It's one of the smallest feeling grips I've ever handled.

I like the idea of the slide racker for whatever option you come up with. That should help him out a lot.

If he likes 1911's it's not a big deal to disable the grip safety. And if he's only shooting at the range from a standing position and not drawing from a holster there's no need to ever engage the thumb safety. So it can just sit there left alone. And slide rackers for 1911's are plentiful. And from helping a bunch of ladies with shooting guns a single stack 1911 fits pretty much anyone with smaller hands. I'd suggest a version with front and back strap stippling since with the arthritis he likely can't grip the gun all that tight. Stippling front and back along with checkered grip scales will aid in holding the gun more steadily.

On this idea that he might benefit from a shape that fits his hands well so he achieves a better total fit he may well find that the rather egg shaped cross section on a CZ works well. Again from RO'ing a lot of women first time shooters over a couple of years they found that along with the 1911 single stack that the CZ was the second or first best fit for small hands. So I would not be quick to dismiss them.

In the end I think you'll want to take him out and try some of these guns in HIS hands. The other things like mag release buttons, thumb safeties and slide releases can be switched or modified or just simply ignored. Slide rackers can be found or made to suit anything. To help out a fellow shooter in your Dad's situation there's likely any number of us with home shops which would happily make something up to install on any gun slide just to see him smile.
 
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Really the best pistol should be a .22 semi auto. Any centrefire handgun will require significant hand strength to rack the slide, open the cylinder, #### the hammer etc. .22s have generally easier to work slides and mild recoil, and a mag loader should help too.
 
Auto pistols and arthritic hands are a poor combination, not when shooting, but when racking the slide. A good quality revolver is the answer as several have already said, and I echo the suggestion of a .38 Special loaded with wad cutters, which are mild, accurate, and require no more hand strength than a rimfire. When shooting with a two hand hold, using the thumb of the support hand to #### the hammer requires no change to his grip on the gun, but if he finds this difficult a lighter mainspring should solve the problem. The next important detail to consider is where he can comfortably shoot, now that we're getting into cooler weather. A nice warm indoor range will be much easier on his hands than shooting outdoors in the cold, and will provide the opportunity for him to shoot year round.
 
I f small grips are what you need then a smaller frame with a single stack mag in 9mm or 380. Maybe one of the pistols designed for CCW in the US, with the Canadian length barrel? 380 has a bit less snap in a lighter pistol and might be more comfortable for arthritic wrists to handle.
 
Markit said:
Thanks for all the suggestions.

I think I'm going to take him to the range again and see what other range guns there are for him to try.

Wheel guns are out due to his arthritis. 1911 had the easiest trigger for him at 2 lbs and he loves the platform, but Ergos aren't good.

Recoil was not a problem for him in 9 mm on any of the platforms he tried.
My plan was to reload some softer ammo for him - he used my reloads at the range during past sessions with no issues when trying mine, and ammo for the range guns was what they supplied - they don't allow home reloads to be used in their rental fleet likely for good reason.
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Take a look at Grand Power if you have a chance.
They have a very light recoil spring rate and are the easiest 9mm to rack the slide that I have ever handled. I think it must be due to the rotating barrel lock up.
They also have a great trigger and are very accurate. The only real negative has been mag availability and support to some degree but for a range gun (non competition) this should not cause you any problems.

The newest generation has replaceable back straps to change the grip size.

Edit, just re-read your first post and it looks like Grand Power is out due to the hammer.

I must say that I also agree with 38 special in a revolver.... if he can't handle cocking the hammer of a revolver(because of joint problems and pain) I'd have to question shooting center fire handguns at all.
 
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Pistol mags can be hard to load with less than agile pinkies and you may get tired of loading what you aren't shooting.

Plus I wager that he wants to feel independent?

Alpha projects 357 revolver shooting lead target loads.
 
The hammer on a revolver can always be cocked to single action with the outside edge of the other hand. What would be tough on a revolver is operating the cylinder latch while pushing out the cylinder with the other hand. That requires some significant dexterity and push from the shooter. We tend to take such things for granted but for someone with bad arthritis such things become as tall and steep as a mountain.

I hate to say it but in the end this may be a situation where the two of you go to the range a time or two a month and you do all the fiddly bits and let him shoot. I can't think of any gun out there which can be loaded and operated without at least some degree of dexterity. Even loading mags using an Uplulla loader requires dexterity in the handling of each round inserted into the mouth of the mag.
 
Sounds like his Dad won't be hitting the range by him self and shooting hundreds of rounds at a time, let alone loading a dozen mags.

Totally agree on the AP .357 though.
 
My wife has arthritic fingers and shoots weak handed due to eye dominance.

She can't shoot any of my revolvers due to DA being too heavy and SA too painful.

She doesn't shoot any of my CF autos claiming they are all too heavy.

She does shoot our M93, but I load the 22 shells into the mags for her.

M
 
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I don't mean to sound like a #### but if your dad is 75 years old and has really bad arthritis, he may want to consider a different hobby. It doesn't sound like he would enjoy shooting handguns very much and his arthritis might actually get worse. At minimum, he should consult with a doctor about this.
 
I agree with the get a 357 magnum and shoot 38 Special in a revolver crowd. If popping open a cylinder, or cocking a hammer back to shoot single action with a revolver is too hard, how will he rack a slide or load a magazine?
 
capp325 said:
I don't mean to sound like a #### but if your dad is 75 years old and has really bad arthritis, he may want to consider a different hobby. It doesn't sound like he would enjoy shooting handguns very much and his arthritis might actually get worse. At minimum, he should consult with a doctor about this.
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I wouldn't want to be the guy to tell a 75 year old man that perhaps he should re-think doing what he enjoys doing, and if I make it to 75 years, you wouldn't want to be that guy either ;). (I'd give you a piece of my mind.)
 
plinker 777 said:
I wouldn't want to be the guy to tell a 75 year old man that perhaps he should re-think doing what he enjoys doing, and if I make it to 75 years, you wouldn't want to be that guy either ;). (I'd give you a piece of my mind.)
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I'm almost there so thanks for the tip! I'm going to start writing up my reply for the first person who suggests I'm too old to be shooting ;-)
 
I've got the answer! S&W 500 with full load. One shot and everybody on the range, including poppa, goes home - blinded and their ears ringing ;-)
 
skoal said:
Slide racker and uplula mag loader
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I'm not familiar with the slide racker you mention, but even the uplula mag loader might present some difficulty to arthritic hands. I'm all for keeping the old timers shooting, but I can't think of any part of using a semi auto pistol that's easier than a revolver. Just one guys opinion.
 
A revolver with speedloaders would be relatively easy. Especially in a slicked up DA. As for opening the cylinder, there is probably an oversized version of a release available (or one could definitely be made). As for a slide racker, it could be made as large as necessary so that a user could manipulate it either with their hand or against a bench/table etc. Anything to keep a shooter shooting.
 
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