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

M

Markit

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So my pops turns 75 soon, and is finally going to do his RPAL course I got him for Father's Day, and I need a recommendation for a pistol I want to get him for Xmas

Problem is his hands and fingers are pretty arthritic.

I have taken him shooting handguns a number of times this past year (he hadn't shot handguns in about 35 years) and after letting him shoot mine (CZ's, 1911's and a doublestack 1911), I noticed he cannot manipulate the thumb safety well and has difficulty racking the slide due to arthritis. Notwithstanding this he is actually a pretty good shot.

He also tried some range guns such as g-17's (gen 3 and 4) and an M&P.

What I would like to get him is a polymer pistol in 9 that has a smallish grip to begin with (or that can be made smaller and contoured) and then get a smith to reduce it even more, maybe contour it to make it fit his hand better, do some stippling, and then I will add a slide racker and extended mag release to make it easier for him to manipulate and get a trigger for it. I want to stay away from anything with a thumb safety and external hammer so striker fire it is.

His hands are about medium size and he found the smaller the grip the more comfortable it felt and the more securely he could hold it using both hands.

Has anyone got any recommendations that would work for this type of application / modification?

I am thinking polymer would be the easiest to work with and modify for him. I know next to nothing about polymer pistols so thought I would ask here.

Many thanks in advance.

Mark
 
Sounds like you're looking at a Glock 17 Gen4? Arthritic finger joints can be stiff and sore, you may want to look to an aftermarket spring kit to lighten the trigger a bit.

Gen 4= no stippling required
Gen 4= extended mag release
Gen 4 = adjustable back straps
Gen 4= 9mm
Gen 4= crappy sights, your Dad will want to upgrade to steel trijicon 3 dots or the like.
 
plinker 777 said:
Sounds like you're looking at a Glock 17 Gen4? Arthritic finger joints can be stiff and sore, you may want to look to an aftermarket spring kit to lighten the trigger a bit.

Gen 4= no stippling required
Gen 4= extended mag release
Gen 4 = adjustable back straps
Gen 4= 9mm
Gen 4= crappy sights, your Dad will want to upgrade to steel trijicon 3 dots or the like.
Click to expand...

This but ad a slider racker as well since he has trouble racking the slide
 
What didn't he like about the 1911? I only ask because I am a fan, and I never met an old man that didn't like the old "Colts". You could do all of those mods to a 1911, they are almost infinitely customizable and the aftermarket support is second only to a small block Chevy.

Did I mention I'm a fan?
 
You will have to do a pro and con list
plastic gun = lighter = more recoil
metal gun = heaver - less felt recoil
comp or no comp

I have measured the grip of a cz75 and a 1911 and with factory grips they are very close

Love the CZ but aftermarket parts are $$ or hard to come by
Also love the 1911 platform

I would look at a 1911 in 9mm
9 or 10 round mags
and what ever oversized accesories that make it work
 
I'd be tempted to go in a different direction. i shot with a guy who had bad arthritis. Anything more than a few shots in 9mm were not fun for him. just a bit too snappy and that was in a steel frame baby eagle. he hated loading mags as well. He mainly shot a 22 ruger and 38 sp from a 6" 686.
 
If you don't want a revolver (and it sounds like it MAY be the best option) I suggest you look at a Walther PPQ. When you put the smallest backstrap on it has a very small grip, no external safety, and one of the lightest trigger pulls you'll find thanks to the fully cocked action.
 
Yes, I have Arthritis in my hands and elbows. For me there are good and bad days.
Good days I can shoot heavy .45 Colt loads from my SRH .454.
Not so good days, I stick to my .22's and .38 Special guns. Maybe 1911 in 9mm.
Trying to be manly and suck up the extra recoil only means no shooting at all , sometimes for weeks.
I'm old, I shoot for pleasure not because I like pain.

Also I use mag loaders. Loading some mags by hand is not possible.


gdawg said:
I'd be tempted to go in a different direction. i shot with a guy who had bad arthritis. Anything more than a few shots in 9mm were not fun for him. just a bit too snappy and that was in a steel frame baby eagle. he hated loading mags as well. He mainly shot a 22 ruger and 38 sp from a 6" 686.
Click to expand...
 
Id use a 686 with 38 special. I load em with trail boss powder and lead bullets. It just gives you a little push and a puff of smoke. Its fun to shoot and super accurate I love shooting it.
 
A double action revolver might be a bit of a problem due to the force required to operate the trigger. How about an M&P9, if a really small grip is necessary, you can remove the back strap and fill the gap with epoxy, and lighten the trigger with the Apex competition kit, that'll take the pull down to about 2 1/2 pounds.
 
Another option is something like a gsg 1911 in 22lr as its a 22 the spring is weak and very easy to pull back. The drawback is the mags can be a pain to load as you need to pull down on a small table on the side of the magazine to load.
 
Gsg 22, thumb safety easy to operate, low recoil, and slide is easy to rack. Sights are simple

Mp22, same reasons

Old mans guns
 
Take your father shooting and let him decide what firearm he likes the best. Then find out which store has said firearm in stock and give Dad a gift card for said amount of funds to purchase firearm of his choice.
 
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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