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Single Action CC Gun for my wife who has beginning arthritis.

davegran

davegran

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MAC702 said:
I was thinking about this thread some more, and I am forced to agree more and more with the suggestions for a revolver. A DAO revolver can be made quite light and still fire reliably. There are no slide issues for weak hands. And it occurred to me that the subject here is "beginning arthritis." In other words, it's only going to get worse, right?
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Unfortunately, that is correct, her arthritis will probably get worse. I sat her down today in front of my hand guns, including DA/SA pistols and a .32 revolver, and let her try to load (snap caps) and go through the manual of arms with each one. The only one she could operate was my SA 1911. The double action revolver trigger was too heavy for her to pull.

I have shot a revolver with a very slick trigger job, but I don't think she could have operated that one either. Can a revolver action be massaged to yield the smooth 4# to 5# trigger pull of the 1911 and still be reliable? I'm asking, not arguing.
 
Eeyore

Eeyore

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davegran said:
The only one she could operate was my SA 1911. The double action revolver trigger was too heavy for her to pull.
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You asked aerlier about the Px4 compact. IIRC, Px4s come in two configurations: with a decocker (no safety) and a combination safety/decocker, so "cocked & locked" is not an option on either.

The problem as I see it is that compact autos are harder to rack than full-sized autos--less gripping surface and stronger springs. That's probably why she could cycle your full-sized 1911 but not the others. However, before you give up on semi-autos completely, check out http://www.corneredcat.com/Rack_the_Slide/ to learn some techniques for racking the slide better-suited for women. They mostly address upper-body strength vs hand/grip strength, so they might not make much of a difference in this case.

If that doesn't help, you might have to go the lightened revolver route, but then she'd be carrying "cocked and unlocked"--potentially very dangerous.
 
J

jeeper1

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How is she trying to cock the pistols?
Most people hold the grip still and pull the slide back.
For people with limited strength holding the slide still and pushing the grip forward sometimes helps.
 
MAC702

MAC702

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Eeyore said:
...If that doesn't help, you might have to go the lightened revolver route, but then she'd be carrying "cocked and unlocked"--potentially very dangerous.
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I think we have all been recommending a lightened pull on a DAO revolver. This is not a single-action, and would never be cocked.

I've seen some custom revolvers with very light (relatively) DAO pulls. A particular Ruger SP101 comes to mind as the smoothest I've ever seen, though S&W's have a reputation for ease of trigger work.
 
davegran

davegran

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Eeyore said:
.... However, before you give up on semi-autos completely, check out http://www.corneredcat.com/Rack_the_Slide/ to learn some techniques for racking the slide better-suited for women. They mostly address upper-body strength vs hand/grip strength, so they might not make much of a difference in this case.

....
Click to expand...
Thanks for the link! We'll try their suggestions.
 
09jisaac

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Since with a revolver you would have to go against the spring that fires the round I don't see how you can lighten it that much without effecting the reliability. It is probably best to find a gun that she can handle and fine tune it to her needs.
 
MAC702

MAC702

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09jisaac said:
Since with a revolver you would have to go against the spring that fires the round I don't see how you can lighten it that much without effecting the reliability....
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Actually, they can be lightened quite a bit without sacrificing reliability. For those who really care, you can experiment with primers and lighten things just above the failure threshold and you will really be amazed how light it can be. But without approaching failures, you can still lighten a DAO revolver quite significantly for this to be a very viable option. Revolvers have a fairly long hammer throw with good momentum, and the trigger has a decent lever arm.

Also, for example, Glocks must still cock the striker another 40% of travel, yet can come from the factory with as little as a 3.5# pull.
 
MAC702

MAC702

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Baked on Grease said:
...I got.my wife the Walther pk380, larger than most 380 pistols, with a molded grip for easier handling, a REALLY easy spring to chamber a round, and because of it's size, almost no "kick" compared to other 380's.

Still small enough for her to conceal, and pretty cheap too, about $300. And I do meam REALLY easy to chamber a round... I can use my pinky to rack the slide...
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I've just heard from another friend who recently got a PK380. The first thing he remarked to me about it was how easy it was to operate the slide.
 
user

user

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09jisaac said:
Since with a revolver you would have to go against the spring that fires the round I don't see how you can lighten it that much without effecting the reliability. It is probably best to find a gun that she can handle and fine tune it to her needs.
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You not only can, but should - the gun manufacturers make the springs too strong because they're afraid of being sued in case of a malfunction. My suggestion would be a S&W K frame in .38 special, ideal model in my opinion is the 67; 4" barrel, exposed hammer, adjustable sights, minimal recoil, super reliable. And good used ones are readily available at good prices. The trigger pull can be reduced substantially by swapping out the trigger rebound and hammer springs. I'd suggest getting a complete action job by a competent gunsmith, too, because the way they come from the factory, they feel like they've got sand in the bearings.
 
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