I Need to Find a Pistol for My Mother

[BrewerGeorge]

My mother is 64 and lives alone. Twenty years ago I helped her buy and learn to use an SP101 in .357, which she still has. She always shot .38's in it, but now she doesn't have the hand strength to control .38's anymore. She can still pull trigger, but I think the pistol would actually leave her hand if she shot it. She still wants to keep a pistol in the house, and I like her having one, but I need to find something she can shoot. This isn't one of those situations where the typical advice we give about wives and girlfriends is going to fit. She's not going to pick it out herself.

I'm thinking of .22 WMR ideally, or .22LR. We're limited to revolvers because that's all she's ever owned. She's fired my automatics (years ago) but never enough to operate them confidently. Hand strength to cycle the slide might also be an issue. So I'm looking for ideas. I'm thinking of the Taurus 941 - for the price mostly. SP101 would be nice, but that's a couple hundred dollars more.

What other pistols should I be looking at?

 

[Liberty Sanders]

​Try Gunbroker for a 2nd hand Smith kit gun.

 

[BrewerGeorge]

What's a kit gun?

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Kit Gun=pistol in your fishing or backpacking gear.

It is what the ancients used to combat dinosaurs, particularly raptors. The ancients still use this language.

Kit Guns | Shooting Illustrated

1. Smith .32 revolver, how about a Model 16?

2. How about the Ruger .22 mag LCR?

Teach your mother hand exercises to strengthen her hands. As a benefit the hand exercises will defeat arthitis.

 

[nakinate]

I agree with Kirk on the LCR in 22 mag. If semi-autos weren't out of the question I would say a Sig P238. Easy slide to rack and a single action trigger.

 

[mom45]

I have an older friend that I took shopping after showing her my Taurus PT22. It is a semiauto, but it has the tip up barrel so you don't rack the slide.

She has no trouble shooting it and it holds more bullets than a revolver. She has arthritis and likes that it is lightweight and easy for her to shoot.

This gun is picky about ammo and does not like Remington Thunderbolts, but Federal and CCI both work great in it with no jams or problems.

 

[Snapdragon]

I was going to say I think I saw a .22 SP101 in the classifieds, but they're asking the same price as you can get a new one for.

I'm interested in this because my mother has mentioned wanting a gun since I got mine. She is 80 and you could knock her over with a feather, so I don't know if that's even possible. I'll keep an eye on this thread for ideas.

 

[IndyDave1776]

Since you live in Plainfield, I would recommend going to see Bob about trading the gun she has for the same thing in .22.

I should have specified before editing that this solution will leave her with a gun with which she is already familiar minus some recoil.

 

[Etorg]

Charter Arms Undercorvette, 5 shot, 32 mag, pink lady Charter .32 H and R Pink Lady #53230

 

[BehindBlueI's]

You know, a lot can be done with a change of the grips. Have you considered swapping to oversized rubber grips? That can help increase purchase on the gun and the hands don't have to close as tightly to hold it firmly. Combine with some reduced recoil Critical Defense ammo and you'd have an easy to manage package that she already knows and trusts, with better power than a .22, and the reliability of center fire.

 

[trophyhunter]

The Beretta Bobcat .22 with the tip up barrel is a piece of cake to load and unload, has the option of cocking the hammer or firing the first one DA. I have an older senior friend who has horribly arthritic hands and he can operate that gun all day long with the first DA pull being followed up by SA shots.

Might be something to consider loaded with Stinger's.

 

[wolfman]

Charter Arms Undercorvette, 5 shot, 32 mag, pink lady Charter .32 H and R Pink Lady #53230

Charter has a reputation of a horrible trigger. I have seen several elderly couples come into the range with them and be disappointed because they can't pull the trigger to fire them.

 

[Mossberg84]

Surprised no one has come up with the James Yeager answer: Glock17.

 

[Carmel Corn]

The LCR in .22LR has a pretty stiff trigger pull vs. an SP101 in .357 or .38. I think she should keep the SP101 .357 and make a couple changes. Maybe you have already considered this, but in case not....install a Hogue Mono-grip. That way she can get per pinky on it as well. Second, have her try full wad-cutters in 148 grain. Low velocity and recoil vs. hollow-points. The weight of the SP101 is better than an airweight for recoil as well.

 

[8th SPS USAF]

How about a Beretta tip up bbl in 22short,22lr,25acp?

 

[nakinate]

Surprised no one has come up with the James Yeager answer: Glock17.

Nah, he would recommend the G19 as it is a bit smaller.

 

[ru44mag]

Since you live in Plainfield, I would recommend going to see Bob about trading the gun she has for the same thing in .22.

I should have specified before editing that this solution will leave her with a gun with which she is already familiar minus some recoil.

This makes the most sense to me. The LCR or P238 would also be good if she thought she was up for change, but doesn't really sound like it.

 

[Drotis]

I like revolvers for home guns for your situation. My mother tried my LCR 38 spl and couldn't pull the trigger because of her arthritis. So I'd recommend a revolver with an exposed hammer which can be manually cocked. The single action pull should be much easier. Just my 2c.

 

[Bigtanker]

I know you are asking about a pistol but I'll throw this out there. What about a Mossberg .410 pump? It is about 3/4 the size of a 12 gauge. The .410 is the one on the bottom. Get a sling and maybe even a folding pistol grip stock?

 

[Snapdragon]

Hmmmm... I've been thinking about getting a shotgun anyway. Maybe I need to look at one of those to keep in my mom's room.