I did my typical flippant "You should get a gun", and Mom surprised me. She said "I wouldn't want a rifle, and wouldn't care except when your dad wasn't here, but a handgun might be good to have."
Well knock me over with a feather - we didn't have guns growing up. So to my exceptionally knowledgeable (not to mention exceptionally good looking) readers, what's the right handgun for Mom? I doubt she'll get it, but I sort of think something like this:
Of course, she's a classy lady, so I might go for some pearl grips (or - be still my heart! - Mammoth ivory).
So what's your recommendation? Remember, I'm an Old Fart, and she's my mom, so nothing in Smith & Wesson .500 Mag (or even .357). And classy.
15 comments:
Don't forget that a revolver chambered in .357 Magnum can also fire .38 Special.
There's a lot to be said about the elegance of the S&W Model 19 - should be able to pick up a decent specimen in 90%+ condition for around four bills. Get something with a 4" barrel - any more and it's a target gun, and less and it's a sharper learning curve on getting on target.
In the realm of the semi-auto, as much as it pains me to say, the best is really a Glock. Whether it be the model 17 in 9mm (or the slightly smaller 19) or the model 21 in .45 ACP (G-d's own pistol caliber), it's a simple, reliable design that doesn't have any safeties or levers to play with when the ball drops.
First thing is to get to a range where she can rent a wide variety of guns, though - the gun that fits her hand just fine in the gun store may not shoot well for her on the range. She may have trouble racking the slide on certain semi-automatics; she may not care for the double action trigger on a revolver. There's a lot you just plain don't know until you get on the firing line...
Oh, and if she comes out for a visit I'd be honored to host y'all at my range to try out some of the G. armory...
A 4" heavy barrel model 10 S&W .38 spl. With the required Ivory grips and a Tyler T grip.
Preferably a used revolver with a lot of dry firing or actual shooting to smooth out the action.
Or failing the Ivory grips, a set of C / T laser grips would probably be quite functional.
Roger
S&W mod 10 is a tad move svelte than the 19, plentiful & cheap (+/-), & the controls can be worked by everyone.
And I don't care who says what, the .38 special can put a world of hurt on a body.
I'd go with the stainless version of the Model 10: the Model 64. Leave off the fancy grips and instead add Pachmayr or other soft rubber grips that will not slip in her hand and will soften recoil.
For a cartridge I'd go with Federal 125-grain Nyclads in standard pressure .38 Special. These will give minimal recoil while still doing significant damage. Between the stainless gun and the Nyclad cartridges you'll have a package that won't require much in the way of cleaning and maintenance.
How about.
Patton's Handguns
"The Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum that Patton owned was shipped to him from the Smith & Wesson factory on October 18, 1935. It was a newly developed gun manufactured especially for the new cartridge that Smith & Wesson had created. It was the most powerful handgun in the world at the time. Although Patton's Colt .45 was chambered for a special large revolver cartridge weighing 255 grams with enormous shocking power, he purchased the Smith & Wesson as a "killing gun", as he termed it."
Now thats classic!!
+1 on the Tyler T grip, it will make the gun change from being comfortable to being AWESOME. I have a Colt 38 with the T grip that is WAY older than I am, with a 3.5 barrel and it is great to shoot and is the only gun I can get my wife to fire at the range.
I'm all with JayG on handgun choices, although I wouldn't consider an automatic until I knew she could reliably cycle the slide.
One thought. A 20 ga. shotgun would be significantly more weapon than any handgun, and if it's a house only weapon, meaning she not going to carry, it should be on the possibles list. The only real reason for handguns is portability.
My work at Ladies Day shoots at our club shows me that just about every woman, of every shape, size, and age, can handle a 20 gauge. If you're going to take her to a range and try some different weapons, get her to try one.
I would go with a simple revolver for mom so that under pressure all she needs to do is pull the trigger. She want have to worry about safeties, magazines, jacking the slide or releases. At close range there are a lot of low recoiling .38 special loads that are still stoppers. JMHO
Wild Ed's Texas Outdoors
I bought my mother a S&W revolver in .38Spl. Then, because she has older hands with a weaker grip, I took it and had the trigger pull reduced by a bit, and she has an easier time shooting it.
I liked the results so much that I have thought of getting the same for myself.
Rule one in buying a gun for a woman, go to www.corneredcat.com. Written by a female trainer it covers all of the bases for women.
Rule 2 is let her pick it out. It is amazing how many experienced shooters know how individual gun fit is and then have a narrow choice range for women. I have taught a number of women to shoot and what gun they end up liking best often amazes me.
Rule 3 is the simple answers aren't always the best. Double action revolvers are difficult and uncomfortable for many women to shoot. Women seem to operate machines in their daily life that are far more complicated than a semi-auto pistol, many of today's semi-autos are point and click anyway.
In short get some expert advice and let her choose he weapon. If she ends up with a Bersa Thunder .380, that's what she needs.
Is Precision Arms still on Menaul Blvd? They were good guys when I lived out there.
Make sure Mom gets a gun that fits her, and she likes.
What James Nelson said.
Wow, thanks everyone. I don't think that she's in the market for one, but the next time I'm out there I'll see about taking her to the range to try some.
I'll chime in on the 20 guage. A single (or double) barrel cut down to legal limit is a nifty house gun.
That said, I just bought and presented to younger son's fiancee a Ruger SP101 with a 2 1/2 barrel. She was thrilled and rewarded us all with some nice groups.
She started out on a Model 10 Smith - an old cop turn-in. She'd shot several autoloaders but showed a distinct preference for wheelguns. Girlfriends get loaner guns, fiancee's get new ones. Carry ammo is .38 +P SWCHP.
Have your mother also look at Ruger single actions. My mother found that the big, long stroke single action hammer was easy for her to work with arthritic hands. She shoots a .45 with no trouble, and a .22 Single Six allows for cheap practice. It's a good house gun, but not handy to pack. You can swap trigger springs by removing the grips and pushing out one pin, and have a 2 1/2 pound trigger pull in a few minutes.
Mom's pocket gun is a PK380, and she picked this one out also. Dearly loves it; it does require practice drills to have the operation in your head, but practice is good. For enjoying more trigger time with an auto, Mom uses a 22/45 with a red dot sight. This is really improving her speed. My son took out the detent on the slide release because it was difficult for Mom to operate, and that modification makes it a much easier to use range gun.
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