Mouse guns. Seriously. It's for the wife, I swear.

**Vorpal** · Posted On: 12/22/2008 10:45pm

A commander size 1911 in .38 super.

**Cy Q. Faunce** · Posted On: 12/22/2008 10:49pm

How severe are the hand problems? Does she have carpal tunnel syndrome, or neuropathy, or something else? The nature and degree of the problem may affect her choice of pistol.

Without knowing the answer, I think the revolver has at least one advantage for her: It requires no great hand strength to load it. Most automatics require the user to rack the slide to chamber a round in all but a few situations. People with nervous conditions in their hands and wrists find this hard.

One exception is the Beretta semiautomatics with tip-up barrels, which don't require racking the slide to put a round in the chamber. They come in chamberings from .22 LR and .25 ACP to .380 ACP. This might be something to consider, if that is a problem she has with semiautos.

**hungryjoe** · Posted On: 12/22/2008 11:44pm

I bought my Mom a Charter Arms 44 special.

She always outshot my Dad with a handgun and I pitty the person that tries to break into her home in the country while she's there.

Mom's not large, but has good hands. Given you're wife's wrist problems, please consider something small framed with .38+P ammunition. You're talking self defence here, so it's not important that she can shoot through a box of ammo in one go. As long as she's proficient, she's good to go.

STAY away from the .22, .25 and .380! You want stopping power for your life's partner and best friend. Shoot regular ammo to get her used to the recoil, or better yet, get her some reduced loads. In a real life stress situation, she's hardly going to notice the recoil difference from what she shot at the range and what she's putting center of mass into the bad guy.

Think also about something like glaser safety loads - little bastards will tear through the body and cause all sorts of damage as long as you're not shooting through a wall to get to the target.

**3moose1** · Posted On: 12/23/2008 12:28am

Originally Posted by hungryjoe

I bought my Mom a Charter Arms 44 special.

She always outshot my Dad with a handgun and I pitty the person that tries to break into her home in the country while she's there.

Mom's not large, but has good hands. Given you're wife's wrist problems, please consider something small framed with .38+P ammunition. You're talking self defence here, so it's not important that she can shoot through a box of ammo in one go. As long as she's proficient, she's good to go.

STAY away from the .22, .25 and .380! You want stopping power for your life's partner and best friend. Shoot regular ammo to get her used to the recoil, or better yet, get her some reduced loads. In a real life stress situation, she's hardly going to notice the recoil difference from what she shot at the range and what she's putting center of mass into the bad guy.

Think also about something like glaser safety loads - little bastards will tear through the body and cause all sorts of damage as long as you're not shooting through a wall to get to the target.

I'm not sure how i feel about this bit of advice. Whilst i know those rounds aren't exactly known for their power, they can most certainly do the job.

I read a statistic somewhere, that a .38 special only stops 50% of the people who get hit by it, and isn't that considered a fairly decent sized round?

Perhaps you should get her a gun she feels comfortable shooting, and then get her proficient with it. It seems to me it would be more logical giving "David" a sling and a rock that he is murderous with, then a .50 cal desert eagle he can't hit **** with...

**hungryjoe** · Posted On: 12/23/2008 12:37am

Originally Posted by 3moose1

I'm not sure how i feel about this bit of advice. Whilst i know those rounds aren't exactly known for their power, they can most certainly do the job.

I read a statistic somewhere, that a .38 special only stops 50% of the people who get hit by it, and isn't that considered a fairly decent sized round?

Perhaps you should get her a gun she feels comfortable shooting, and then get her proficient with it. It seems to me it would be more logical giving "David" a sling and a rock that he is murderous with, then a .50 cal desert eagle he can't hit **** with...

No offence to you moosey, but you're hardly qualifed on this subject.

The guy say's his wife has wrist problems. I recommended reduced loads for practice.

Read up on the ammo type I posted.

Anything less than 9mm is chancey at best. We're talking about his wife's carry for protection, hardly something to take lightly.

Stick to what you know,

Joe

**3moose1** · Posted On: 12/23/2008 1:24am

I'm not exactly sure what we're disagreeing with in this matter...

9mms are chancey as well. Hell, anything can be chancey if she can't shoot, which is why its her proficiency, more so then the exact gun, that matters...

its not like she's making 100 bulls-eye shots. If this is for his wife's protection, then we're talking point blank range. She'll point the gun, and pull the trigger until the clicking brought her back into reality. If she does that with a .45 or a .32, it doesn't matter if she doesn't hit anything...

So back to my point, get her something that feels comfortable, then get her to use it correctly...

Besides, if something is TOO big, she'll fumble as she retrieves it. a snub-nosed .38special, or, again, the .32 i am thinking about would do well in this situation...(neither has a hammer to get snagged, very smooth firearms, etc)

**Scrapper** · Posted On: 12/23/2008 6:10am

She has a pinched nerve in her shoulder which affects her all down her right arm. She is no shrinking violet a the range, either. If the weapon is comfortable for her, she is a better shot than many people on this forum. She is positively lethal with that Vaquero! In a pinch, I could toss her my .357 and expect that at least the first shot would be on target.

The problem comes down to what she can comfortably carry, and practice with. I have no tolerance for people who carry guns they don't practivce with. It's dangerous.

Here's my other conundrum: .22, .32, and .25, while anemic, are still guns, and may have all the desired deterrent effect she'll ever need. Shooting a guy in the face 6 times with .25 or .22 at 3 feet is just as lethal as .50AE.

I know that this is my life partner and best friend, but it is a tough choice. I think I may try to find a decent .38 and have her practice with wuss loads, and then have her load it with +P for carry. Or maybe try to convince her to try a compact 9mm.

**bigpappaferg** · Posted On: 12/23/2008 9:01am

Originally Posted by Rudolph the Glass-Nosed Reindeer

She has a pinched nerve in her shoulder which affects her all down her right arm. She is no shrinking violet a the range, either. If the weapon is comfortable for her, she is a better shot than many people on this forum. She is positively lethal with that Vaquero! In a pinch, I could toss her my .357 and expect that at least the first shot would be on target.

The problem comes down to what she can comfortably carry, and practice with. I have no tolerance for people who carry guns they don't practivce with. It's dangerous.

Here's my other conundrum: .22, .32, and .25, while anemic, are still guns, and may have all the desired deterrent effect she'll ever need. Shooting a guy in the face 6 times with .25 or .22 at 3 feet is just as lethal as .50AE.

I know that this is my life partner and best friend, but it is a tough choice. I think I may try to find a decent .38 and have her practice with wuss loads, and then have her load it with +P for carry. Or maybe try to convince her to try a compact 9mm.

My wife carries a Beretta .32 auto with tilt-up barrel, and it is quite a nice little gun, and accurate for it's size. Also, with a pocket holster it fits nicely and indiscreetly in her front pant pocket so she's comfortable carrying it everywhere.

**7thSamurai** · Posted On: 12/23/2008 9:46am

Can I ask what the limiting factor is with regards to the pinched nerve in regards to pistol selection? If the recoil is causing discomfort for the right arm, could she maybe try to fire left handed? It would take some effort to learn, but maybe the change would allow her to carry something with slightly more umph.

**Scrapper** · Posted On: 12/23/2008 10:49am

I think switching to left-handed shooting is going to be more tricky than just finding a gun she can shoot well. The problem is more one of comfort and not physical ability. I've seen her shoot .44 magnum before...it just hurts.

I really think she might do OK with .38 if I get a good set of ergonomic grips.