Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Input wanted for Pistol choice for my Mom

I am wanting to buy my Mom another handgun for self defense.

She has a concealed carry license and Currently carries a S&W 642 38Special loaded with Hornady 135 grain Ammo.
At 10 ft she can stay on a paper plate for 5 shots.
Pretty good for an 80 year old lady

She carries it in a holster in her purse ,I know not the ideal but that is where she is going to carry it..

I am wanting to get her a pistol that carries more rounds in case of multiple threats.

I am thinking about a DAO 380 or 9mm that holds 10 plus rounds with a long double action pull similar to the Revolver she currently carries,with no safety to fumble with.
Preferably something that she could pull the slide back on .Of course reliability is a must.

I would appreciate Information on pistols that will meet those criteria for her,preferably first hand experience.

I was impressed by the S&W 380 EZ I handled at a local store. Slide was very easy to retract and it has a grip safety as well as a generous trigger pull.

..my suggestion is...leave well enough alone....

Better to have five rounds you know that are going to go off rather than an 80 year old who will now have to learn FTF clearance drills...to gain what 2-3 rounds...

By the time her 5-shot is empty there will either be bodies on the ground or people beating feet to get away from her...

Bob

^^^^^^^^^

While self defense guns have went from revolvers to semi'so over the last few decades,
there are good reasons that revolvers are commonly recommended for those who aren't gun enthusiasts.

Talk to a gun shop owner about people who screw up the unloading of a semi.
Revolvers are simple, and 5 rounds of 38 in not exactly unarmed.

My instinctive reaction was also to recommend sticking to a revolver for simplicity and safety. As was said, 99% of the time, when bullets fly, criminals beat a path to the nearest exit.

Buy her another 38

I kinda agree with RJM if she is happy with what she has. But, I really like the Shield .380 EZ. It is a single action with a grip safety and can be had with or without a thumb safety. (We have the one without the thumb safety to keep it simple.) It is really easy to load, really easy to shoot, and allows rapid follow up shots. Most of the people I see who are able to hit a paper plate with 5 shots at 10 feet using a small revolver take forever to do it, which is great if a bad guy just stands there and takes it. For the bad guy(s) who charges, it will be over quick. The EZ is not like shooting a .22, but it is pretty mild. The longer barrel gives really good velocities approaching advertised specs (Federal Hydra Shoks, 974 fps, Critical Defense, 994 fps, Gold Dots, 1059 fps (above advertised spec)!). The only thing I would suggest is to do the leg work and vet it for the end user in case there are any issues. (Some have reported the gun ejecting a live round along with an empty. We have not had that issue.)

One suggestion on the 642...have the trigger return spring replaced with a 12-13# Wolf. I would not mess with the main spring to make sure ignition stays reliable but I have replaced the trigger return spring in all my Smiths with 13s and it makes a big difference.

Also...buy mom some life size photo bad guy targets and instead of "target" shooting on paper plates teach her how to just put a round on target asap from handshaking distance out to 15'.

The money that you will save over buying a new gun will buy a lot of practice ammo...

What I was thinking.

Let her us practice with speed strips as well and carry a few of them in her purse.

Me too, buy two! do an action job on both of them reduce the DA trigger pull as best as possible. I had a Smith 432 32 HR magnum for a while, sold it due to ammo availability, it was low recoil for sure, much less than my old Titaneum 38.

That’s some good advice. People spend a lot of time fixing things that are not broke. Your time and money would be better spent on reloading techniques. Sounds like she has the shooting down pat. Hasbeen

I'll add maybe get some laser grips and sight it in. Knowing how to use the sights is important but at close range in a high stress situation the laser sights are a plus.

After Hurricane Katrina, a relative wanted a small revolver with a laser, so I installed Crimson Trace laser grips on a no-dash S&W 640 and had it shipped to her. She took a CCW course and had to use both index fingers to pull the trigger, and the gun probably is sitting a box somewhere with the action gunked up and non-functioning, having never been handled or cleaned since the CCW class. If it was functional, she would not survive an encounter against an amateur criminal.

I have a friend who wanted to go shooting earlier this year. She had not been shooting since she got her CCW permit three years prior. She did OK, but was slow, with her dad’s vintage Model 19 shooting .38 Specials, but she would not shoot more than 2 cylinders’ worth of target ammo out of her airweight J frame .38 Special. I handed her my Glock 43, and she shot it faster, and more accurately, strong hand only and weak hand only, than she did with her revolvers using two hands. She wanted to run out and buy one. The only reason I did not recommend that was that she had some difficulty working the slide to load it.

People talk about spending the money on ammo rather than a new gun, but most people will never shoot enough ammo out of airweight J frames to have any impact on even a limited budget. They just suck for all but the most committed or lucky.

I’m in the camp of “don’t change anything.”

Your basis for wanting to purchase her another handgun is “ in case she engages multiple threats.” Has she even engaged a SINGLE threat engagement? I,m guessing, “no.”

A semi-auto is a different system than she is currently used to ( revolver). An “ threat engagement” will be a stressful event. You want #simplicity, and familiarity of the weapon by an 80+ year old. You don't want her to hesitate and think, “Is the chamber loaded in my semi-auto” at the moment of truth/ need. ( which we all (one never happens).

Spend the money on ammo for practice. She has 5 shots with her current 38 wheel gun. With 5 well-placed head shots, you get 5 ( multiple encounters) addressed soundly. Sort of the, “ beware of the person with 1 gun, as he/she probably knows how to use it” school of thought.

Maybe buy her an Acme Thunderer whistle to blow LOUDLY before a round is fired, with gun at the ready. Could scare off a threat. Consider well-fitting grips, to increase natural “point ability.”

I vote, “practice more with her current reliable, simple 38 +p revolver”, and improve proficiency/ familiarity/point ability and LOUD whistle blowing ( S-O-S Morse code whistling. “ dot dot dot dash dash dash. dot dot dot”. For help)., and that she never needs to use any of it.

What bothers me about the new autos is the ease that they can be fired.

That is all well and good for accuracy and getting the shot off pronto. What gives me pause is that raw adrenaline panic cannot be practiced and personally speaking only here--(don't have a cat) I doubt that rote muscle memory is enough for some people--including and especially my bride of 40 years. I know her.

Working the slide is an issue at 120#. Does she shoot herself getting the damn thing out? Does she shoot too quick? Will she practice regularly once the geek wears off? Will the mechanical knowledge of a more complex pistol fade with time?

Here am thinking a 38 revolver tuned a bit at the most. Perhaps not an airweight and in a smaller caliber.

fwiw, I wish she stick with a shotgun, but it is hard to get it in her purse.

Exactly my concern in the hands of an 80 year old woman who hasn't been an avid shooting.

If the 642 is too light, and is thus challenging for her to deal with recoil, you might consider getting an all steel revolver, and perhaps switch to a six shooter for one extra round, like the new re-introduction of the Colt Cobra. Also, target wadcutters will cut way down on recoil, and are said to be pretty effective for self-defense due to flat meplat.

Bcraig: I bought my mother a Smith & Wesson Model 60 "Ladysmith" in 38 Special about 30 years ago - it served her well (not that she ever shot it in a self defense situation!) but it gave her much peace of mind as her neighborhood (in the Puget Sound area) has steadily declined - becoming more and more unsafe each year.
Pleas for her to "move" to a safer neighborhood were rejected.
I say keep and eye on her when she travels and an eye on her neighbors/surroundings - in other words the revolver she has would/should in all likelihood, suffice for her, forever.
My beloved mother just passed away this late spring at age 92 and again her revolver gave her much peace of mind in her home during her later life.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

My condolences to you and family for the passing of your Mother

The area she lives in has grown worse and worse throughout the years,she has been broken into twice ,Thankfully she was not home.
I have tried to get her to either move in with the wife and or let me put her a nice doublewide on our property within 25 yards of where we live so she could have her privacy And be safer as well.|
Well she always thanks me but she has a friend(another lady about 70 years old )who is her neighbor and they watch out for each other.
Also says she has moved before and will not move again !

I had an alarm system installed in her house and it works very well being monitored 24/7 and also bars put on her windows(she fought that tooth and nail).

I also talk with her on a constant basis ,explaining to her that the best weapon she has is her mind and to always be aware of her surroundings,Have showed her how fast someone can be upon her,told her an excellent weapon is her car and if thugs line across the road in front of her attempting to do her harm for her and she cannot turn around or go around them to run over the scum.

I have taught her not to stand in front of the her door when hearing something outside as it is easy to shoot through a wooden door,.same about windows.
Not to go to the door or open the door unless she recognizes the voice .

If I get her another handgun I want it to have a double action only pull that would be a lot like the revolver she has now.
she can do the 5 shots in about 10 seconds.

I got on youtube and there were several instances where the last round failed to chamber.