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Elderly Woman Home Defense Gun

6K views 35 replies 14 participants last post by  gdmoody 
#1 ·
A few years ago my mother expressed an interest in purchasing a revolver for home protection, and a friend instructed her to purchase an S&W DAO .38 special, with a laser grip. She shoots it every year during an annual family picnic, and this past year she complained about the trigger pull and the recoil of the .38. She turned 70 this year and lives in the rural area of her state.


Based on her complaints, I purchased a Taurus 941 .22 MAG and put a side mount laser on it. I figured the .22 MAG does not kick that much and eight shots are also a bonus. The only problem with this is the single action and double action are quite stout. I replaced the trigger spring and it reduced the double action pull some, but I didn’t touch the hammer spring. My wife has a Taurus 938 (.380) and my mother was not able to pull the slide back.


I own SIG’s, Colts, and S&W’s, but I am also a fan of Taurus. I like the features of the Taurus PT 25 and Taurus PT 22, but read some of the mixed reviews online. It seems like there are good ones and bad ones. I like the fact you can load the barrel and load the magazine without racking the slide. I also know certain semi autos can be picky when it comes to .22RF, which is why I am looking at the .25 ACP. I have read all the ‘opinions’ about the .25 ACP, but it is a proven fact that a .38 Special that someone is scared to shoot will in fact do less damage than a .22 RF or .25 ACP they are willing to shoot. I know this is a knock off on the Berretta Tomcat .32 ACP, but those are near impossible to find.


I haven’t delivered it to her yet, and she may not have any issues with the single action. That being said, I wanted to see if anyone had some other suggestions.
 
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#4 · (Edited)
I owned a Tomcat, not what I would recommend for home defence. The only thing it has going for it is it's small size, not really benefit for a house gun. The one I owned was not dependable, many FTF unless fed FMJ and even then not nearly as dependable as the 22lr pistols I have owned.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Why do you keep looking at "mouse" guns? There is zero advantage to a tiny pistol for home defense. They kick harder and are not as easy to shoot as a mid-sized gun in the same caliber. Your p238 is a fine example. Excellent pistol for is intended purpose, good carry gun, concealment being the major advantage. The p238 weighs less than a l6 ounces and is tiny, ya it will jump a bit in the hand. Shoot that same 380 round out of a gun that fills the hand better and weighs 1/2 again as much it will be much milder to shoot.
The Beretta 86 is well suited to older folks. It has the tip up barrel so there is no need to rack the slide, it is the largest gun available with a tip up barrel to my knowledge. It shoots a decent caliber that is on par with the 38 special. It's not a huge gun but is large enough to get a better grip with older, weaker hands than the tiny pocket pistols.
 
#12 ·
The problem is that you can't have both a good man stopper, and low recoil. I've bought the wife everything from .22 to .38, and she doesn't like any of them. Can't shoot any of the .22's, LR, or Mag, unless it's in the NAA mini revolver. I'm now considering the Ruger LC .380, it's the same size as the LC 9mm, but I'm afraid that she will declare it to heavy for her purse. I'm also considering a .32 at this time. I personally don't think the .32 is a good choice for a SD hand gun, but what ya gonna do?
 
#17 ·
Carver have you shot a midsize 380? Years ago I bought the wife a nice Browning BDA. A 13 shot mid-sized pistol, very accurate and easy to shoot. Came home late one night and my 357 was on her night stand. She explained that something had spooked the dogs and she got the pistol out. I asked her why she didn't get the 380. Her reply was classic " I wanted something with stoppers". The BDA was a nice pistol definitely more capable than any mouse gun.
 
#15 ·
The Beretta 86 looks to be the same size and weight as the Taurus 941 I purchased, and its $800 plus price tag is not very appealing. Again, she hasn't tried it yet, and I am going off my impression of the trigger / hammer pull.

I am an advocate for having the person use what they are comfortable shooting.
 
#21 ·
$800!!!!!!! Street price was closer to $500. Yikes The thing that's nice about it for older hands is that tip up barrel.........think of it as a Bobcat on steroids:D. If racking the slide is not an issue then it's just another midsized auto. Hope you get It sorted out......so many choices:)
 
#20 ·
I have the same problem with my wife. She can't pull the slide on any gun we have. She has a Ruger p95 that she wanted. Easy slide to pull but she now says she can't pull that either. She likes my Ruger Mark 111 but I don't like a 22 for self defence.
 
#22 ·
I would never recommend a small caliber hand gun for self defense.
I had a friend that took 8 rounds of 22 lr hp in his torso and one in the head. the one that killed him.
I don't know how big your mother is, but I think a .410 or 20 ga. shotgun would be better.
I just sold a 87 year old lady a 20 ga. Mossberg for home protection.
she said as she left the shop "now let them bastards break in my house"
 
#23 ·
The other aspect is practice. Large and heavy or small and light won't make any difference if she isn't familiar and comfortable. With great respect for her age, we all have to learn to handle and control the weapons we use. Maybe a great mother-son activity?
 
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#24 ·
Why go with a hand held pistol? Shotguns only need to be held at waist height. Yes, there's recoil, but not against the shoulder. And it don't have to be double-ought buckshot. When one shot may be the only shot, make it one that will kill the first time. What if she misses with the hand gun?
 
#25 ·
With my wife it's about a gun that she can carry on her person, or in her purse. One that she can shoot, become proficient with, either from the holster, or the night stand. Shot gun won't work for her needs.
 
#28 ·
I live in a different state than my mom, and when I visit it is usually during a holiday. That tends to limit the time we can spend on a range. She didn't have a problem with the .38 special till this year, and I have told her in a situation where she would need to fire the adrenaline would take over and she would not notice the recoil.

She may be 70, but she is far from frail; however, I believe it is a unrealistic expectation that she would be able to pick up and aim a shotgun in the time she would be able to pick up a handgun, point and shoot. She would be using it in the house, so its not like she would be shooting at a distance of more than 15 feet in any given situation. I am leaning toward a .32 ACP, but still have some concerns regarding a semiautomatic slide. The Tomcat's are hard to find...
 
#30 ·
I understand your problem, or should I say your mom's problem. And there is no easy fix. All the .22's have to have heavy triggers due to their ignitions, rim fire. I don't know if your mom can handle the Taurus, or not. I know my wife can't pull the triggers on the .22's. Bought her a PT 22, and she simply can not pull the trigger on it. I know that I have to get a center fire revolver, or semi auto, but she complains about all of them being to heavy, or having to much recoil. Strictly home defense is something I think I can solve, but the carry part I just can't figure out.
 
#32 ·
Quit looking for mouse guns & sub-compacts! Have her try a full-sized polymer gun in a caliber she can handle. .9mm for instance in a full-sized Glock is a soft shooter with very little muzzle flip. If she can't handle manipulating the slide, go with a full-sized revolver like a Ruger in .22 mag.
 
#33 ·
May I suggest that you have someone who has been trained in crime prevention come into her home and make the home secure against intrusion. Target harden the doors and windows so if someone wants to come in they will make enough noise to wake her up and select the weapon of choice. In addition, make her home appear to be "difficult" to break into. Trim the shrubs, put in motion lights and alarms, perhaps even install an alarm system with a panic key fob for her to carry. (The smoke detector is always a plus.) Fake or real cameras, Operation Identification works cause if you mark everything you own so cops can ID it as yours, criminals don't want it, plus decals tell them everything in here is mine and I can prove it. The gun should be the last resort, and the home owner should be well forewarned that an intruder is approaching. As far as the weapon of choice, just find out what she is comfortable shooting. I don't know of anyone who would want to be shot with a .22 short. She is not defending Omaha Beach, she is defending her home. If she is comfortable using a .22 Bearcat from Ruger, then let her use that, but make sure her home is properly defended with hardware and alarms and remind her that ammunition is cheap, life isn't. Six .22 shorts rattling round in someone's chest is at the least uncomfortable. Six .22 hyper velocity bullets are more than uncomfortable. There are many many weapons out there, but if someone can sneak into your home and your bedroom, I don't care if you have a .44 magnum in the nightstand. You are officially a victim.
 
#34 · (Edited)
^^^ good points plus from reading this thread, many articles and my personal experience I always think :

1. Anything is better than nothing from the intimidation factor , noise factor of ripping off a warning shot. I gave my wife my Western style 22 mag w/hollow points SA/DA to keep upstairs. Easy to use, fairly accurate i have more downstairs.

2. Nothing wrong with revolvers over a semi that might jam or someone who might have trouble with a slide.

3. A closet .410 or 20 ga is nice, I have a 3 shot bolt action old 20 ga real easy loading magazine.

4. Don't forget PEPPERSPRAY for both home, car, purse. Might back someone down or buy you some time to get away or get your gun.
 
#35 ·
I realize this is old thread but wanted to give an update. When I visited my mother earlier this month I bought the Taurus 941 .22 MAG, Kel Tec P-32, Iver Johnson TP-25 and H&R 732. She was able to cock the hammer back on the Taurus and shot it without any complaints. I put a laser on it and bore sighted it at 10 yards.

She was unable to pull the slide back on the Kel Tec P-32 or any other semi-automatic, so I decided to keep the P-32 for myself.
 
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