Mom learned to shoot! Need revolver advice.
 

My father just called to tell me that my 72-year-old mother, who has always been afraid of guns, went down to the Sheriff's Department with her friends and starting taking a multiday shooting class for women, and she's really enjoying it! She's now planning to buy a pistol and get a carry permit and wants me to take her to my gun club to practice. I'm so excited! I'm relieved, too. My eagle-eyed father, who has always been the best shot in the family with pistols, despite rarely going shooting, is now 80 years old, in declining health, and using a walker to get around. My mother has realized that she needs to be able to handle home defense now. I think the real reason she finally did it, though, was a lot of her lady friends from bridge and tennis shoot, and most of the rest of them who didn't before were signing up for this course to learn how. I don't think mom wanted to be left out. Lol!

So, I need advice. She wants to get a .38 revolver. She's thinking she wants a 4-inch barrel, but she might go with a shorter one to save on weight. Primarily, she needs one that's lightweight and reliable, with a reasonably light trigger pull. She's in good shape, but she's 72 and not getting younger. She's not petite, and her hands aren't particularly small, so she doesn't necessarily need a small frame. The only frame of reference I have is that her instructor said the Ruger GP-100 .357 (4-inch barrel) my father sent to class with her was too heavy (the GP weighs 37 oz.) and the trigger pull was too heavy for her. She and dad want to stick to a reasonable price range (my dad's idea of reasonable is 30 years out of date), but her gun-nut children are willing to contribute to the cause to make sure she gets a good firearm. If you have recommendations I'd love to hear them!

She's probably leaning toward a Taurus because that's what her instructor mentioned, and she's the sort who would feel most comfortable following her teacher's recommendations. She couldn't remember what kind of Taurus he said, though. I'm thinking it might have been something that's popular with cops, like the model 617. Anyone have one? Pros? Cons? Suitability for grandma types?


Last Christmas I gave mom The Creature from Jekyll Island, and she read it and understood it! And now she's learning to shoot and getting a carry permit! I never thought I'd see this day. If you'll excuse me now, I need to do some celebrating!
:getdown:bancha:553::coolbeer::yippee::yippee::yip pee::ARMS1:

Re: Mom learned to shoot! Need revolver advice.
 

hammerless snub nose. in questionable situations she can be ready to fire while it is still in her purse or a jacket pocket without exposing it. s&w j-frame is common. dunno on the trigger pull though. taurus might have some equivilents.

Re: Mom learned to shoot! Need revolver advice.
 

s&w j frame is made in a bunch of different models, 36 chiefs special is a nice one, my favorite is the 642 centennial, hammerless .38 special weights 12 ounces, real easy to shoot.

Re: Mom learned to shoot! Need revolver advice.
 

Find a K-Frame====Smith and wesson

They are out of big enough to absorb recoil and smaller than full combat revolvers.

Modle 60 or lady smith size. (My favorite model 66 3 inch--you need to have it made they are rare---they are able to change barrels)

I would lean her tword a 3 inch barrel--better sight picture and the extra weight up front will help in a couple of years for her reoil capabilities and handeling it steady.

I hope this is helpful..

PM Wallew hes a fricken Gem for info on this type of thing.

E-A

Re: Mom learned to shoot! Need revolver advice.
 

Taurus For Instructor Approval - check
Double Action - check
Lightweight - check
Stylish Enough To Make The Ladies Envious - check
Gift From Kids Making The Ladies Green With Envy - Check

:wavey:

Re: Mom learned to shoot! Need revolver advice.
 

OK, sorry. I've been out all day.

GOT TO SEE SARAH PALIN UP CLOSE and my wife got HER basketball signed. My wife was a point guard and captain of her high school basketball team. Just like Gov Palin.

I've posted the picture of the basketball HERE .

Then a long time friend (30 years, who knew I had friends for that long?) threw a birthday party for his wife. We had a GREAT TIME two times in one day.

ANYWAY. To the question of the OP.

Almost ANY S&W (medium priced), Taurus (medium LOW price) or Rossi (low price) in .357 mag will do. Used is fine if you can find them. New is OK, though for S&W I will only purchase one made before 1990, because I feel sometime in the early 90's S&W quality control slipped.

J frame. DEFINITELY a hammerless model (although a bobbed hammer would also be OK). You can look at Titanium models as they are definitely lightweight guns. Ported would be great. 3" would be the longest. 2" length would be fine, especially if you got a five shot, ported titanium model. For a ligther trigger pull, any COMPETENT gunsmith would be able to get it down to almost any weight she wants, though below five lbs pull (IMHO) is too light and could be the cause of an accidental discharge (AD). But properly done, the trigger should pull smoothly and cleanly break like glass. I've done may a trigger job. After you smooth all the working parts on either side of the sear, trigger, hammer, etc to smooth the pull, you can then work on the springs to lower the pull weight. You would be surprised how nice a well done trigger job feels. And you can ALWAYS swap out a set of grips if she likes to feel a 'full hand' of grip. I do. And for some of these revolvers you can purchase a 'wide' trigger, which is much easier to pull.

Whether five, six or seven shot revolver, don't forget several speed loaders. She should practice loading her gun IN THE DARK by feel with dummy rounds in the speed loaders until she gets it down COLD. It's muscle memory and can take as long as 30 - 45 days before you can do it in your sleep. It's like learning ANY new skill set. Practice, practice, practice.

I own a Rossi 2" .357 magnum six shot, blued steel, but I'm an 'old school' wheel gun shooter. My wife has a Taurus 4" Comped six shot .357 mag. She is flat deadly with it

Your mom could practice with .38 Special ammo, then wrap up practice with one or two cylinders of .357 mag. She could always keep it loaded with .38 Sp and then speed load up several types of .357 mag IF necessary. But generally speaking, two or three shots is max. Hence why I'm not shy about suggesting a five shot to 'lighten the load' as it were and STILL be able to protect yourself. Also, five shot speed loaders are a SNAP to reload with.

Don't forget to take her to a gun shop and let her 'handle' a few of the revolvers above. You will find she will dismiss several out of hand for not 'fitting' her correctly. Once you have it down to one or two revolvers, try to find a range that rents them. Don't forget to show her a lever action rifle - always a great Xmas present from several of the 'gun culture' children! Go with a 16" Carbine in .38/.357 and she will only own ONE cartridge. Add a case of ammo and call it done!

Re: Mom learned to shoot! Need revolver advice.
 

I have a Taurus .38 special snub nose.

The trigger pull is fairly difficult (especially for a 70 year old woman I assume). It's double action, so I guess that sometimes cancels out the problem.

Re: Mom learned to shoot! Need revolver advice.
 

Does the range offer rentals? I'm a fan of older used J and K frame S&W revolvers. If those aren't available maybe a Ruger SP101? It's kind of heavy - not really a pocket revolver, but well built. Just my two cents.
Take care and good luck,
Mod1

Re: Mom learned to shoot! Need revolver advice.
 

100% agree...that is what the girls in my family carry and shoot,....hammerless J frame airweight S&W 38sp snub...they are DAO but the gals in our family can pull the triggers just fine (dont want them to light)

Re: Mom learned to shoot! Need revolver advice.
 

snub nose 32 hr

Re: Mom learned to shoot! Need revolver advice.
 

great gun.....expensive hard to find ammo.......low recoil.....same trigger...

Re: Mom learned to shoot! Need revolver advice.
 

Thank you! I knew I could count on you all. Wallew, don't worry. I know how important it is for her to handle a variety of guns, and there's a large gun store in town that's absolutely great with female customers and has good prices. My sister and I plan to take her there. There aren't a lot of ranges around here, and the pistols they rent are pretty limited, so there's not a lot of chance of her trying out a wide variety. She can also play with my guns, but, outside of .22s, the only really light pistols I have are a Walther PPK/S in 380 and an inexpensive .38 single-action, and those aren't what she needs. She'll definitely get speedloaders and a bedside gunsafe for Christmas (the two grandkids are there all the time, and the 5-year-old is gun-crazy...wouldn't trust him around grandma's guns). I'm hoping she'll get interested in rifles, too. She can try out mine when I take her shooting.

Thanks again! Lots of go info to go on here.

Re: Mom learned to shoot! Need revolver advice.
 

Smith and Wesson Model 19, Pachmayr grips, speed loader or...

Re: Mom learned to shoot! Need revolver advice.
 

I would suggest a small Ruger .22 long rifle rimfire. with 2- extra mags.
72 years old? .38 cal revolver?? is a bad choice. Just my .02.

Re: Mom learned to shoot! Need revolver advice.
 

K-frame Smith with 38 target wadcutters recoils about like a .22

Re: Mom learned to shoot! Need revolver advice.
 

She was handling the .38s she used in her class without any problem. She's still in reasonably good shape. She's on a tennis team, gardens, rakes the yard, etc. I think she has the wrist strength and could probably handle the recoil for at least another couple of years (if she can handle whacking a tennis ball around a court, she's probably okay for some mild recoil). I wouldn't be surprised if she could handle more than a .38, but her instructor assumed she couldn't. (The class was made up entirely of older women.) I might have been inclined to respect his opinion more if he hadn't told the class that you should never ever shoot ammo that's more than two years old because it's dangerous. :no_ma:

They do have at least one .22 in the house, though. My dad has an old High Standard target pistol, and I think one of my sister's old .22 rifles is over there.

Edit: I just spoke to my mom this morning. She said she really enjoys shooting. She liked the idea of a hammerless .38, and I'm sending her the information from this thread to get her started on researching what she wants. She's going to go gun shopping with me and my sister (who is shopping for a turkey-hunting shotgun) in a week or two...whenever the gas stations in Atlanta have gas again. My mother always wished she had the kind of daughters she could go shopping with on the weekends like her friends do. I'm not sure this is exactly like the shopping her friends do with their daughters...Lol!

Re: Mom learned to shoot! Need revolver advice.
 

Have fun shopping.

Re: Mom learned to shoot! Need revolver advice.
 

YES

I LOVE THAT

E-A