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Poll Best Handgun for Elderly New Shooter

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Best Handgun for Elderly New Shooter

  • HK VP9

    Votes: 6 10.2%

  • S&W M&P 2.0

    Votes: 16 27.1%

  • Walther PDP

    Votes: 5 8.5%

  • Something Else

    Votes: 32 54.2%
  • Total voters
    59
Echelon 4.0C or Alpha. Good stock mag release, and easier to break down for cleaning than a Glock.
 
If this is an "elderly" person, then just because they're fit and can easily manipulate a slide today does not mean that will be the case in 1, 5, or 10 years
If this is a one and done gun sort of situation then I think a tip up barrels is worth more consideration. The Girsan Beretta clone is the option on the roster, but if you say the roster isn't an option then an 80 series Beretta might be the way to go. They're heavier and shoot 380 so recoil should not be an issue and the gun will be large enough to actually hold vs some of the small and snappy 380 options out there.
If they want something for now and if they have trouble one day with slide manipulation they'll consider something else then sure, one of the striker options probably works well
 
If the roster is not an issue I would recommend the S&W Shield EZ. It’s suppose to be easy to use and manipulate for elderly people or women. At least that’s how they advertise it.
 
Smith & Wesson J or K frame with a reduced power mainspring. As an elderly person ages, so does their grip strength.
 
SiG P365 Luxe .380 ACP. Amazingly soft recoil and easy racking, and also accurate. I love this gun and sold my P365 9mm to make room for it.

This metal-framed gun with its AXG grip has enough mass to absorb the light recoil of a .380 round without feeling heavy at all.

Great custom Cerakote on this gun too, black with a hint of metallic sparkle. Takedown is easy.

The Luxe is optic-ready and with XRAY3 day/night tritium sights installed by default, so an optic is a great upgrade but not necessary.

Pair this with a SIG Romeo X-compact optic in green or red for easier aiming and super easy racking. I find green dots easier to see, but any gun shop should let you check both dot colors if you want to see them in person.

.380 ACP ammo also costs a little more, but with the rise in popularity of this caliber, prices may come down soon.

It's on-roster. Little pricey at about $999.

Worth it!
 
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Is there actually a reason to get a 380? You can just get low recoil 9mm rounds with the same bullet weights and velocities as 380 but with a much higher ceiling. I load my own 9mm defensive ammo and it's well into plus p territory at 1300 fps with 124g. This isn't ammo I like shooting every day but it doesn't matter because I don't shoot it every day. You can find 9mm defensive ammo with low, mid or high recoil as you need it.
 
I should also point out that my 70 year old mother owns a px4 and a Glock 19 and has no issues shooting them or racking them and gen 3 Glocks are the worst as far as having an overly stiff recoil spring as far as racking goes
 
RustVendor said:
Is there actually a reason to get a 380? You can just get low recoil 9mm rounds with the same bullet weights and velocities as 380 but with a much higher ceiling. I load my own 9mm defensive ammo and it's well into plus p territory at 1300 fps with 124g. This isn't ammo I like shooting every day but it doesn't matter because I don't shoot it every day. You can find 9mm defensive ammo with low, mid or high recoil as you need it.
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Why does this caliber exist? Why does the .22 exist? Why do people own and shoot them?

I own fairly soft-shooting 9mm guns but the Luxe beats the pants off the 9mm P365 when it comes to felt recoil. 9mm ammo is cheaper for sure but there's less vetting needed for a .380 to be soft shooting with any .380 ammo. And, .380 is plenty for home-defense.

Not having to research and find specific defensive rounds keeps things simple, which is one of the asks. Although, testing different ammo types is part of the gun-ownership experience. Training with defensive rounds is going to cost more too.

I came up shooting heavier steel guns so I'm perhaps more recoil sensitive than some. All of my guns are soft and flat shooters, but the Luxe is something special. Now that I own one it's an easy recommendation for an elderly female first-time shooter if she doesn't want to start with a .22.

I would always start a new shooter off with a .22 to learn the basics before moving up. For similar reasons, the .380 ACP Luxe is a great entry point for the P365 form factor.

A micro .380 can be snappy, so the extra weight and size of the Luxe is a feature which directly reduces recoil. Plus, moving up to a 9mm after owning a Luxe will feel pretty natural, especially if it's a SIG P365 XMacro or similar.

For an elderly woman who has never shot before, i think the Luxe is ideal. Check out YouTube reviews of the Luxe to see some rave reviews.

 
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32383 said:
Did I mention I like revolvers?
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I'm not a revolver fanatic, but your recommendation makes sense. Strikers, safeties, slides? They don't make sense now that the OP has revealed this is to be an elderly woman's self defense gun. With a revolver, the shooter can become marginally competent much more quickly, and is less likely to forget how to run the gun after extended periods with no practice.
 
RustVendor said:
I should also point out that my 70 year old mother owns a px4 and a Glock 19 and has no issues shooting them or racking them and gen 3 Glocks are the worst as far as having an overly stiff recoil spring as far as racking goes
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Kudos to your grandma. My mom is 71 and she got herself CZ P-9c two years ago, I forced her to sign up and take 1 on 1 training class. She did, but I don't think she touched the gun ever since.
Brand new shooter at this age much more sensitive to recoil and less likely to learn proper fundamentals than someone who was shooting for most of their life. I actually wanted to recommend p365 lux too, but Wolkenflieger beat me to it

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I recommend the Ruger Mark IV. Absolutely easy to take apart and clean, 22LR is easy to handle recoil, and 22lr is cheap so getting trigger time and hundreds of rounds down range should be good.

When she gets good and confident to hit targets past 25 yards consistently (8" shoot n sees), get a full size 9mm.
 
No_glonks said:
Kudos to your grandma. My mom is 71 and she got herself CZ P-9c two years ago, I forced her to sign up and take 1 on 1 training class. She did, but I don't think she touched the gun ever since.
Brand new shooter at this age much more sensitive to recoil and less likely to learn proper fundamentals than someone who was shooting for most of their life. I actually wanted to recommend p365 lux too, but Wolkenflieger beat me to it

​

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It's my mom but no she's basically like yours, she doesn't shoot very much at all but we went this past year and she's perfectly capable. We didn't grow up with guns really I started shooting in boy scouts there weren't guns in the house at all. She wasn't even shooting low left I was actually fairly surprised lol. I still emphasize that 9mm can be loaded the same as 380 though with the exact same recoil, you just don't get the options of stronger loads if you want them
 
From what you’re saying, all those would be great options.
Though I read the PDP is a bit snappier than others.

I’d recommend the S&W M2.0 METAL. The advantage of a metal frame will help with reducing recoil slightly.

My recommendation overall is a 2 pistol and 2-stage solution:

1 / Sig P322 (22lr) so she can acquire fundamentals quickly and easily (Safe handling, reload, sight picture, proper grip, trigger pull, etc).

2/ after 2-3 weeks of practice and a dozen range trips, rent an M&P 2.0 METAL and other full size 9mm on your list so she tries them before purchase. By having some fundamentals already down she’d be able to understand better what full size 9mm works for her.
 
Maaartin said:
From what you’re saying, all those would be great options.
Though I read the PDP is a bit snappier than others.

I’d recommend the S&W M2.0 METAL. The advantage of a metal frame will help with reducing recoil slightly.

My recommendation overall is a 2 pistol and 2-stage solution:

1 / Sig P322 (22lr) so she can acquire fundamentals quickly and easily (Safe handling, reload, sight picture, proper grip, trigger pull, etc).

2/ after 2-3 weeks of practice and a dozen range trips, rent an M&P 2.0 METAL and other full size 9mm on your list so she tries them before purchase. By having some fundamentals already down she’d be able to understand better what full size 9mm works for her.
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The standard metal m&p is aluminum and not heavier than the polymer and arguably has more recoil "feel" than the polymer.
 
RustVendor said:
It's my mom but no she's basically like yours, she doesn't shoot very much at all but we went this past year and she's perfectly capable. We didn't grow up with guns really I started shooting in boy scouts there weren't guns in the house at all. She wasn't even shooting low left I was actually fairly surprised lol. I still emphasize that 9mm can be loaded the same as 380 though with the exact same recoil, you just don't get the options of stronger loads if you want them
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my bad, need to work on reading comprehension :oops:
Not sure how much one wants to be involved into loading, or even researching how different kinds of ammo feel like. I had no idea tbh, will look into it
 
RustVendor said:
The standard metal m&p is aluminum and not heavier than the polymer and arguably has more recoil "feel" than the polymer.
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This⬆️
Aluminum frame transfers recoil better than polymer. Steel or polymer feels softer than aluminum
 
No_glonks said:
my bad, need to work on reading comprehension :oops:
Not sure how much one wants to be involved into loading, or even researching how different kinds of ammo feel like. I had no idea tbh, will look into it
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Even just factory, you can get low recoil target loads or defensive that have 90-100 grain bullets with muzzle energy close to 380. blazer has a 100 grain low recoil load. But also you may find that subsonic 147s can be extremely soft shooting
 
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RustVendor said:
Even just factory, you can get low recoil target loads or defensive that have 90-100 grain bullets with the same exact muzzle energy as 380. blazer has a 100 grain low recoil load. But also you may find that subsonic 147s can be extremely soft shooting
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Thanks, learned something new today
 
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