When I was a kid growing up, my favorite deer rifles were lever actions. Marlins and Winchesters. Later in life I got into Cowboy Action Shooting competition, and the lever gun I used there was a Marlin .357 Magnum carbine, loaded with .38 Special. One of the local clubs had a “lumber shoot” where heavy chunks of wood needed to be blasted off the table, and there my choice of long gun was a Winchester Model 1892 lever action chambered for .38-40, which moved the wood nicely.
Time went on, though, and arthritis got deep into my hands and especially my fingers. Running a lever gun fast actually started to hurt. The same affliction hit my thumbs, and I couldn’t cock the hammers of my single action Colt and Ruger revolvers as fast as before.
So, with a wistful goodbye, I simply gave up shooting the Cowboy Action game.
If you follow this blog, you know that my favorite gun game is bowling pin shooting. At the Second Chance/Pin Shoot events, my two best years were with .45 ACP caliber revolvers, Smith & Wessons tuned by Al Greco and Andy Cannon. My single best was 19 seconds and change for five total runs of five pins each with the Greco Model 625. Alas, the arthritis twisted the middle finger to where the trigger guard of a revolver with powerful ammo beat the median joint mercilessly no matter what stocks I put on the guns. I still love shooting revolvers, but for fun I don’t shoot them with anything more powerful than .38 Special ammo.
When the guns you love to shoot don’t love you back anymore, simply changing guns is the most logical answer. The 1911 .45 autos I had been shooting since I was twelve have gotten me through pin matches very comfortably to date, and are still fun to shoot.
“Improvise, adapt, and overcome” isn’t just a cliché.
I, literally, feel your pain. It doesn’t seem that my arthritis in the hands is as bad as yours so I can still shoot. However, my hips and back do tend to deter me from carrying something heavier than a pocket pistol.
Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change. – Stephen Hawking
Getting old is not for the faint of heart. (My lovely wife)
A good reason to handload and use suppressors on rifles. You can tailor the loads to your recoil tolerance limit and suppressors take the blast and much of the recoil out of heavy rifle calibers.
Mark:
I just fired a suppressed .45 ACP for the first time ever last week. The host was a Springfield “Operator” with the 5-1/2″ threaded barrel; the suppressor was a Rugged Silencers “Obsidian 45” in its full-length configuration.
The most amazing thing about it was the elimination of the report. I ended up taking off my muffs and pulling my ear plugs because I literally couldn’t hear it go “bang”. With no ear protection it was about like somebody slamming shut a big heavy book, but the noise of the bullet striking the plate was much louder. I could even hear the ricochet flying off into the berm.
But the thing that surprised me was the almost-complete elimination of recoil. Nothing I had read (and nobody told me) mentioned that slowing down the venting of the gasses from the muzzle would help kill recoil. That and the extra weight hanging ‘way off the end of the barrel essentially eliminated muzzle flip. We have a 6-plate rack in the pistol bay, and with the suppressor mounted I could run that rack from 25 yards faster and more accurately than I ever have before.
I don’t think I’ve ever actually giggled at a pistol range before.
I am glad to know I am not alone on this topic. I have been feeling guilty for making some of my long time favorites guns into safe queens. The arthritis in my hands, elbows and shoulders make some of my guns really hard to manage. I used to be a recoil junkie but not anymore. So while a few old friends have been put away or sold/traded, I have made many new friends in different calibers and guns. After shooting generally the same guns and calibers over the last 25 years, it’s actually been fun to change and have a reason to buy some new toys. I am still shooting and having fun despite my challenges.
Why not have your competition revolvers converted to Fitz specials? Not good for carry, but might be an answer for competition.
Unfortunately it’s the opposite end of the trigger guard that’s banging the median joint.
I kinda figured it wasn’t the front! I was wondering if the back of the trigger, itself would smack that joint, if the rear of the trigger guard was gone. Maybe, I should have said reverse Fitz… A bit of a stub to locate the middle finger on the grip, but nothing in front of it to smack. Eh, random thoughts. For a guy who has been shooting 1911s since he was twelve, it is, probably, like coming home!
“Essential Tremor” is making all my handgun activity a challenge…..
I see that there are now two “Jeffs” that commonly respond to this column. I will change my moniker to JeffS for this blog so we can be differentiated.
Commenting as a retired physician: Essential Tremor can be a pain with respect to shooting. But, if you haven’t already tried the following:
1. Grip exercises to strengthen the grip may help.
2. Reduce or eliminate caffeine and other stimulants (some teas, chocolate), if practical.
3. Be sure you are getting optimal sleep, preferably for at least 8 hours per night.
4. Talk to your doctor about taking a beta blocker (this will disqualify you from Olympic shooting events), assuming you don’t have unacceptable side-effects from beta blocker medication.
Best of luck to you!
Regarding Mas’ getting banged in the knuckle of his middle finger by the back of the trigger guard when shooting powerful revolvers, this can also happen with shotguns, especially with magnum loads. Ask me how I know. I switched to using a pistol grip shoulder stock for waterfowl or other shotgun sports that require more potent loads just for this reason. Mas’ does teach a technique for shotguns that mitigates this issue by pulling the right hand as far back on the stock as possible while still reaching the trigger and it does work. But, I still prefer pistol grip shotgun stocks for slugs, buckshot and waterfowl loads.
After beating up my hand with several different grips on a lightweight .44 Magnum S&W PD329, I discovered that grips from an S&W .500 Magnum will actually fit almost perfectly on this gun and they dramatically mitigate the punishment to one’s hand. They also push the web of the hand far enough back that the middle knuckle rarely contacts the trigger guard, unless my grip is too loose. Of course, huge grips are not helpful for concealed carry or those with small hands!
My Glock says, TILL DEATH DO US PART.
Then its going in the ground with me, because I am claustrophobic.
Growing old is not for cowards. This I have learned first hand.
But I have great faith in the life that awaits on the other side of the veil, where such infirmities will no longer hold sway.
Maranatha…
Yeah, my wife says pretty much the same about dealing with ME.
Mas, after new hips & shoulders & that “arthritis”guy came to visit & hasn’t left , I don’t do pump or double 12ga. guns anymore . I don’t hit the woods either. The “hand cannons ” went away years ago. My hand-loads have lightened considerably. No big bore rifles for years either.
Did you hear about the guy who was in a jealous rage after his wife told him she was in bed all day yesterday with Arthur Itis?
The husband demanded that guy’s address; but, his wife just told him, “Don’t worry, he’ll come visit you, too, soon enough!”
I feel your pain – literally. I no longer carry 1911’s or my beloved Browning Hi-Powers, because the degeneration of my right thumb will not allow me to reach the thumb safety one-handed. If I can’t off-safe and fire the pistol with one hand, I refuse to trust my life to it. So now I’m carrying revolvers (which don’t beat me up-yet), mostly my 686 Mountain Gun. Yes, I’m cutting back to .38 +P’s, because full-power .357 pounds my hand too much for accuracy.
The other type of CCH is SIG 365’s in various sizes. No thumb safety on mine, I’m afraid; otherwise I’d be carrying the 9mm 1911. Winter carry is a 5.25 Springfield XDm. All of these are in IWB holsters, same 4:30 position. The handgun, regardless of type, is always in the same spot on my belt.
Sorry to hear about your infirmities. Some years…..ok, decades ago, I realized that 12 gauge recoil wasn’t fun no more. Even with gas operated guns, though low recoil ammo helps some. Yet another reason for ARs and pistol caliber carbines.
Time is catching up with me as well I. My beloved J-frames are getting less use than in the past, and the .45 went away, replaced by the 9mm. Trigger fingers on both hands are getting pretty arthritic, but functional. Re: the beta blocker for tremor, I had a conversation with a guy whose name might be familiar, the late Gil Hebard, who would avail himself Iof them in his later years. I still miss his shop and the people one might run into there.
Mas, I’ve been pondering this same dilemma for a couple years now. My venerable S&W 38 Air-weights are seldom carried, opting for an older model 49 and 36. That couple extra ounces helps with the recoil, as does going to standard pressure 158-grains SWC’s. Probably ought to seek a decent 125-grain load to further reduce felt recoil. I’ve leaning towards a Ruger LCR-x in 22 magnum. I’d like your thoughts on that as an option down the road. Best to you!