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Adjustments to trigger pull?

Pecos-Dave
I bought a small Taurus Ultra-Lite 22 Magnum for my mother thinking it would be easy for her to use for home protection.
The trigger pull is so hard even I think.. DANG!
She can squeeze off one maybe two shots and she has no more strength to pull the trigger.
Can this be adjusted or have lighter springs or something put in it to lighten the pull?
Even Manually pulling the hammer back is tough.

If not anyone got any suggestions on a light easy to pull trigger system-ed pistol I could get for her. Does not have to be 22 Mag I just thought a 22 would be easy on her.
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Comments

10 comments

Date Votes
  • Hawk Carse
    Rimfires require a harder hammer blow than centerfires.
    For example a S&W .22 of that size has a 12 lb mainspring, the .38 has an 8.5 lb spring. I doubt Taurus is much different.

    Do you reckon she could handle a .32?
    Or a .38 with something mild like target wadcutters?
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  • Pecos-Dave
    Well I didn't think about that. Rim Fire vs Center Fire
    Just thought smaller caliber would be less kick and therefore better choice.
    We just finished a CHL class and she used the 9MM Semi-Auto (Well I might add) so I am sure she would be fine with the larger caliber.
    Guess I will just get her a Semi and make sure she is OK with it always ready to go. She did managed to work the Slide but wouldn't want her to get in a situation where she would be a little weak and not be able to get it started.

    Thanks
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  • beantownshootah
    The problem is that you're always going to need to apply SOME physical strength somewhere to operate any repeating handgun gun.

    If it isn't in overcoming a heavy double action trigger pull (to cock the hammer), its going to be in manually cocking the hammer or racking the slide.

    IMO 22 magnum is a poor choice in a defensive handgun anyway. The problem is that that particular round was designed for use in rifles, and most of the powder is wasted in short barrels. Instead of the powder being used to propel the bullet, it gets burned OUTSIDE the barrel, generating a large flash.

    I'd say if your mom likes a wheelgun, get her an all steel .38 with an action job for a light double-action pull. As mentioned, if recoil is an issue, you can load this with light wadcutter loads.

    If she likes an auto, then get her any auto where she can comfortably rack the slide. (I'd suggest a 9mm).

    If she really lacks the hand strength to rack a slide (and some people do), you could consider a tip-up barrel design gun that means you don't have to rack the slide. The Beretta has a decent .380 design that could work.
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  • leeblackman
    There are a couple of things that you can do to reduce the trigger pull. I recommend taking the gun to a gunsmith and having a trigger job done. Go to your local gun shops and ask if they know any gunsmiths who can do it.

    Typcially you'll want a reduced power mainspring either by replacement or sanding the outside diameter of the coils. And you'll polish all the moving and contact parts in the action. Not to mention a good lubricant grease applied.
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  • midnightrunpaintballer
    Check out the taurus pt111. 9mm semi with a pretty easy to rack slide. I went through this same situation with one of my exes. She could handle the recoil of my 1911 no problem but lacked the strength to rack the slide. She could operate that taurus all day with no problems. Take her to the store and let her see if she can do it. Have her try a couple different ones. Usually the smaller sub compacts have a stiffer spring though. You said you're looking for a home protection piece and not a concealed carry. Have her try out some full sized frame 9mm's too while you're at the store.

    tsr1965: I've gotta say I've read reviews of the ruger lcp being a jam-o-matic. Can't say I've read the same about the recently made taurus. I don't own either one but if I had to choose between the taurus and a lcp, it would be taurus for me. Of course a colt or a smith would be chosen over the taurus though.
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  • tsr1965
    I ran accross the same problem not to long ago with my aging mother. She will soon be 77 years old. Since she frequents the cabin in the Adirondacks, she had a no dash number S&W 629 with a 4 inch barrel, incase of a pesky black bear, and for home defense. It was the only handgun she had on her permit here in NY.

    I was afraid to have her shoot it now for fear of breaking her wrists', or smacking her in the snoot. Since she is not at the cabin, unless I am there, I got her a Colt Detective Special 38. She can handle the recoil, and can manage the double action trigger, although she normally shoots it single action.

    It don't have to be a Colt, but there are plenty of S&W, and Ruger's out there. If you truly love your mother, you will get that Taurus away from her, and trade it in on one ot the S&W, Ruger, or Colt's in 38 or 357. The Taurus is of questionable quality these days. You might also think about like a Kel-Tec P38T 380, or a Ruger LCP.

    Best
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  • beantownshootah
    quote:Originally posted by tsr1965
    You might also think about like a Kel-Tec P38T 380, or a Ruger LCP.

    Best


    While I agree with everything else in the above post, I have to disagree with this.

    Both the Kel-Tec P3AT and its clone, the Ruger LCP have STIFF slides and not that much grasping surface area on the slides. That makes these guns particularly hard to rack the slides especially compared to larger automatics. Both gun can have reliability issues, especially without extensive break-in of the pistols. The sights on these guns are small and hard to see, and lastly the guns themselves are pretty small and not that easy to grab onto.

    While these little guns are a good compromise for concealed carry, in my opinion, all of the above drawbacks make them a less than ideal choice for use by someone with limited hand strength. If you want to go with a .380 gun because of the calibers low recoil, then a larger gun is probably a better choice.
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  • nmyers
    I don't buy the rim-fire vs center-fire difference. Most of the major manufacturers use identical small parts in their DA revolvers of different caliber.

    A lady friend refused my offer of assistance & bought a Taurus .38 for personal protection. She is tall, with large hands, but can only fire it SA. I told her she should pay a gunsmith to work on it, but she refuses to spend more on general principle. Tauri have heavy trigger pulls; live with it, or pay more to fix the problem.

    I recommend a S&W Ladysmith revolver. If the stock gun is still too difficult for your mother, you can get a Wolff spring kit from Brownell's.

    Neal
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  • Hawk Carse
    You have to be careful about promiscuously changing revolver springs. Sometimes it doesn't work. My S&W M38 Bodyguard demands the full factory mainspring for reliability. All I could do with it was to go down one level on the rebound spring. My M640 Centennial runs as well with the Wolff reduced power springs.
    If you change the springs, testfire thoroughly.
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  • Pecos-Dave
    Thanks for all the replies.

    I will just take her and start testing everything she might take a fancy to. If she can get the first one in the rest will follow so Semi-Auto it will probably be.
    Personally I love my Walthers P99. So she will probably get it or one like it. [^]
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