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In short, my wife had wrist surgery a few months ago. She now finds that she cannot handle the recoil nor rack the slide on her XD9. It is a sub compact.

Looking for other options or recommendations.

Try a revolver, that will help with the racking the slide problem. Something like a S & W J frame should do the trick.

I assume we are talking about the weak hand wrist being out of service. If that is the case then a revolver is best solution. If the strong hand wrist is the one that was operated on then we have a completely different set of issues to work on.

G.A. Heath wrote:I assume we are talking about the weak hand wrist being out of service. If that is the case then a revolver is best solution. If the strong hand wrist is the one that was operated on then we have a completely different set of issues to work on.

It is strong hand. A revolver is not out of the question but needs to be light enough for her to shoot but also low recoil.

I tried to convince her to let me load the chamber but NOOOOOOOOO. She has to be able to do it. "yes dear applies here".

We went to the range and the recoil gave her fits. She was able to shoot the first magizine but could not hanle any more.

This is only a temporary situation (I hope) until her wrist is completly healed and back to normal. But that may take up to a year of rehab.

If you haven't tried to rack the slide on the Walther PK380..It is the easiest slide i have ever operated. You could literally operate it with one finger if you had to. The recoil is nothing.
I dont know if you were going to make an investment in another gun or not....but if not here are some suggestions:

Change the spring in the XD9 for the time being..See if you can get something soft enough to cycle, but will not affect the weapons reliability. (recoil doesn't seem to be an issue if she can fire an entire mag...hopefully she won't need more than a mag while carrying)

Other than that...dunno.
Good luck, and keep us posted.

Get her some silly putty 2-3 eggs shoud be enough she needs to squezee it in her weak hand when ever she can. After I got my wrist out of a cast this is what I did for awhile and I regained all my strength.

In this case I recommend shooting week handed, while she builds up her strength/skill in her strong hand until the doctor says she can shoot strong handed (assuming that he hasn't). I would also recommend that she learn how to rack the slide by catching the rear sight on something, its a useful skill should she find herself in a gun fight as well. As far as firearms go I would recommend sticking with the XD platform in 9mm but in a larger size, and with a light installed. Once you find a gun swapping the sights out for night sights that will allow one handed reloads.

The reason I suggest sticking with the XD platform is simple, she already knows it and when she starts shooting strong handed the recoil is less than you will find with a decent load in a revolver.

But I prefer advantagetactical sights instead of night sights that will allow one handed reloads for XD

http://www.advantagetactical.com/store.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I put them on everything, you can rack on a show, belt, forearm, anything

Second Suggestion Beretta Cougar with "tip-up barrel" it's a .380, less recoil, but less power.
Still, there MAY be instances she might need to rack the slide, but the tip barrel helps.
I know a grandmotherly woman that carries one due to arthritis.
Model 86 Beretta pistol features a tip up barrel
http://www.berettaweb.com/Beretta%2080/Beretta%2086.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

We went to the range and the recoil gave her fits. She was able to shoot the first magazine but could not handle any more.

A whole mag?? My wife has a bad case of RA, the bad kind of arthritis. She is afraid of trying to fire anything, afraid of a pulled tendon or something. For your wife, no light weight J-Frame. I can fire only 5 rounds of .38s in my 12 oz J-frame without it hurting, and my hands are not "ill". If I were she, I would use a medium weight revolver with a light load, and never plan on needing more than 6 rounds for defense.

After carpal tunnel surgery in '06 my strong hand was weak and sensitive for several months. I switched to weak side shooting because even a full size XD9mm hurt to shoot. I could rack the slide by reaching over the top of the slide and do a "push pull." I was a temporary south paw for about six months. If your wife has enough grip strength to do an over the top slide rack and can shoot weak handed that may be the answer. Otherwise, get her to switch to a revolver but, not a lightweight, ultra light or scandium. A Ruger SP101 in either .38 or .327 Federal would be a good choice.

I agree about the mid sized revolver with a not too stout load. My mother is very recoil sensitive and she chose a revolver b/c her hand strength is not strong enough to rack most auto pistols either.

My biggest concern with suggesting a revolver in this case is the possibility of injury to, or re-injuring, the wrist. On a semi-auto you have the slide movement eating a significant portion of the recoil and you also have the bore axis being lower in the hand which reduces muzzle flip and strain on the wrist. I still think that the shooter should concentrate on shooting weak handed and use alternate means of working the slide, until better healed, but the temptation of shooting strong handed will get to them and a semi-auto lessens the risk of injury to the wrist that was operated on.

Though not the best defensive round, you might look into a small .32 or .22 revolver. It's legal to carry, little recoil. If your wife needs
something temporary, until she can heal, it's better than not having a carry piece or fearing recoil.

gemini wrote:Though not the best defensive round, you might look into a small .32 or .22 revolver. It's legal to carry, little recoil. If your wife needs
something temporary, until she can heal, it's better than not having a carry piece or fearing recoil.

I think that is a good idea. Not cheap, but the S&W 317 would fit the bill. Eight rounds of .22LR. I am not sure if she could handle the double action trigger pull [around 12 pounds I have read].

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/prod ... s_id/26989" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;