Wrist Injury- will compensator help?

[InTheBlack]

A friend of mine wants to get a 1911 type gun. He had two bones in his support hand wrist removed after an injury. That wrist is weak and he needs to keep it in a "straight" orientation as opposed to bending the wrist down & locking it to control recoil.

He's not new to shooting, as a deer hunter & CCW holder, but new to target & action handgun shooting.

He likes the feel of the 1911 and the single action trigger. I'm recommending a 9mm in either 1911 or Browning Hi Power, thinking that the slightly different grip angle of the BHP might help the ergonomics a bit. Who's making stock 9mm 1911s these days?

He's unlikely to become a reloader, so he'd be shooting what they sell at wally world, which is hardball.

Would a compensated barrel help? Consider the ammo he'd be using. I'm thinking a ported barrel would be better than a comp on the end so he could use a regular holster and it would still serve as a CCW gun.

I've not used comped guns, so I can't describe to him the way it changes the backwards and upwards components of felt recoil, or the change in impulse time.

We're not concerned at this stage about being IDPA competition legal.

[eric nielsen]

Shooting a compensated 38super aggrevated injuries in my left wrist. Worse still was shooting with that wrist bent. When I straightened out the support hand and exercised with the weights-on-a-rope thing, the bone spurs went away.

The worst thing - still - is practicing mag changes. I no longer shoot the Caspian Hicap with tiny steel magazines. I shoot a Glock with big wide plastic extensions [Arrendondo +5] and practice at home with empty mags. Try to develop a mag seating motion that is mostly straight wrist - skateboard tape on the mag helps.

Probably the softest recoil your friend will find is a Glock or a Springfield XD. The softest 1911 would be an STI Edge or a Para/Springfield-type hicap. Maybe a stock Para P18?

[reneet]

My open gun tends to aggravate my tennis elbow too. Never have any problems with wrist or elbow with my limited guns.

[j1b]

I'll echo. Open guns tore me up a lot more than limited blasters. Think of it like this, the muzzle flipping up is cam off the wrist. The backward motion comes into the hand and then is kind of deflected as the wrist, hand, gun flip up a bit (this is combined with the barrel being centered over the wrist as well). A comp keeps that muzzle flat, it prevents any deflection of backward pressure, so the hand, arms, shoulders absorb more.

9x25's were the best muzzle flip guns I ever shot. I loved the things. But man did they kick hard!

Unfortunate about the reloading thing because your friend could build loads that could be very soft.

J

[JMD]

I too have had some wrist removal. (Kienbock’s) I would suggest low shock

loads like 147 gr 9’s or downloaded 180 gr .40’s. A minor .45 would be real soft.

As it is his support hand work on grip and angle. He may end up with a new form of “Weaver position” where his elbow bends and arm/wrist remain straight.

Good luck.

Joel

[Shooter Grrl]

Definitely don't steer him towards the 1911's nor towards a comped or ported barrel. The gun I've found that hurts the least on BOTH my wrists is the Glock. I haven't shot the BHP since my wrist injuries, so I can't comment on that... BUT for competition, I'd highly recommend the Glock or XD over the BHP.

[GuildSF4]

Have to echo j1b. Open guns recoil is normally more, the muzzle flip is less.

My 9x25 has zero muzzle flip, but tears up my elbows over time (also muzzle blast is horrendous).

Would suggest a full size (5") XD or Glock (9mm or minor 40), the smaller ones transfer more energy to the shooter.

[Flexmoney]

THE softest shooting Glock is the G20. It is a larger framed gun than the the G17/22/34/35 sized guns. You might not want to shoot it if you have small hands.

[InTheBlack]

Even I think that a 9mm 1911 would be fun. How expensive it be to get a 1911 made up in 9mm in a plain Production type configuration?

[Pierruiggi]

I don't have experience with open guns so I'll keep my mouth shut about that.

In any given caliber, I agree the Glock feels a lot softer than other guns chambered in the same caliber. Although maybe the grip angle could be uncomfortable to someone without full range of motion on the wrist.