-The Quandary of Papa Castle
Papa Castle found himself in a new situation. He felt the need to be able to protect his home and himself while hiking. It had been many years since Papa Castle purchased a firearm. In fact so long ago, when he purchased you could mail order and they didn’t have serial numbers. Before the Gun Control Act of 1968 passed you could order a gun from Sears, Macys, and Montgomery Ward!
It has been a number of years since Papa Castle carried a handgun. He carried a M-1911 .45 ACP Caliber pistol while in the US Army in the late 1960’s and early 1970s as an Officer. He knew semi-automatic firearms but it had been many years and he forgot quite a number of things, so we started at square one! He was in the situation many others find themselves. How to purchase a firearm, the myriad of new laws and checks.
For Papa Castle we started at the most basic. He felt he wanted a full size 45 in a single action 1911. Upon handling them he found they seemed far to heavy for what he wanted to carry hiking in the Pacific Northwest. His main concern is defending himself from others both at home and on the trail. He has very little concern for wild animals where he hikes. I mention this because its important to understand the role a firearm would play. If he was worried for wild animals such as moose, bear or mountain lion the recommendations would be different than for defense of people.
So we directed Papa Castle to look at a large number of firearms from different brands, sizes, calibers and weights. We chose a selection of Full Size, compact, subcompact and micro pistols for him to handle, look at and understand. As we worked our way though he found ones which were too heavy, some were too small for him. Some he could not easily rack the slide due to the strength and dexterity in his hands.
In the end, Papa settled on a firearm that surprised all of us but is the right pick for him. He found that a Smith and Wesson M&P EZ 9x19mm was the best fit. He tried a .380 ACP though we recommended he get the more powerful 9x19mm since we know he has and can shoot a 9mm well. This is a good compromise that meets his needs, fit his hands and he could rack the slide. The M&P EZ is unique in a couple of ways. What makes it “EZ” is that the slide takes less strength to rack. This is done by using a concealed hammer in the pistol instead of the modern striker. While this is a single action gun it comes with two things that make it safer, the first is a manual safety and the second is a grip safety that prevents drop accidents. In addition it offers magazines that are easy to load, and a loaded chamber indicator.
–Castle
