A Nurse with a Gun

Friday, December 05, 2008

Palm Pistol for the Elderly and Disabled

At first I thought it must be a joke. Constitution Arms in New Jersey has developed a palm pistol for the elderly and disabled. It appears to be the marriage of a sphygmamonometer bulb and a trach tube. The device is supposed to be a 9mm single shot device that is fired with the thumb.

The website states "point and shoot couldn't be easier." Actually, it could. Sights and a conventional trigger would be a start. Then, if the person suffered from limited hand mobility, I shudder to think how their hand would feel after spending a day at the range with 9mm parabellum rounds igniting between their fingers.

Further, Constitution Arms asserts their pistol is certified by the FDA as a "Class I Medical Device." That would allow physicians to prescribe the handgun to qualified patients. The patient could then have some or all of the cost reimbursed by Medicare or private insurance.

Palm pistols are nothing new, indeed in Victorian times, they were fairly common. There are reasons these quirky firearms are now innovative fossils of an earlier time. These devices are difficult to shoot accurately, even across the room, and by necessity, they are chambered in diminutive calibers.

When one also takes into consideration that the Constitution Arms palm pistol is a single shot defensive weapon, I have to wonder whether the nursing home ninja might be better served with a Glock.

A physician's take on this.......... thing.

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9 Comments:

Blogger Pawpaw said...

Hell, it's a belly gun. Stick it in his belly and touch'er off.

It'd be better as a .410 shotgun loaded with bird shot. One of those in the belly would give a surgeon nightmares.

5:23 PM  
Blogger DouginSalcha said...

“Constitution Arms claims their pistol is certified by the FDA as a "Class I Medical Device." That would allow physicians to prescribe the handgun to qualified patients…”

I think I agree you - if they need such a thing, a Glock would be better.

5:31 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm a physician, an NRA member, and CDW permit holder.

I'm never prescribing that.

11:35 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I thougth that the best outcome from using a gun in self defence is when the attacker backs off after just seeing the gun. If I use a gun that does not look like a real gun then I might have to fire it. (And since it is single shot I can not even fire an warning shot.)

Not good.

6:48 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

If the one shot misses, then what?This looks like someone trying to take advantage of elderly people that might be afraid of home invasion AND government sponsored medical programs.

7:26 AM  
Blogger Jonathan said...

huh. interesting. I wrote about the palm pistol awhile back. Yeah, not exactly the best option, but an intriguing exercise in ingenuity.

11:13 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think the entire concept is to get a pistol covered by a federal medical program. Just to stick it to the man. I completely support this. Anything that gets more folks armed and thinking about the necessity of protecting themselves. Hopefully a range session or two will convince them to get something more effective, but this is a start.

7:04 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Why should our tax dollars have to pay for this one shot wonder?

11:05 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The maker estimates the price as $300. I will gladly take that as an advance on a new Colt or Hi-Power. Cheaper than bailing out Detroit!

9:47 PM  

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