Injury-to-order: hand injury that would allow someone to use a knife but not a gun?

[parfait_cell]

*dusts off LJ account*

Hi all! I need some help puzzling out an inconsistent canon injury for fic.

Setting: Modern-day (urban), character is in a street gang and may have limited access to medical care
Scenario: Man, late teens-early 20s has his fingers injured in a knife fight. The moment itself is a discretion shot, but he's shown in canon to

Comments

[beesandbrews]

You need a certain degree of hand strength to hold a gun and pull a trigger, especially with accuracy. A broken hand and ancillary damaged tendons and ligaments or one that was burned or cut, might all do the job.

[parfait_cell]

Thank you so much! Time to do some research from this angle...

[seizansha]

speaking from experience, i tore a ligament in my wrist - 3" surgical scar up the back with the end pointing towards the pinky - that even now causes shakes if i grab something wrong. when it first happened i couldn't hold anything, i had to focus to be able to write and do almost everything else with my other hand.

i could see your character's problem being more the recoil than the trigger. i remember brushing my hair with my bad hand, when i hit the major knots after washing it the handle would wiggle and shoot pain in my hand and i'd drop the brush. it's hard to hold something small that moves when there's pain in your hand, a knife would be easier because you naturally clench your fists when you're in pain.