12 ga. vs. .22 for home defense.

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It also makes one ponder the question of "luck vs intelligence" if anybody thinks a .22 is a wise HD choice.
 
tim s said:
It also makes one ponder the question of "luck vs intelligence" if anybody thinks a .22 is a wise HD choice.
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I agree. It looks like the intruder decided not to fight. Instead, he chose to run and was found some distance away. If he had wanted, he probably would have been quite capable of continuing the fight.
 
My apology, I was NOT supporting a .22 as a good HD weapon, especially a single shot rifle. I think the most important thing here is; Don't give up and use what ever is available. I'd bet that his opinion of CC will change.
 
I agree with fiddle. 22 for HD/SD is foolish and risky. Do an enemy no minor harm. Certainly a .22 can be a lethal round I do not argue that, but the .38 spl or 9mm even .380 are much better 'minimum' calibers for defense. Any of THESE or larger pistol rounds out of a carbine makes recoil a non issue.* They have very nice HP ammo on the market today.


The hardest part of using any rimfire ammo for defensive purposes is the fickleness of primers compared to centerfire, Last thing you need is a dud .22 when your or someone elses life hangs in the balance... I've had only 2 bad centerfire primers in all my shooting days, one ignited after a second try. I probably have a small pile of .22 ammo that's failed to go off.

* comparing a 9mm vs .22 fired from a rifle.
 
The way the story puts it the home owner was cooperating and going down the stairs as asked when the assailant shot him.

Never assume that if you cooperate with criminals that they aren't going to kill you.
 
I once met a man who was shot 6 times at point blank range with a 22 revolver in the abdomen (bar fight). He took the empty pistol away from the shooter and beat him unconscious with it. Then he drove himself to the hospital and lived many more years walking and talking normally with no evidence of the shooting unless he had his shirt off.

I met another man who had been shot just once with a 12 guage load of birdshot. He was found left for dead but with a long hospital stay survived missing his front teeth, his nose, and both eyes for the rest of his years.

Draw your own conclusions.
 
I would rather have a 22 semi-auto rifle instead of a single shot and shoot for the head. The 22 rifle is very accurate so a head shot shouldn't be hard.
 
My wife can't handle my .357 SIG, so the P22 is her go-to gun for HD. I'm confident that she'd be able to snap off all 10 rounds in short time if needed to defend our child (or me, but definitely for the kid) and that afterwards she'd be fine kicking the snot out of the intruder.

That said, I prefer the SIG, 'cause... well... all other things being equal, a lot of lead will do more damage than a little. It's more of a 5-year project to get her to that point, but hey... 5 years ago she had never shot a gun, and now she's ok with one ready for use in the home, so that's progress.
 
"I would rather have a 22 semi-auto rifle instead of a single shot and shoot for the head. The 22 rifle is very accurate so a head shot shouldn't be hard."

I don't know - a 6" moving target with a very short time window to fire...seems pretty hard to me...
 
I personally wouldn't be taking any head shots in a SD/HD situation except in the situation of "2 to the chest then 1 to the head."

That aside I'd definitely prefer to be shooting the 12ga. than the .22LR. A 12ga loaded with a 2 3/4" #4 shell would be sufficient for taking care of most any two legged varmint that makes their unwanted way into my home. A .22LR may or may not get the job done and for that matter may just end up angering said varmint.

If all you have is a .22lr or all your wife will use is a .22lr then by all means use it. Otherwise its wiser to go with a larger caliber firearm for HD.
 
A vast majority of BG's don't like being shot at let alone shot with any gun and will run, fall down and cry, etc. Thus the threat is ended. Now I'd be a fool to say a 12ga isn't a better man stopper than a .22lr but to say that a person who chooses a .22lr for SD/HD is only gonna live if he's lucky is a complete falsehood. As a matter of fact you'd have to be damn unlucky or pretty well inept to have your choice of cartridge make wholesale difference. Platform, shot placement, skill, etc being equal of coarse.

LK
 
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Although we are lacking all the facts, it appears as if the .22 rifle was all that he had available. If that is the case, it was a better choice than the alternative, which was nothing.
 
Although we are lacking all the facts, it appears as if the .22 rifle was all that he had available. If that is the case, it was a better choice than the alternative, which was nothing.
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+1

My cousin was shot 4 times in the abdomen with a 357, just talked to him the other day... guy shot him is in prison for 100 years.
 
I'll take just about anything over a .22 for home defense. (.25 is the only exception.)
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This in spades. Was a time when a .22 was all I had, and I used it for that. Times changed for me as I got older.

Use what you have, but strive to have what you need.
 
Something wrong here.

Although authorities did not release what type of weapons were used in the shootings, a former student of mine who is related to the victims in this case informed me that the attacker had a shotgun loaded with deer slugs, and the defender was able to return fire and stop the attack with a .22 single shot rifle.


This vic was shot in the back with a 12 gauge shotgun loaded with deer slugs. I find this hard to believe he could return fire after that. The part about the bad guy getting shot with 1 .22 round and running off I can believe.

I have a ruger 10/22 with several 25 round clips that I would not hesitate to use for home defense. It wouldn't be my 1st chose but it would do the job.
 
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