.22 Concealed Carry?

[boltomatic]

The main issue is reliability. .22 guns and ammo tend to be less reliable than centerfire. That said, a .22 revolver with some good .22 ammo is pretty damn reliable.

The FACT is its extremely rare that a self defense attempt will fail because you didn't have enough "firepower". Most criminals flee as soon as they realize you are armed, and the remaining few that don't will not be able to successfully attack you after being shot with anything.

I know people disagree with me, but I've done my research. Stopping power is a marketing term and something keyboard commandos use to justify carrying a 1911.

Nothing wrong with carrying a .22 or a .45. SD is a personal thing, carry what you want and realize that a gun is the ultimate self defense tool regardless of caliber.

If anyone can produce a study or statistical trend that shows people who carry larger calibers have a greater survivability rate than people who carry small calibers, then please post it.

 

[Guv]

It's one thing to say a 22lr is okay for self defense and another thing to say there is no benefit in having a larger caliber (9mm, 38spl, 40 S&W, etc).

 

[Cheapshooter]

If anyone can produce a study or statistical trend that shows people who carry larger calibers have a greater survivability rate than people who carry small calibers, then please post it.

Guess you never heard of Marshall and Sanow.
Not exactly survivanility rate, but one shot stopping percentage of 92% for 45acp VS 38% for 22 Stingers translates to a big advantage in my mind. Plus the aforementioned reliability advantage of center fire over rim fire.
Even the lowly 32acp showed almost double the rate of one shot stops with 66%. Only the 25acp showed a lower one shot stop rate of 27%.

 

[Guv]

I don't own one, but the sole/only reason I would choose a 25ACP over any rimfire would be the more reliable ignition. I don't know how many times I have rotated a 22lr after a miss-fire and it fired the second time after a hit in a different location of the rim. Is a 22 better than a sharp stick, no doubt, but I have better cartridges for the job of SD.

 

[CajunBass]

Um...did the OP ever return?

Who cares? It's always a fun discussion.

I don't know that I've really found 22 LR to be all that unreliable. Sure, I've no doubt had more misfires with 22 than anything else, but I can't say it's really all that bad. Maybe I just forget them.

But...my wife used to carry a Bersa Thunder 22 in her purse. She liked the gun, she was confident she could shoot it well, and with CCI mini mags, it was as reliable as the sunrise. With any other ammo we tried, it would jam from time to time, but with the CCI...it just chugged along. She could put eleven shots in a nice little group, on target, and do a mag change in a reasonable amount of time even digging the extra mag out of her purse. She always said, "It's better than crying and begging 'Please don't hurt me.'" Praise God, she never had to try it for real.

Speaking of "hurt." I've got two buddies who were shot with a 22. One shot himself by stupid, the other got shot in a mugging. They both said it hurt like blue blazes. (Not an exact quote, but cleaned up for the forum.) The fellow who got mugged said he lost all interest in anything. HOLY XXXX I've been shot! Take my wallet, take my car...I don't care...OH MAN IT HURTS! (And he was hit in the arm.)

If I was going to look for a 22 for SD, I'd go looking for another Bersa Thunder or just get a Ruger Mark anything, standard with a 4" barrel. For the Bersa, I'd try to find a Don Hume, J.I.T. holster. I doubt they make one for FOR a Bersa, but one for a Walther would work I'm sure. The Ruger I might have to improvise for, or just go with an Uncle Mikes Sidekick and a longer cover garment.

 

[JERRYS.]

because of the shape of the cartridge and its rimfire ignition, I'd opt for a revolver in this caliber if I had to use it for self defense. an 8 shot LCR is better at least in my mind than an 8 shot semi-auto of comparable size.

 

[OldMarksman]

Posted by boltomatic:

The main issue is reliability. .22 guns and ammo tend to be less reliable than centerfire. That said, a .22 revolver with some good .22 ammo is pretty damn reliable.

That is a significant factor, but it is not necessarily "the main" issue.

The FACT is its extremely rare that a self defense attempt will fail because you didn't have enough "firepower".

Defensive use of force incidents are themselves extremely rare.

Most criminals flee as soon as they realize you are armed, ...

Many of them maydo so, but that does not enter into my decision process.

...and the remaining few that don't will not be able to successfully attack you after being shot with anything.

I don't think that that is an informed opinion.

I know people disagree with me, but I've done my research.

Would you carrot share it?

Stopping power is a marketing term and something keyboard commandos use to justify carrying a 1911.

It is a misused term, but I would not group all of its usage so narrowly.

Nothing wrong with carrying a .22 or a .45.

Very few people who are knowledgeable about the subject recommend carrying a .22 rimfire handgun for self defense.

SD is a personal thing, carry what you want and realize that a gun is the ultimate self defense tool regardless of caliber.

I have no idea what that is supposed to mean.

If anyone can produce a study or statistical trend that shows people who carry larger calibers have a greater survivability rate than people who carry small calibers, then please post it.

The facts that the number of variables is very high, that the number of incidents is very low, that few data are collected, and that if said data were collected, key measurements such as timing, the order of shots and hits, and so forth are very rarely known, make looking for that kind of study a veritable wild goose chase.

There are , however, good ways to study the question. Controlled testing of ammunition performance, informed medical opinion, and observations of shooters in realistic sessions can put a lot of light on the subject.

They will not and do not support the selection of a .22 handgun for self defense, absent certain mitigating circumstances.