22 for ccw

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I'm going to posit this:
Is .22LR my first choice for SD? No. Not by a long shot. But, when faced with a situation where I'm in a room with my Iver Johnson .22 and a S&W M500 and know that TSWHTF in a few minutes, which would I grab? Realistically: the Iver Johnson, because I know how to handle it and can shoot it fairly accurately. The 500? I wouldn't even know how to hold that hand-cannon. So, it would be almost useless to me, compared to a gun that I'm comfortable with and know how to handle.

When placed in that same room with my entire arsenal (A Mosin, a Mossberg, a Sig 9mm, a .44C&B and a .22 Revolver) my first choice would the Mossberg with 00-buck. My second would be the Sig. My third would the .44. My fourth the .22. My last would be the Mosin. Reason behind this is mostly my ability to use the guns effectively in a high adrenaline situation, not the damage that they do.

In the case of arming your wife. Literally this: arm her with what she's comfortable shooting and knows how to handle. Don't put all your money on the "this caliber does this" rhetoric, because if she's afraid to fire a .357 snubbie and doesn't practice, then she'll probably be afraid to pull that trigger, flinch or hesitate when it comes down to it.

I believe the old adage is "a hit with an airsoft gun is more effective than a miss with an ICBM." or something like that.
 
Quote:orionengnr
That is why no police department or military uses .22.
Russia made a sniper rifle using 22LR. an SV-99
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But seriously. :rolleyes:
I've read that Mossad uses .22 for executing people.

But trivia hour is over. We are talking self defense, when someone is shooting back. We're not talking one-sided sneak attacks like snipers or executions. So I will re-state what I said before.
That is why no police department or military uses .22.
 
Sure, a .22 can kill and I have seen farmers kill large cattle by shooting them in the head at point blank range. They do it to save meat and leather and some say to save more expensive ammo. That doesn't mean that a .22 is the best round for stopping a determined threat from a big, bad thug. Most victims won't get an opportunity to walk right up to their attacker and shoot them in the head at point blank range. The victim will be freightened, probably trying to move and completely surprised while the attacker will be hyped up on dope and probably young and strong while executing a well planned attack.

It seems to me that if your wife can handle a .22, she can also handle a .38 with low recoiling ammo. There isn't a huge difference in felt recoil but there is a huge difference in effectiveness. Sure, a .22 is better than nothing. The goal isn't to get something that is better than nothing. The goal is to get something that has a high likelihood of stopping a determined attack from a big, strong thug. The .22 is not the answer.

Concealed carry people need to avoid the false sense of security that can come from having just any gun.
 
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No it's not the best, but it will do the job if that's what you happen to have. It's a heck of a lot better than crying and begging "Please don't hurt me."
 
A question:

It's late at night. You hear the bad guy. By whatever circumstance, you can only grab one gun (that's the scenario rules). One is a 1911 with one round vs. a Buckmark with 11 22 LRs. Which do you grab and go?
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IMO, thats not even a question. The buckmark

I can actually count on 1 hand the number of bad primers I've had in 100,000+ rounds of .22 over the last 30 years....
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ditto... if I had 6-7 fingers :D


To the OP's question. I would, I have, and I will again carry a .22lr. But I have something better that can usually work out just fine to carry concealed.
 
"We are talking self defense, when someone is shooting back."

I can think of MANY self defense scenarios where the other individual would neither be shooting back, nor even have a gun.
 
"ditto... if I had 6-7 fingers"

I wouldn't even need the thumb on the one hand.

I've had far more failures of factory center fire ammunition in far fewer rounds.
 
I can think of MANY self defense scenarios where the other individual would neither be shooting back, nor even have a gun.
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+1

The tiny .22 LRs or the .25 ACPs might be scoffed at in an environment like the forum here, but who is going to go out of their way to get themselves shot by one? I'm a big guy, and if I empty one of those weapons into a charging assailant I'm fairly confident that they will be disadvantaged enough to the point where I'll have the upper hand and be able to take control of the situation. I will have at a minimum improved my chances, and I'll still have a piece of metal in my hand that will do more damage to their body than it will to my hand.
 
I shoot cheap bulk 22s almost exclusively. I sold a 22 b/c it wouldn't shoot them well a while back.

I have had a half dozen failures in as many thousand rounds. Usually turning the bullet allows it to be shot without any more problems. I guess that isn't too bad, but I would still want a revolver. I have never had a dud from factory ammo.
 
But seriously.
I've read that Mossad uses .22 for executing people.

But trivia hour is over. We are talking self defense, when someone is shooting back. We're not talking one-sided sneak attacks like snipers or executions. So I will re-state what I said before.
That is why no police department or military uses .22.
Click to expand...

I think this was a trivial question from the OP.

I read in a huge old gun history book about 35 years ago that the 22lr was built to kill man, which rather surprised me.
 
If a .22 is all you have, it's better than a sharp stick (as long as you stay out of sharp stick range). If you have other options, though, I can't see a reason to voluntarily carry a .22 pistol as anything other than a last ditch BUG. Personally, though, I wouldn't even bother with carrying one even in that capacity.
 
22 for SD

If the issue of unreliable ignition bothers you, use target quality ammo such as Eley, Lapua, or the like. Those manufacturers cater to competitive shooters who will not tolerate a misfire. They cost more, but if you believe that rimfire cartridges are not reliable, that's what you need.
Personally, I have been shooting Ruger and S&W 41 target pistols since 1966 and have never had a failure to fire with Eley, Federal Match, or CCI .22 cartridges.
 
I think of the 22lr to by-ped's, as to 44mag to brown bear. "Minimal"!

Just a thought, and I'm sure I'm wrong, but that's my thinking.

Shoot'em in the heart.:D
 
I have a Walther P22 with the factory compensator that I use for plinking. It's compact, light and very accurate. You can empty the 10 round magazine very, very quickly and recoil with the compensator is virtually non existent. I am confident that inside 10 yards I could get the job done with this little gun. Sometimes I carry it at night when I'm walking the dog or checking the mail. For a DC gun I'll choose something else but if it were the only gun I owned I would DC it.

Carry what you have available, anything is better than a stick!
 
Elvishead you are partially right it is some what a trivial question but at the same time i genually wanted the brutal opinion that im getting as i said before my wife is wanting a small gun to ocassionally carry so im looking at her comfort zone but dont want to let her carry somthing that would give a false sence of security it seams the opinion is mixed leaning more twards to the not a good choice unless no other option is aviailable. Again i want to thank all posters for the honest opinions and for being polite and respectfull in their replies. i do love TFL
 
Brutal honesty is what the internet is good for. As has been said, a .22 is better than nothing. If your wife is comfortable with something larger (even a .32acp), that's what you should go with.

Take a look at the new Walther .380. It's large enough that recoil won't be bad. There are plenty of similar guns out there as well.
 
TriumphGuy ur thinking like me im trying to get her to agree to trying a .380 or a 9mm i carry a Glock 17 but i cant seam to get her to the range to try it but she wants a handgun for the house and ocassional carry.And yes im procrastinating on acually buying her one till i get her to the range,not that shes afraid to shoot just seam to allways have a issue come up that i cant go shooting last few times i tried
 
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