.22 lr or .25ACP: Can they be reliable backup calibers?

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Firepower!

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Well I have been giving some thought to this question. In case if one is carrying an MP5 or AK, can these two small calibers be any beneficial in case the main weapon and side arm is compromised? Or the lethality is not meaning full at all? The term backup really means backup here i.e. not side arm.

I will appreciate your input.

Please discuss keeping in mind maximum use limited to 10 yards or less. Thanks.
 
A .22 Mini revolver or derringer is better than nothing but they are what they are... last-ditch belly guns. Stick it in their belly, fire and run. They may not stop but they will slow ya down a mite. As for .25, I've never been fond of them but then again, I've only seen them in in CHEAP automatics.
 
.22 0r .25

My old "Uncle Andy" used to always keep a .25 in his pocket. One day we took it out into the back yard and fired it into a fir 2 x 4 from about 5'. The bullet didn't quite bury into the wood. From this observation I would say that a .22 lr would be a better round but I wouldn't want to bet my life on a .22 from a 2" barrel either. Minimum .380 in my book.
 
they're better than a sharp stick

I think a few rounds from either would have a good chance at stopping a person from doing whatever it is they are doing.
You however are located in a region where you may come up against someone who absolutely intends on killing you or taking hostages as opposed to just taking your wallet and cell phone.
Considering that, if I were you I would be a lot more comfortable carrying a high capacity 9mm or better yet a .40 S&W. I suppose you could carry a .22 as a back-up to your back-up (both being a back-up to a rifle or shotgun). From what I see from our media over here [about Pakistan] I wouldn't leave the house without a rifle.
If you can get away with having one in your vehicle, why not do it?

Especially considering what has happened in India over the last couple of days, I would be armed to the teeth at all times with as much firepower (no pun intended) as I could reasonably carry.
 
Some years back I bought my wife a used Taurus PT-25. It's not terribly powerful but it's very concealable, very reliable, and powerful enough to kill or incapacitate if you place your shots well.

That being said, for anything but concealed carry we both prefer full size .45s!!
 
If that's what you have, then it's certainly better than harsh words. But if you're shopping for a compact, concealable backup, much more potent calibers like .32 and .380 are available in handguns of virtually the same size.

It wouldn't make much sense to purchase a .22 or .25 for that purpose.
 
I have a hard time with both. I think i'd consider a Kel Tec P32 before I'd go the .22lr or .25 ACP route. My reasons being, I've seen too many misfires with the .22 LR to have a lot of faith in using it for defense. As for the .25 ACP, you have to consider that even the .22 LR has 95 ft lbs of energy (in a high velocity CCI loading other loads even more) and .25 ACP runs right around 60 ft lbs of energy. While neither is terribly astounding, I question the remotest viability of the .25 ACP cartridge.
 
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Years ago, there was a test of the High and Hyper velocity .22 in barrels of different lengths. The Standard .22 rounds outperformed the High/Hyper rounds in shorter barrels as the other rounds used slower burning powders and needed the extra barrel length to get that higher performance. It also found the .22 Magnums to perform about the same as, or worse than, a 22.lr in short barrels for the same reason
 
I usually carry (only pocket carry) a .380 but when I wear certain pants I'll go with my Beretta 21a in .22lr. Doesn't bother me to only have a .22lr, stats show less than 5% of the population has a CCW so I'm certainly armed better than the rest, and probably very few of the ones carrying will ever pull their gun, let alone use it.

That being said, this is a gun website so you'll get a higher percentage arguing anything less than a big bore is foolish.

I'm not one of them.
 
since you cant always tote a cannon with you, i agree with the prior posters that any gun is better than a sharp stick or harsh words. I guess im thinking more along the lines that hopefully the fact that i have a gun i can pull out and put in somebodys face is going to stop whatever is going on and i wont need the penetration or stopping power or whatever.
 
The .25 is quite a bit more powerful than the .22lr from a 2" barrel.
People read the ballistics tables and neglect to see what barrel lengths the ammunition is tested from.
 
.22 and .25

The discussion about the merits of the .22LR and the .25 ACP comes up frequently.
Last Spring I took out my chronograph and both a .22 and a .25 pistol. Both had two inch barrels. There was little difference between them, though the .25 emerged about 10% ahead energywise at 65 ft.lbs. It's stats were right on the factory - a 50 grain bullet at 760 -770 fps. The .22 was faster (something just over 800 fps, 810 or so) but the 40 grain bullet did not yield as much bump, about 58 ft,lbs.
This was standard vel. .22; the hyper stuff needs a longer barrel to work well. A 40 grain bullet would have to gain about 50 fps to equal the .25.
Pete
 
thanks.
Some folks are arguing biggers calibers, but please refer to my original question. This is when you main weapon and side arm is compromised.
Do these cals have enough power to incapacitate the hostile with one or maximum two shots in torso, and find way to escape?
 
Any firearm has the power to incapacitate with one or two shots, but as you go farther and farther down the power spectrum you increase the chances of experiencing failures to incapacitate.

Some people refer to pocket guns in the smallest calibers as "face guns". When used at extremely close range and aimed at a person's face they tend to be pretty effective. In other situations they aren't nearly as likely to be effective, particularly against a dedicated opponent.
 
I would rather go with a .22lr than a .25- if its only a tiny bullet I have than at least want it to make a deeper tiny hole....... so I suppose my answer is yes to the .22, as I know people have been killed DRT by .22 derringers, frequently- while on the other hand, I know a guy personally, who showed me the scars from where he was shot 4 times in the chest with a .25 from about 20 feet away (wrong place at the wrong time, and the shooter was not even aiming for him) that he WALKED six blocks to the hospital to have treated (and was released in two hours)
 
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