.22 mag for self defense

If you're wife's options are :

1.) Carry a .22 Magnum
2.) Carry a larger caliber and suffer from flinches, inaccuracy, reluctance to
fire, and no second-round capability
3.) Don't carry a handgun at all

Opt for No. 1 every time.
 
The American Rifleman had a rather incoherent letter to the editor denouncing the 22 mag (they had a previous article on it). The author thought that carrying it would make the incompetent want to engage in gun fights and take risks. Rather silly, IMHO.

If the gun works for someone, it's just fine for the vast majority of needs.
 
I carry this with PDX1. It is the gun I carry when I don't need or want to carry anything bigger. Its a great gun to carry for final kills when hunting.
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I would rate its effectiveness ahead of the .32 ACP and slightly below or par with the .380 ACP, especially now that Winchester, Hornaday, and Speer are loading premium ammo for it.

It would not be my first choice for self-defense guns, but I would be really interested in an 8-shot S&W 351PD as a modern Velo-Dog type gun that I could carry in a belly band while running trails, or as a backup gun.

Also, I am intrigued by the Kel-Tec PMR-30. Sure, it's just a .22 mag, but.... 30 rounds in a magazine in what is still a pretty compact gun? And even if you ended up deciding against it as a carry gun, I bet it's a ton of fun at the range.
 
Better a 22 mag revolver that she can do a quick follow-up shot than a 38 or 9 mm that she will flinch & miss with. 22 mag hit > missed rock.

Suggest she do speed drills with head shots. Head shots won't always be possible as the target may duck and weave. Center mass is what she should go for. But if she can develop accuracy that helps a lot even with a bobbing & weaving torso.
 
It dose not matter what caliber or cartridge you are shooting if you pull the trigger and the gun just goes click you just lost several very important seconds in trying to save your life. This last Tuesday while at the range I fired 250 22LR Federal Champions and out of 250 I had 3 fail to fire and that isnt good enough oods for me to rely on except for in a revolver. That being said I have never had a 22 Mag miss fire unless it led back to a problem with a gun. I guess I'm with the thought that if one uses the 22 Mag for self defense one should uderstand that when shooting use the distraction time as time spent trying to get away and not sticking around for a shoot out.
 
I just got my wife a Charter Arms .22 mag revolver for a conceal carry. I got this because recoil from other pistols she tried made her flinch and follow up shots nearly impossible. What do you guys think of the .22 mag for self defense?
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Militant,

Since that is all she can handle then use it. It isn't a .45 but because of the high velocity it will penetrate well and thus get to where it needs to get to do damage.

Hope you can get a .22 lr version and, when .22 lr prices are back to normal, get lots of ammo for her to practice with. That way she can substitute accuracy for power.

Even Jeff Cooper opined that if he could not get what he considered a good fight stopping gun he would swing to the other side and get a .22 and go for the eye socket! He said .22 allows you lots of practice to overcome the lack of power in the round.

Deaf
 
The .22 magnum has lower recoil but it certainly makes a lot of noise. Has your wife tried anything in the .32 family of rounds?

The old .32 S&W Long fires like a lead spitball. This slow-moving round has very light recoil but at more than twice the mass of a .22 mag, I have far more faith* in it at expected self-defense distances**. I don't know the last time revolvers were newly manufactured in .32 S&W Long but I found a used 3" 7-shooter for under $200 last year that my wife adores. If all else fails, S&W Longs can be reliably fired in any revolver chambered for .32 H&R mag or .327 Federal.

* Of course, I really wouldn't want either of those choices in a self-defense situation. The .32 H&R magnum is the lightest round I'm comfortable trusting to defend my life.

** This may not be true in the dead of winter. I would assume that heavy winter clothing would be a greater impediment to the .32 S&W Long than .22 mag. Can anyone confirm this? I only have access to rifles in the latter.
 
My idea is that 6 center of mass shots fired would give her the chance to get away from an attacker at least. I shot this revolver the other day and it is stupid easy to squeeze all shots right where I want them. I said before, I know the .22 mag is no power house. I think out of a 2 inch barrel, it generates around 100 ftlbs. That being said, I am caught in between using fmj and Critical Defense rounds. I know fmj is frowned apon, but fmj really penetrate well.
 
I let hens go broody, and I had one rooster.
Half the chicks would turn into roosters at 6 months and start making trouble.
I would set up a shooting bench with a scoped 10/22 and Federal Eagle 22LR hollow points.
Every year I would kill about 5 roosters that weighed one pound.
I could place the shot anywhere. I could shoot them through the eye if I wanted to.
Shots the the body had no effect. Not even the slightest limp. With 3 shots to the body, I could see a limp.
A single shot to the head or neck and it was bang flop.
Up until then I was carrying a NAA revolver in my pocket for protection.
After I saw that one pound birds were unaffected by a much more power 22LR body shot, I quit carrying that revolver.
I now carry a P3AT handloaded to push a .355" 90 gr Gold Dot at 1100 fps.
My plan is to put 7 holes in the perp's lungs, and then out run him.
 
Only drawback I see to the 22Mag for SD is the need to fire several shots which could be construed as sign of a sadistic and depraved character.
 
I'd offer two comments to the OP. First, a 22 Mag is better than throwing rocks...unless you are very good at throwing rocks.

Second, if it was my wife I would train her to shoot head shots. 5 or 6 rapid rounds into the face and eye sockets might just end the hostilities.

YMMV,
Dave
 
Only drawback I see to the 22Mag for SD is the need to fire several shots which could be construed as sign of a sadistic and depraved character.
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Why? Is it cause it didn't hurt him enough?

Plenty of cases where cops shot 100 rounds at suspect and didn't get a 'adistic and depraved ' question. And they didn't use a .22 magnum.

Deaf
 
My CHL instructor wife carried a 22 mag loaded with rat shot It is the first up. he trained her to shoot for the eyes first, in defense. He said that would stop just about any assault.
 
I have a mini mag I carry as a backup to my primary because its small enough to just have it. I was impressed with some backyard penetration and expansion test I did with some wood and paper. The round is lethal and a major jump up from the long rifle .22. However, I've had issues with rimfire ignition reliability. That's the only hold up I have on it. I like my .38 special center fire
 
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