.22 Rimfire for Defensive Work?

A .22 makes a poor defensive round. Sure, it kills but do you realy want to wait around for 4 hours for the guy to bleed out?
Unless you can get very close and place the round into the brain or vital organ, the .22 kills by slicing through the body much like a knife. Most deaths from .22 are from the internal bleeding that is caused by the round.
The object in self defence is to stop the intruder FAST. All of the larger caliber pistol round are fine for this.
Better is a shot gun. Even bird shot at close range will stop most people. A pump action is farly cheap and easy to handle.
Keep the .22 for target practice.
 
The OP owns a 38 and has said he's comfortable shooting it, despite his medical condition. He says he wants to stock up on ammo for self defense.

Question for the OP: How much self defense shooting do you plan on ever doing? I should think a box of 20 would last for the rest of your life.
Click to expand...
I suppose if you never trained it would.
Click to expand...

I knew somebody would say this. Buy a box of fancy hollowpoints. Keep them loaded in the gun for actual SD use. Train with cheap lead reloads. Pretty darn cheap for 38 special.

Yes, I know it's not theoretically the ideal scenario, but it beats the heck out of using a 22 for defense.
 
Well, if I had to use a 22 for defense, I would use a rifle. Some ammo will come out of a rifle with the same energy as a 38 out of a revolver. I would want a few 25 round magazines though.

Here's what I would do as the op. I would buy bulk 22 ammo to practice with, and a box of good 22 ammo. Practice with the 22 rifles and pistols routinely and then buy a box of 38 once a quarter and shoot that up. Buy a box of good defense ammo for your 38s and don't shoot it up.

Keep the 38s loaded at home and a couple magazines loaded for the 22 rifles.

As for buying an lcr. I would skip it and just practice with light target loads until such a time that you have more money.
 
I think your ideas are sound about the 22LR. It is not optimum, but we all know that. I sometimes carry a LCR-22 just because I like 22's. I have others. Sometimes it seems it doesn't really matter one way or the other as things requiring self defense in my life are seldom. Not to say it can't happen tomorrow.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top