22LR for self defense

22 misfires

I have been shooting for > 45 years, part of that time in standard Bullseye competition (service and civilian). I have never had a failure to fire from any 22 LR cartridge. In Ruger MKII and S&W 41, as well as Beretta 21A (a true "mouse" gun) I have never had a failure to feed. If you are concerned about that possibility, choose a premium target grade cartridge. Those manufacturers know that competitive shooters will not tolerate, or purchase, a brand that malfunctions.
 
If the OP is looking for approval so he can carry a .22, well heck yah that .22 will do the job if you do yours.

If the OP is looking for an excuse to get a centerfire gun then, just get a 9mm. They come in packages almost as small as a rimfire and they are tons better at putting holes in people.
 
I've seen those previously mentioned .22 hollowpoints do terrifying things to a rabbit's head at close range, though, admittedly, that was out of a rifle.

That being said, I can't honestly say that I myself love the idea of a .22 for self-defense -- but I don't think you're going to be quite as undergunned as some people might say. I'd rather carry a 9mm or a .45, but I wouldn't feel unsafe carrying a .22.

Just make sure you get high-quality ammunition to feed it. No Wally World bulk packs.
 
The Taurus PT22 weighs more than their PT738 TCP .380, and is bulkier than the TCP.

For self-defense, I'd go with the centerfire .380 before carrying a heavier and bulkier .22LR rimfire.
 
.22s do misfire

I've had several of .22LRs fail to fire, out of the ~700 I figure I've shot. I put one back into the pistol and tried again, and when it failed, I put it back in and tried a third time. It had 3 good crunches evenly spaced around the rim. The gun was not the problem. It was a Remington, as were the other failures.
 
While I would join the chorus about choosing a round with more horsepower I would have to add that on two occasions, once in a ride along, shift with a sheriff and another that I was in the vicinity of, the 22LR did its job.
The ride along was in Madera, CA early in the evening. One guy shot his roommate in the head with an old 22 Sears bolt rifle. The bullet penetrated the victims head, rattled around and ultimately killed him after he was declared brain dead.
The second situation occured while I was passing out flyers and talking with folks about a candidate for congress. I got to a house about the same time as the police, running lights and sirens. They let me walk up the drive way to see the scene. A large, coked up, 1%er was mad about a girlfriend, bad drug deal or something. He was told to go away by the renter of the house.
He broke in the back door and moved toward the renter who then shot him once with his Jennings or Raven 22. He shot the guy once and according to another eye witness the bad guy got a surprised look on his face and fell to the floor and died a few seconds later.

I think that luck had something to do with shot placement etc. but it was proof positive in both instances that a 22LR would be better than nothing.
I have carried a 22 and now carry either a 9mm or 40S&W. I truthfully feel a little safer with the larger caliber and I know that the look of the pistol on two occasions help in avoiding something potentially bad. I am not sure the 22 would.
 
EarlFH said:
I'm curiuous how many of you have actually had a 22 rimfire cartridge, misfire? I keep hearing these stories, about how bad they are, but I have been shooting for over 40 years, and have never had one misfire, or had any friends tell me that they have had a misfire. I'm beginning to think this is more of an urban myth, than anyting else. I'm not interested in hearsay, but only actual hands on experience. I've had plenty of misfires shooting old military cartridges, but never a 22 rimfire.
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I've experienced many misfires with .22 LR ammunition from multiple manufacturers in multiple firearms, and I've only been shooting for just over a year.

Federal 36 grain HP in my Ruger MKII
CCI Mini-Mag in a SIG Mosquito
Remington Golden Bullet in my Ruger MKII and a Walther P22
CCI Velocitor in a Browning Buck Mark
Winchester Super-X in my Ruger MKII and an S&W revolver (not sure of model)

In all instances, a deep dent in the cartridge rim (or multiple deep impressions if there was a second firing attempt) was made, but the rounds did not fire.

Everyone I know has experienced many .22 LR misfires. I would consider you extremely lucky to have never experienced a .22 LR failure to fire in 40 years.
 
Keep in mind that the range of potential users varies tremendously.

When most of us post, we subconsciously attribute to all our own abilities in terms of strength or ability to use our hands, etc.

As a firearms instructor I encountered a number of elderly students who no longer had a lot of strength in their hands, or who had arthritis in their joints, and who were extremely 'recoil-intolerant'; but who had experienced break-ins and were concerned about their safety.

(Their concern was for home defense scenarios against break-ins, not for daily concealed carry use...)

In most cases they were able to fire .22 caliber handguns with reasonable accuracy, and the ammunition was inexpensive enough that they could afford to practice with it regularly. So under those circumstances - in their cases, these sorts of firearms met their needs - and as most have agreed, any sort of firearm is often better than no firearm at all or one you can neither afford to practice with or you don't have the physical ability to manipulate effectively.

(And I also suspect that most burglars would not want to be shot 8-10 times with a .22 either...there is some level of deterrent value as well.)
 
True Story told to me by the victim.

A former student of mine was working at a "Quick Mart" after graduation. Three men came into the store late one night and one fired a pistol at him hitting him in the chest. The round was a .22. It was winter and the boy was wearing a thick sweater in addition to his long sleeved shirt. He fell on the floor and pretended to be unconscious. The shooter walked behind the counter and held the gun right over the boy's head and pulled the trigger. The gun only "clicked". After two more misfires, the robber/would-be murderer took what he wanted and left the store with his two buddies. The boy then sat up and looked at his chest. He saw the bullet stuck in his sweater. He pulled on the sweater and the bullet popped out onto the floor leaving a slight indentation and bruse in his skin but not breaking the skin. He called the police etc.
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I have to call BS on that kids story. Unless mom knitted his sweater out of Kevlar ! Out of a colt woodsman, a .22lr will blow right through a gal paint thinner can filled with water. That's both sides of metal and 6" of water and the bullets still have enough energy to drive several inches into the sand bank behind. The can will violently jump and the steel rip from the hydraulic shock. That's with the cheapest stuff Wal-mart carries as it's what we shoot in the back yard. And the story is that a cotton shirt and a sweater stopped a bullet? Yeah, right.:rolleyes: I think the kid has a bright future in politics.
 
I'm curiuous how many of you have actually had a 22 rimfire cartridge, misfire? I keep hearing these stories, about how bad they are, but I have been shooting for over 40 years, and have never had one misfire, or had any friends tell me that they have had a misfire. I'm beginning to think this is more of an urban myth, than anyting else. I'm not interested in hearsay, but only actual hands on experience. I've had plenty of misfires shooting old military cartridges, but never a 22 rimfire.

EarlFH
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If I had one-tenth of the misfires with 9mm or .45 that I've had with .22s, I'd totally give up on handguns... On the other hand, I've shot thousands of rounds in competition, using 9mm, .40, and .45, with maybe one failure I could attribute to a bad round.
 
I don't think anyone would honestly recommend a .22 for self-defense but having a .22 is better than nothing for sure. I have fired thousands of .22 and very rarely had a misfire, more jams than anything. I know a lot of people who can't get their wives to shoot center fire so they get them a .22. If this is the case I always recommend a ruger single six with .22 mag, they are easy to handle and more reliable than any auto .22.
 
You can get good .22 ammo in some loads that might be acceptable for self defense (like CCI Velocitor, Super_X SS 37gr HP aren't bad either). The Super-X will go through over an inch of wood, they will most certainly penetrate clothing and break the skin. The Velocitor approach the power level of the .38 (of course there's still only 40gr delivering that energy). The biggest negative on it is the reliability of the primer. My good .22's have never mis-fired but during one of my trips to the gun store someone was asking my favorite counter guy about using a .22 for self defense. He said don't do it and here's why. He said the problem is the rim fire, a carry gun is going to get jostled and jiggled and knocked around a bit. All that vibration can compromise the rim fire primer in even good ammo. He said it's just not reliable in a carry weapon. Makes sense to me.
 
I have to call BS on that kids story. Unless mom knitted his sweater out of Kevlar
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Might have been a .22 short or even a CB, but we'll never know... and I'd think even one of those would penetrate wool or cotton.
 
Calling BS?

It's senseless to call BS on any story unless you know more about or saw it yourself, there are far too many crazy and hard to believe things that happen all the time.

On another site where the BS gets rampantly called, myself and a few other guys who have done some extremely unbelievable things used to love to talk about things we'd done and the judgmental types who were always "calling BS" on things we knew firsthand were straight up fact. The joke was always how many followers would jump on the "BS bandwagon".

I can easily see a jacket and sweater stopping a lower velocity round, especially a short. Criminals are legendary for their ignorance about effective versus ineffective bullet choices, not to mention being bad shots.

Guy says he blows through whatever cans and boards with his .22 and that's the only .22 bullets made, so anything else is BS? Hmmmm.....
 
I always find this threads in most forums I go to and I always wanted to know if anyone had the unfortunate story that he/she was shot by a 22lr ammo,did it hurt? how many shots did you take? etc ,etc..I also haven't read any 1st hand experience that they had to shoot and the only weapon they have was his/her little 22lr,how did it perform?did the BG stop when he was shot??this debate will go on forever, like the other had said 22lr is better than nothing,empty mag, then reload and empty again and and then go and get your rifle..22mag on the other hand is another story, specially with the KELTEC PMR 30, now that I won't mine carrying at all, 30 rounds of JHP 22mag will get anybodys attention quick..
 
hardworker said:
Well, considering a ricochet 22 almost killed Reagen that ought to be proof that a 22 isn't harmless.
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According to a Wkipedia article, Hinckley used exploding bullets, not exactly the .22LR rounds you would buy at Walmart...

"Sixteen minutes after the assassination attempt, the ATF found that the gun had been purchased at Rocky's Pawn Shop in Dallas, Texas. It had been loaded with six "Devastator"-brand .22LR cartridges which contained small aluminum and lead explosive charges designed to explode on contact; the bullet that hit Brady likely exploded in his skull. On April 2, after learning that the others could explode at any time, volunteer doctors and nurses removed the bullet from Delahanty's neck."​

Read the full article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reagan_assassination_attempt
 
What is an exploding bullet?

I could have sworn that I saw a picture of the bullet that hit Reagan and it was mashed flat from bouncing of the limo.
 
I saw a .22 LR blow up in the chamber last week. Smoke started pouring out of the action. semi auto rifle.
I don't think the case was fully seated in the camber. and the back of the case blew apart.

The guy was in shell shock for at least 3 minutes. then he ran to his car, got eye protection, and cleared the bad round, and went back to shooting.
 
22 LR virtues

Lots of cheap practice for the most important aspect of a self-defense gun--ACCURACY.

Then........head shots!

Extremely important to disable the attacker with certainty and immediately. Only head shots or bullet into spine will do that with any handgun with certainty.
Would make no difference what drugs they were on or how big they were.

270
 
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