Although I agree in spirit, there are many inexperienced people who are alive because they had a gun.
Very true, and a blind squirrel finds a nut once in awhile too, and I win more than $10 in the state lottery.
While the first rule of a gun fight is "get a gun", if you want to increase the odds of passing the test, best to at least to get the Cliff Notes and learn how to use it.
I think the just having a gun mentality, especially without basic skills, is just a feel good thing, and false hope.
My grandmother had an old Colt .38 she kept in a drawer, and she grew up in the country around guns.
It doesnt sound like Granny was a "novice".
I've thought about that, and if I have a Ruger 11-shot (or even 10-shot), I can fill the air with a lot of lead headed for his chest or noggin.
I dont think anyone can argue that a .22 (or any of the other "small" caliber guns) isnt lethal. The problem is, is it lethal enough, quick enough, especially if you dont make a CNS shot?
The point isnt to "fill the air", its to fill the bad guy, and in the right places.
If it has to be a .22. Id go with the revolver over the autos. Ive owned many if not most of the different make .22 autos over the years, and pretty much all of them get grumpy when dirty, and reliability becomes an issue. If youre not going to maintain them, its will only get worse.
Then you have the issue of misfires, which is also a pretty common thing, and nature of the best with the rimfires. That 11 shot might be done at the first, and if you dont know how get it going again, then what?
Hey, use what ever you want and get as much or little training as you want, youre the one who has to deal when it comes down to it. A guns advantage is distance, and that advantage diminishes quickly as the distance closes, especially if your not prepared to fight close in. Sure, your hit probability "might" go up, but if youve let them get that close and havent yet started shooting, theres a good chance, the result will be a draw.