What is the best ammo for stopping power

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bobbart

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What is the best ammo for stopping power. I purchase a Ruger LCR 22 Mag.
I looking for good ammo and stopping power for the 22 mag.
40 Grain, 50 grain? I saw this on a site CCI Landry Maxi-Mag Ammunition, 22 WMR, Jacketed Hollow Point, 40 GR, 250 Rd/Box They want $70 for a box of 250...WOW.
What about this ammo: Hornady Critical Defense Ammunition 22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire (WMR) 45 Grain Flex Tip expanding

If you have any suggestions, please point me to the correct site.

Thanks,
bobbart
 
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There really isn't any pure stopping power with a handgun much less with a 22. While a 22 can stop someone, it's all about shot placement. I'm sure either of the rounds you suggested are fine. Buy a box, make sure they are accruate and then practice, practice, practice.
 
I'm one of those folks who likes to argue that "stopping power" is a misnomer. A 40mm Bofors gun has stopping power. A handgun only has hole-poking power. ;)

THAT SAID...

Of the two ammo types you asked about, the most effective choice for self-defense would be the Hornady. The Maxi-Mags are meant for taking down <20lb varmints with a rifle. They will most likely have excessive muzzle blast when fired from a snubnose revolver, and the bullets are designed to fragment, which will give them inadequate penetration on a heavier target.
 
Were I to use a .22 Magnum for self-defense, I'd probably load it with either Hornady Critical Defense or Speer Gold Dot.
 
What are you planning on "stopping"?

For self defense, the Hornaday and exact placement a number of times might "stop" unwanted lethal force being directed your way... then again, as most handguns power levels are a compromise due to the size, it might not "stop" someone soon enough to keep them from doing you some serious bodily harm if you only have 6 shots available.

But I assume you know that.

Try them all out and see what works best for you.

No one in their right mind wants to be shot with anything, let alone a .22 magnum. It's the nefarious ones NOT in their right mind you need worry about. So practice precise placement using whatever round floats your boat and apparently nowadays, you find available.

How you liking that LCR?
 
I agree with carguychris, if you want stopping power in a self defense situation bring a suburban. That said, a .22 can be very effective in the right hands. Don't know too many guys that would want to continue the fight after being hit with a half dozen rounds from a .22. It's not the size of the bullet, but where you put them.
 
I remember reading about police officers who hit a gunman multiple times in the kill zone. They never did "stop" him. He finally died of blood loss.

Maybe a point blank blast of 12 guage 00 buck to the head of some bad guy might "stop" him.

With a 22 magnum? Doubtful. The best you could hope for is to hit the perp and make the whole ordeal so costly to him he'll just run. Just hope it's not really cold outside cause he'll be bundled up and the bullet won't travel as far.
 
To stop a lethal threat with a gun, you need to hit them hard enough enough times so that the BG no longer wants to attack you.

The surest was to stop an attack is to interrupt the CNS. The next best is to take the ability to attack away (remove muscle/bone support) and the last is to change the BG"s channel from hurting you to getting away from you.

There are many variables but I look at it from the pain compliance outlook. the more pain you inflict, the more the BG will want to get away from you. Drugs, alcohol and mental state will influence this. Fights are dynamic and rapidly changing, this makes it difficult for accurate shot placement.

What does all that mean? A 22 magnum is maybe not the best tool for the job.
 
I can't find ANY ammo

I can't find ANY of the below ammo. I checked 20 sites all out of stock

1. Gold Dot® Short Barrel® Personal Protection .22 WMR

2. Hornady Critical Defense Ammunition 22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire (WMR) 45 Grain FlexTip expanding

If anyone knows of any sites that have the above ammo...please post the site.

Thanks So Much,
bobbarto
 
I personally like Gold Dots better than Critical Defense ( in bigger calibers ) I've not tried the 22 Mag offerings, but agree those made for handguns will be more effective than ammo built specifically for most 22 mag rifles...

availability is going to be tough... one thing in your favor, is the premium priced ammo is often what's on the shelves the longest, the bulk packs & cheap ammo seems to disappear 1st... try Cabela's, Gander, or any local gun shop... I've actually seen ammo in those places, occasionally... while the online sources look to be out of everything, unless you put yourself on a "notify list" like Midway does, then buy it imeadiately after they notify you it's in stock, or they'll be out again...


sorry, but those are my best suggestions
 
Not a big fan of the .22 as a SD round

Too small of a cross section. I could understand getting one in .22 LR to use as a training companion to a larger bore, but I really think .22's are too small.
How's the muzzle blast from that thing?
 
While I agree that a .22 mag is not ideal, it is what you have. When dealing with a small cal and large target your main concern is bullet penetration. Avoid hollow points and lighter bullets, find the heaviest solid bullet that you can and put sufficient rounds into the target to affect a change of attitude or focus.

This also applys to any cal. I like to think of it as a ratio of cal to mass of target.
As an example brown bear and 44 mag!
 
Use what you will, I don't have a problem with it. But there is no .22M ammo that turns it from a **** to a dragon slayer. With identical shot placement the odds a bad guy is gonna react notably different between standard ol' everyday .22M loads and the new designer loads is so close as to be a non-factor.

My only recommendation is to stay away from the true lightweight, plastic tipped varmint ammo. Other than that any HP in 40grs on up is gonna be about the same.
 
in a bad situation, a .22 is better than nothing, its not about size, its about having a weapon when the SHTF. I stopped a guy that meant me bodily harm in his tracks simply by racking a round into the chamber of a .22 LR walther knock off I used to have. so I considered it plenty of stopping power for the situation.

I would go with the Critical Defense rounds.
 
Ditch the idea of any hollow point and go with 40 gr grain pointed soft point for maximum penetration. Brand really isn't that critical as long as it is reliable and accurate in your gun. Personal preference of mine is CCI maxi mag solids but I have had good luck with Remington and Winchester. Haven't tried the Federals in 22 mag but I'm sure they will work, right now its more a matter of what you can find.
 
Since you cannot reload rimfires I would see what ammunition is most accurate in your revolver. As Bill Jordan said "Speed (and Power)are fine, but Accuracy is final."
 
FoghornLeghorn said:
I remember reading about police officers who hit a gunman multiple times in the kill zone. They never did "stop" him. He finally died of blood loss.
Click to expand...

This exact point is all over dozens of gun sites, that only a rifle round has enough hydrodynamic shock to really be called "stopping power" often times. A .308 in the torso isn't guaranteed, but man that's a tough hit.

I did like the idea of the Bofor's gun, but not only will it never be concealed, it's not even readily portable.

A Krinkov M92 or M85 is technically a handgun, and they're pretty mean. They might deliver enough shock to incapacitate a perpetrator just from blunt force.

But with the 22 shot placement is absolutely critical. So practice, practice, practice. Then practice some more.

Obviously, since you're asking about it, the 22 seems to be the platform. If so, then let me say that a 22 in your hand beats the pants off of looking around on the ground for stick.
 
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