Which would you rather trust your life with? .22 LR or .25 ACP

Which would you rather have in a life or death situation?

  • .22 LR

    Votes: 109 67.7%

  • .25 ACP

    Votes: 52 32.3%
  • Total voters
    161
  • Poll closed .
22LR

Only if I had to and I do not own a .25ACP firearm.
All of my rimfires have much longer barrels than I have ever seen on a .25ACP firearm. Yes, there are pocket sized rimfire handguns the longer barrel will have a higher velocity.
Either beats throwing rocks but I pick 22rimfire over 25ACP.
 
jus would like to hear why the "heeled bullet Design" flaws feeding.:rolleyes:

Wouldn't you think that to be more related to the design of the feeding ramp/firearm/ or lasty cheap ammo

I've shot several .22lr pistols including Beretta Bobcat- none with any noticeable feeding issues except maybe with the cheapest of bulk loose ammo.

Just shot my 22/45 yesterday- 400 rounds and no hiccups- and it's been the same for some time.

I did have a few feeding issues with some loose dirty remington ammo a while back, so I just dumped that out of the equation and stuck with mostly CCI.
 
Last edited:
Neither unless you are being attacked by killer rabbits. A 357mag snub is very easy to conceal. I carry a full size 45 with a 357 bug with no problems. I don't get the whole micro gun thing if you are carrying something to protect yourself and your loved ones then carry something that will get the job done.
 
A 25 is more reliable than a 22LR/ The seal between the bullet and case is good. A 22LR will absorm gun oil and be useless......speaking from experiance.
 
Take a .22 lr in one hand, and with the other hand, bend the cartridge. The bullet will pop right out of the case. Now try that with a .25.
The feeding cycle in an autoloading pistol is pretty hard on the little .22.
.22 lr bullets can easily become loose in the case. It's pretty easy to see.
While the LR has been made to feed reliably in a lot of guns, the .25 is a very rigid little cartridge and is obviously more reliable in an auto.
The .25 also uses a jacketed bullet, while the .22 uses a lead bullet-which can deform when it hits the feed ramp.
Crap? I don't think so.
 
Take a .22 lr in one hand, and with the other hand, bend the cartridge. The bullet will pop right out of the case.
Click to expand...


You must be talking about using pliers to bend the cartridge?:confused: Cuz I sure can't do it with my own hands. Hmmm NOOO!, I haven't been able to bend it with my own hands.

Nope, .22 bullets just don't go popping out with a twist or bend.

The .22lr shell casing crimps inward on the heel portion preventing even the loose feeling rounds from being pryed out.

You're not making sense.

I use CCI and they seem to produce ammo even in bulk that isn't loose. I avoid the loose cheap ammo and stick with what works and functions normally in all my .22s
 
Last edited:
These guns are not belly guns, they are brain guns. If you are close enough to shoot them in the belly you're close enough to shoot them in the temple or eye socket. Either works for that.
Click to expand...

Right, when things go wrong at spittin' distance your opponent will always stand still for you and offer the shot that will end things immediately.
Of course, if he were standing still and offering such a shot, it might be argued that shooting wouldn't be justified in the first place.

OK, I was being somewhat facetious to make my point;).


My point is, that your shot "preferences" may be limited in a life and death struggle and if yours is a "brain" gun only, then maybe a better caliber selection would be in order.

And I'd prefer the .22 over the .25, with a .32 being a somewhat better choice.

Just my thoughts on the matter.:cool:
 
Good question. Out of the two, give me the .25 acp. With a slightly wider bullet diameter and a little more mass, I would think the .25 would give me a slightly better chance of stopping the attacker. I would also think that the .25 would provide better bullet performance.
 
Which

Some years ago, I chrono'd both 50 grain 25ACP and 22lr SV ammo through two inch barrels. The 50 gr. 25s went 760 fps and the 40 grain 22s went at just under 800 fps, iirc. The ME difference was only 5 ft.lbs. the edge going to the 25.
 
This question is more than theoretical to me, as I own twin Beretta Bobcats. One is 25acp, the other is 22lr.
The 22lr has proven itself reliable with good ammo...meaning, just about anything from CCI. Were I to use it for SD, I would use Velocitor, MiniMag or Stinger, in that order of preference.
The 25acp has also proven reliable. It has the advantage of an FMJ bullet, centerfire priming, and the MecGar mag holds more ammo than the 22...9 versus 7.
While my limited phone book testing showed a slight advantage to 25, it wasn't huge.
The 25 is what rides in my pocket, while the 22 goes to the range for cheap practice.
The pawn shop owner versus sword wielding nut story also gave me new respect for the 25acp:
http://armslocker.com/gun-rights/25966-sword-vs-handgun-real-life-mess.html
DSC02121.jpg
 
Last edited:
It depends.

The .25 acp is theoretically more reliable due to reasons previously mentioned, and having a semi-rimmed case doesn't hurt either.

However, good quality rimfire ammo seems to be reliable enough that it might not be a significant difference.

Shot placement is also key for marginal calibers. Practice grade .22 lr ammo is tremendously cheap, which means you can get a heck of a lot more practice in for the same amount of money.
 
Even in mouse guns only I would still pick the .22.
The round profile of the fmj .25 is more likely to deflect from a skull shot.
With .22 I can use the CCI SGB flat nose (at least for the first shot if reliability is an issue) which is least likely to deflect as it is nearly a wadcutter.

The only case I would use the .25 is in the baby Browning if I had to go über deep concealment.
 
I'll add my vote for the .22. I have a couple small .22s and with stingers or mini mags they are serious danger to anyone withing my 7-yard comfort zone. I have only fired a .25 once and it was a cheap jennings or phoenix or something like that and it jamed after every shot.
 
It depends on the type of gun. In a revolver, I prefer a .22 as some of the better loadings can give similar or slightly better performance than the .25 can with the ability to remedy a misfire with another pull of the trigger. However, if the gun is a semi-auto, I prefer the .25 for reliability. Besides the afforementioned rimfire vs. centerfire issue, the .22 also uses a heel-based bullet that is more apt to allow moisture, oil, or other misfire-causing debris into the case, most .22 LR ammunition uses outside-lubricated bullets that will foul the gun more quickly than a .25 Auto would, and the rim of the .22 LR case is more prominent and apt to cause feeding issues that that of the .25 Auto.
 
I voted .25 but that's for me. For my wife it's a .22 revolver. She couldn't even cock the hammer on my Beretta .25.
So, I really vote...."Both"!!
og
 
I wouldn't choose to carry either caliber. My personal minimum is 380. That said, I think either would work to dissuade any casual assault.
 
Why in the world would anybody carry either, when in the same form factor (size. width, weight) you can have .320 or .380?

Yes you *can* carry a pair of scissors to a knife fight, but... why? :confused:


.22's are for tin cans and paper, not self defense.

.25's are obsolete. They *used* to fill a deep concealment niche. No longer.



Willie

.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top