22 magnum for a ccw?

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I have zero dog in this race .. there are a couple of viable 22mag ammo self defense options ... If I was going to go with a 22mag carry gun it would be the 8 shot
11oz S&W J frame with the aluminum cylinder

It is costly though..

I also hear .. in the future Charter is going to add two more holes in the cylinder of their 22mag revolver ...6 to 8

This is a good option for a light recoiling SD revolver ...
A Ruger LCR 327 ... loaded with 32 Long
BDBFA91C-5008-447E-B7E4-9E4116EC6107.jpeg
 
Penetration is not as critical when the head is the target.

I would disagree with that. If you're aiming for the cranial cavity, you have to get through to that cavity. Thick bone. Armor plating for the brain. If the bullet doesn't have enough oomph to bust through, or a hollowpoint goes SPLAT instead of boring through, you're gonna be in big trouble.
 
Really? The OP asked, "Anyone here ever consider using a 22 magnum for ccw /self defense as their primary or secondary gun"
The PMR 30 uses Win. .22WMR ammo, so it is a .22Mag. Certainly not a pistol I would carry but, I have little doubt some who own one would and do. While the round is "lacking" to say the least having 30 rounds on the pipe would be nice I guess.
The OP put this topic in the revolver section with a focus on carrying as primary or a backup. I don't think the PMR 30 would make for a good backup gun given its size, however .22 mag snubs are perfectly adequate for that role.
 
I would disagree with that. If you're aiming for the cranial cavity, you have to get through to that cavity. Thick bone. Armor plating for the brain. If the bullet doesn't have enough oomph to bust through, or a hollowpoint goes SPLAT instead of boring through, you're gonna be in big trouble.
You make it sound like .22 Mag could barely go thru a wooden board.

Pretty sure anyone who gets shot in the head or face and the bullet stops as soon as it hits bone isn't gonna be feeling like continuing to do what he was doing. Most likely he's gonna be incapacitated and allow you to escape.
 
I also hear .. in the future Charter is going to add two more holes in the cylinder of their 22mag revolver ...6 to 8

This is a good option for a light recoiling SD revolver ...
A Ruger LCR 327 ... loaded with 32 Long
View attachment 936609
I hear a lot of things Charter is "going to do" with regards to new guns, but I don't believe it until I see it. I heard a rumor something about adding adjustable rear sights to the .32 Professionals... someone debunked that. I've heard for 6 months that Charter is going to make an 8 shot .22 and I've yet to see one.
 
I hear a lot of things Charter is "going to do" with regards to new guns, but I don't believe it until I see it. I heard a rumor something about adding adjustable rear sights to the .32 Professionals... someone debunked that. I've heard for 6 months that Charter is going to make an 8 shot .22 and I've yet to see one.

Im sure they are slightly covered up right now churning out revolvers .. more than likely
“Bread & Butter guns “ 38’s and 44’s

But .. two revolvers Im waiting for is the aluminum framed 6 shot 32h&r Undercoverette and the 7 shot 32H&R snubbie built on the new Boxer frame
( aluminum Bulldog frame)

Charter produces alot of great options & calibers
380,9mm,40S&W & 45acp revolvers
22lr,22mag,32 H&R ,38spl,357, 41 mag , 44spl
45 Colt
All affordable, all small and light for caliber/capacity
 
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The OP put this topic in the revolver section with a focus on carrying as primary or a backup. I don't think the PMR 30 would make for a good backup gun given its size, however .22 mag snubs are perfectly adequate for that role.

Oh now I see then. Had not noticed it was in a section for wheel guns
 
I sometimes carry my S&W 351c when walking the dogs. We walk in parks and cemeteries and often see coyotes. I also have a couple of NAA minis. In cooler weather the Black Widow and Sidewinder ride in jacket and sweatshirt pockets and serve as get off me guns to buy me time to get to the larger piece I'm carrying under the garment.
 
32 S&W long is a far better cartridge and has similarly light recoil.
I agree, but the frequent reasons why some won't touch a .32 revolver of any flavor is they can't find .32 ammo in Bubba Joe's Backwoods Gun & Smoke shop or they live in a state that doesn't allow people to buy ammo online.

I can understand the issue with the later, but the former is baloney when you can order ammo online, but don't. Like, I remember when Walmart was selling ammo they had Winchester .32 ACP for $25 a box and people would complain about the price of .32 being "sobering." Fools could have gone online and bought better European ammo for half the price and no sales tax at the time.
 
I would disagree with that. If you're aiming for the cranial cavity, you have to get through to that cavity. Thick bone. Armor plating for the brain. If the bullet doesn't have enough oomph to bust through, or a hollowpoint goes SPLAT instead of boring through, you're gonna be in big trouble.
Not sure about that. 'Most' that get shot in the head, even if the HP goes splat, isn't going to still be 'in the game'..unless chemically aided.
 
Several years ago I wanted a NAA .22 caliber for pocket carry around the house. I was trying to decided if I wanted a .22lr or .22 mag, so I charted the average of the velocities from the "Ballistics By The Inch" site to see how the two rounds compared out of a short barrel. Seeing as how the model I wanted has a 1-1/8" barrel, I decided the .22mag offered very little advantage out of a short snubby.

View attachment 936527

Now if you're comparing the .22 mag to a centerfire cartridge, I don't think it compares well at all, unless for "reasons" you need something with little recoil but you still have the hand strength to pull a heavier rimfire DA trigger.

The problem with "Ballistics By The Inch" for revolvers is that the barrel measurement datum is different than for rifles and pistols (semi-auto / fixed-breech), and not directly comparable to their charts.

My .22 NAA Mini with the 1 5/8" barrel would measure 3" on their chart. Even with the cylinder gap loss, ballistics with a 40 gr CCI FMJ are significantly higher than a 40 gr .22 LR Mini Mag out of the same gun with it's conversion cylinder.

I prefer to look at the "Real World Weapons" info at BBTI. Unfortunately, the shortest barrel real gun they show for .22 WMR has a 4.6" barrel.

In these cases, I like to look at the info reported at NAA on their own revolvers. Such as what is reported on the 2" barreled Black Widow at the links below.

.22 LR - https://northamericanarms.com/ballistics/ball-bwl/
.22 WMR - https://northamericanarms.com/ballistics/ball-bwm/
Both linked from - https://northamericanarms.com/ballistics/

For 40 grain ammo, the CCI Mini Mag in .22 LR is hitting about 850 fps. For semi-direct comparison, the CCI Maxi Mag is hitting about 988 fps.
 
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The short barreled .22 and .22 Magnum revolvers that I've looked at have had the worst trigger pulls ever. Stay away from them!
 
The short barreled .22 and .22 Magnum revolvers that I've looked at have had the worst trigger pulls ever. Stay away from them!
Funny you say that. I have a Ruger LCR22WMR that my wife and my daughter both shoot, Both mention that the trigger pull is a little stiff, but manageable. They both used it to qualify for their CPL and did extremely well with it. It's certainly stiff compared to my LCR357 but that's the difference between a center-fire and rim-fire.

I've carried it occasionally as a primary and have never felt under-gunned. As with any self-defense handgun, shot placement is critical. Currently my daughter carries it as her self-defense firearm as she doesn't care for recoil.
 
You just got to know how to shoot one also having proper grips on the gun makes a big difference. You need to push your trigger finger thru until the inside of the first joint is just past the trigger itself this gives you a much greater use of your strength and ability to stay on target. I do smooth the internals as well as the trigger face and edges so the trigger lets your finger move and not forcing the gun around.
 
I prefer to look at the "Real World Weapons" info at BBTI. Unfortunately, the shortest barrel real gun they show for .22 WMR has a 4.6" barrel.

In these cases, I like to look at the info reported at NAA on their own revolvers. Such as what is reported on the 2" barreled Black Widow at the links below.

.22 LR - https://northamericanarms.com/ballistics/ball-bwl/
.22 WMR - https://northamericanarms.com/ballistics/ball-bwm/
Both linked from - https://northamericanarms.com/ballistics/

For 40 grain ammo, the CCI Mini Mag in .22 LR is hitting about 850 fps. For semi-direct comparison, the CCI Maxi Mag is hitting about 988 fps.

Here are some stats compiled in an NRA test, which include penetration -- just to correlate with those provided by NAA... :)

NRA 204222magterminalperformance.png
 
All this talk of penetration...
About 25 years ago some friends of mine and I tested Lexan bullet resistant windows that were used in the passenger trains we worked on. We tested these 1/2” thick windows by shooting handguns loaded with various FMJ, LRN, soft point and hollow point ammunition in .45 ACP, .45 Colt, 9mm, .38 Spl, .357 Magnum, .32 Magnum .22 LR and .22 Magnum. The range was about 20 feet. These Lexan windows stopped all of the above rounds except .22 Magnum 40 grain solids and .22 LR fired from a 10/22. The .22 Magnum round that fully penetrated the window had very little power left after going through the Lexan and barely dented the wood frame backdrop. The .22 LR round penetrated the wood backdrop. All the other rounds either imbedded themselves in the Lexan or ricocheted back. I still have a scar from a 12 gauge 00 Buck pellet from a long gun test we did.
My point here is I wouldn’t be too concerned about whether or not a .22 Magnum could penetrate a skull. I would give it a bit more confidence than larger lead or soft point handgun rounds. How much damage it does once it penetrates is anyone’s guess.
 
The short barreled .22 and .22 Magnum revolvers that I've looked at have had the worst trigger pulls ever. Stay away from them!

Lol, Really? The LCR22 is my favorite plinker and a great trainer. Just have the best time ever shooting it. All my defense guns are DAO and this short barrel revolver has been worth every single nickle I paid for it. And it gets a whole lot of use. Thankfully I am well stocked up with 22.cal so this gun gets a lot of range time even with the crapola that is going on. And shooting often, you will be surprise how well you can become with on. I do not have the 22mag, but would not mind having one. Yes I will chose my LCR9mm, but really would not have a problem carrying a Magnum if for some reason I had any issue with hand etc.
Recently bought the LCP 22, also to train with my short barrel guns. Now I do not like that trigger at all, the LCR gets chosen over that gun 70% when headed out to the weekly range session.

This another one of the cases where accuracy may very well trump bigger caliber and as I said, you can get mighty accurate with one. That is up to the individual. A couple of fast shots to the head and neck would be pure hell for someone.
 
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