Any real difference between a 22LR hollow point and 22LR solid round?

Not really. Especially out of a pistol. I'd save a dollar and stick with the cheaper ones. In certain targets, hollow point bullets can have some increased effect on game, but those are likely negated by the loss of velocity out of the pistol. Most of the time, a hollowpoint .22 doesn't even expand at all in my experience.

As a kid we used to shoot blackbirds with a .22 rifle in the back yard. HP's dropped them dead, with solids they would fly for 25 yards or so and then fall from the sky.
Try shooting some soap bars and see what the results are.

If going through a substantial target a HP may fragment where a solid will continue to penetrate with the whole slug.

in my experiance the hollow points are FAR deadlier on small game.

<edit: oh I just realized you are talking pistol. 22lr is totally anemic out of a pistol, no idea there.>

Sure, on squirrels.

Depends on what you use the gun for. Against varmints, Mini-Mags will still expand nicely out of a 5" barrel (I forget how long a barrel the Mosquito has, though). I wouldn't be too eager to shoot anything larger than a small bunny with a .22 pistol, though.

For last-ditch personal defense or something, definitely solids. They'll penetrate about twice as far as hollowpoints, which is very important given how lackluster the penetration of 36 gr HPs is, when they expand.

Is 1320 fps considered slow from a 6" barrel?

My Woodsman expells Stingers at 1320 fps and Mini-mags at 1050 fps.

Last I checked. .22 hollow points will open up at those velocities...

Hollow point .22s? Lackluster? I've killed [with one shot] a pit bull {messin' with my horses] with a CCI 36 grain HP Mini-mag from that Woodsman at 15 yards [or there abouts]...Dumped him in his tracks.

Will admit...I'd much rather have had my .30 WCF instead of a .22 pistol. Even a .45 ACP would have been better, but circumstances didn't allow for it.

In the tons of small game if shot with a 22rf --- the HPs always seemed to kill quicker.

The Bushmaster said:

My Woodsman expells Stingers at 1320 fps and Mini-mags at 1050 fps.

Last I checked. .22 hollow points will open up at those velocities...

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That's great for small varmints, but the question is whether they sufficiently penetrate large varmints, such as bad guys, when they do expand. While they certainly can kill humans, are they as lethal overall as the solid rounds?

In order to get the same velocity out of a 22lr handgun that you can get out of a 22lr rifle, you have to shoot 22 mag rounds. But, you can't do that since you have an autoloader. I have a little 22 revolver, a heritage rough rider, and it has a seperate cylinder to shoot 22 mag. noisy little sucker with the 22 mag, but the thing hardly jumps in your hands. I would suggest hollow point. a 22 pistol has little velocity and is really only good for tiny game and targets. tiny game means maybe even smaller than a rabbit. That's just in my opinion though.

a 22lr is hard pressed to kill a human on impact, but it will do decent damage and will make someone think twice before attacking again. And if they don't patch it up soon they might bleed to death. But, for someone on some superhuman type drugs, a 22lr pistol stands no chance in stopping them. All I can say is that it might be better than a rock, but a rock has more mass and if you hit them in the head hard you might give them a concussion causing disorientation. that might do more damage than a measly 22 lr being fired out of a pistol. depends on shot placement. but I would not rely on a 22lr out of a handgun for personal defense and definately not home defense.

in my experiance the hollow points are FAR deadlier on small game.

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+1 I prefer solids from a rifle on squirrel, far less meat damage. Hollow points anchor rabbits quicker. I proved that to myself many years ago as a kid.

A HP dumps the little bit o'energy in a shorter range. Great for small game, even devastating, as a solid-point could easily over-penetrate. And, that's what a solid point does: penetrate. It is better for bigger game -- four and two legged.

Some 22 Mag stats for perspective only as it came up...
A 6" 22 Mag pistol is more powerful than ANY 22 LR rifle. A 22 Mag rifle at close range has the same energy as a .38 pistol. A 22 Mag has 50% more energy than a 22 LR at 100 yards.

Al

The mosquito is an excellent pistol for target practice and to learn proper pistol handling. Your father made a sound choice for you. Practice with it till you fell 100% comfortable handling and shooting it. It's also a very good BUG. any gun is lethal if the shot is placed correctly, but we aren't going there in this thread.
The HP's will do more damage in whatever you shoot with the SIG. If I remember correctly the barrel is only 3" or so. You won't gain much velocity with that short of a barrel, so get a bullet that'll inflict the most damage the quickest.

When it's time to get the 9mm and learn to handle the more powerful loads and you will understand why the 9mm is the choice of SD ammo and carried by so many pistol users.
Enjoy your Mosquito and learn well.

.........Wait... are we talking about self defense with a 22lr Mosquito?

When did this change from poppin squirrels to shooting a man in the face?

That's great for small varmints, but the question is whether they sufficiently penetrate large varmints, such as bad guys, when they do expand. While they certainly can kill humans, are they as lethal overall as the solid rounds?

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It's been my experience that most disasters are planned disasters. A good example would be planning to carry a .22 RF for self-defense.

Smw421 said:

My father and I sort of had this debate over the 22lr lethality. I argued that it was too weak to do much,

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It's powerful enough to kill Homo sapiens with proper shot placement, which all handgun calibers require anyway--doesn't do much more than that, though.

Smw421 said:

and he said if you rapidly empty it into an attacker, it would be enough.

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Assuming that you could rapidly score that many hits, it would be sort of like getting hit by buckshot from a shotgun from maybe 50 yards away--pretty devastating and rather likely to be lethal.

gearchecker said:

The HP's will do more damage in whatever you shoot with the SIG. If I remember correctly the barrel is only 3" or so. You won't gain much velocity with that short of a barrel, so get a bullet that'll inflict the most damage the quickest.

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This makes sense for small targets such as squirrels, but larger targets will benefit from the deeper penetration of solid rounds.

dom1104 said:

.........Wait... are we talking about self defense with a 22lr Mosquito?

When did this change from poppin squirrels to shooting a man in the face?

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The original questions were pretty general. Since when was this thread limited to popping squirrels?

I would choose the bullet based on how you want it to perform. Consider the distance you will be taking most of your shots from and see which ballistics best suite your needs.

I know CCI publishes all their data on their site. Look at velocity and energy and you should have a decent idea of what you're buying into. Also expect to see a little less performance than is posted on the site when you're using them in a pistol.

-MW

If all you can shoot are "Mini Mags" you aren't saving that much over 9mm.

have you tried cci stingers? in my experience they have the most effect on a soft target of any .22 lr round period. if you shoot a milk jug full of water you will find tiny pieces of the bullet and not much else. Dont even try to shoot a rabbit with one, that was an ungodly mess, more humane to the animal though i would imagine.

Any caliber pistol is better than a rock! If thats all you have, then yes it is adquate. Load it with solids, then save up for a larger caliber. I have a hard time believing 6-10 .22's wont stop someone! No they dont have the mass and muzzle velocity of a .44 mag, (read smack down) but a few hits from a .22 will soon have the OP thinking if what he had on his mind is really worth it.

From a rifle, on small edible game, a hollowpoint will damage flesh more than a solid bullet.

For years plinking at an abandoned rock quarry, I preferred hollowpoints because they produced fewer richocets than solids.

Accuracy wise I see little or no practical difference. Some autos I have owned function fine with either, a few prefer roundnose solids.

Quote: Hollow points are legal in New Jersey, but I keep hearing stories about people being wrongfully arrested for having them.

Yes, the preferred ammo for "sporting purposes" (hunting small game/varmint control) is treated as questionable. To invoke Godwin's law, one of the first acts when the Nazis changed the German gun laws was to ban .22 LR hollowpoint.