Which do you find more all around useful, a 22 pistol or a 22 rifle?

I think the most practical gun ever is a tubular fed bolt-action or lever action .22lr. Can shoot and feed any .22 round, from CB shorts to Hypervelocity Stingers and everything in between. Throw on a 3-9x scope and its ready for target shooting, pest control, small game hunting etc. And in my opinion, a Hypervelocity .22lr from a rifle barrel is nothing to sneeze at, so I think a .22 rifle could be effectively pressed into service as a defense gun if there was ever the dire need.

I love my Marlin 981t (now known as the xt22tr)

I think it's more useful to have both... a good pistol and rifle in .22lr. If forced to travel on foot ultralight then I'd feel pretty good with my Ruger Mark II pistol.

I don't know how you define "useful" ... but a good target pistol can do most things a rifle can out to 50 yards, if you're skilled.

A strong argument could be made for a lever-gun, also.

In the end, you'll need both (a lot more than one of each, probably) anyway, don't get too worked up about the first one.

I would agree with both.
The advantage of a 22 pistol/semi is it is a great handgun to warm up on or practice stances or handling before trying the same with your 9, 40, 380, or....
The 22 bullet well placed is just about as deadly as many other for most things. Granted it won't do the shock damage a large caliber will but little holes in the right place are still just as deadly.

I find both pistol and rifle extremely useful'
As for uses, the pistols are shot more at target, formal target, and plinking.
I have but one .22 pistol that is used for serious hunting and that is a S&W Model 41.
My .22 rifles are used the same but ALL of them can be and are used for hunting and pest control.
If i am carrying only a pistol out back it is usually a .32 auto because I like a bit more power when dealing with a rabid skunk, a distempered raccoon, or an angry possum and need to get fairly close to dispatch these critters..

Of the two, I'd have to go with the pistol. With care, I can do anything with a .22 pistol that I can do with a .22 rifle...out to 50 yards in any case.
In any of those fantasy polls about "what would you pick if you could only take X number of guns....", one of my choices is always a .22 pistol.
Pete
PS ....I like most things to be all around accurate. That includes answers to questions. While I do agree that having both a rifle and a pistol is the best situation, the OP asked about which of the two each of us found more all around useful. ("Which one is more useful....") The answer requires a making a choice between the two.

for survival the rifle is best, for all round fun the pistol is best....

Pistol. Much more packable, most can still take an optic, and it allows me to carry a larger bore rifle for serious work, and use the pistol for varmint/small game hunting. I'm talking purely for backwoods survival, which is the real reason I own .22s to begin with.

IMO a .22 rifle is more useful than a pistol.

With that said, I own and shoot both.

That`s like asking do you like Ford trucks or Chevy trucks better. It`s a personal choice. Plus, what is the intended use?

If by "useful" you mean the one that gets shot the most, I would pick a .22LR PISTOL.

For 20-odd years I didn't even own a rifle, as I used handguns for all hunting and SD duties, but as I got older, less steady and my eyesight deteriorated, I found my way back to rifles, and my beloved BL-22...

my 10/22 over my single six any day.

A pistol, for the simple fact that it can always be with you, no matter what you're doing. A rifle isn't always practical. If you're headed out the door with deadly intent, then a rifle is usually the better tool.

A pistol is more useful for carrying. A rifle is more useful for putting a bullet where you want it.

Exactly what bpl said.
Greg

I have a rifle and pistol but if I had to choose, I would have to say rifle. I started with a single shot .22 and moved up to a Ruger 10/22. I now have both and they both have their places.

breakingcontact said:

Like them both, but which one is more useful in practical ways.

I'm leaning towards rifle, but the compact nature of the pistol is nice too and it still retains some of the function of the rifle.

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Whichever platform I am more concerned with getting inexpensive practice on.

I lean toward rifle, 10/22 or CZ452 for general use. But I like .22 pistols too and
Sometimes prefer them.

A rifle. It can do everything the pistol can at greater distances.

Hokkmike said:

A rifle. It can do everything the pistol can

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Not really.

A pistol can very easily be carried on your person while you go about your everyday activities.

And a .22lr pistol can be used to practice/train on a pistol.

A rifle can do neither of those things.

22 Rifle, will never fail to feed you.


Jim

jim243 said:

22 Rifle, will never fail to feed you.


Jim

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Is that why people never went without food during the Great Depression?