.22 mag for self defense

I carry an NAA Black Widow in 22Mag, and always have it loaded with solid points. You aren't going to get the velocity out of a pistol to make them expand very well, so you might as well go for more weight/penetration of a solid point.

Correctly placed, 22Mag can be a quite nasty cartridge.

http://www.brassfetcher.com/22WMR.html

That said, I live in South Carolina, where getting all bundled up for winter isn't an issue. If you are looking for something for "home defense" that will be a sure fire all season winner, go out and buy a cheap (but working) Remington 870 or Mossberg 500 12 guage and load it with low recoil buckshot.

This would be #25:


25. Asking if the 22 rim fire or 25 ACP is adequate as a self defense caliber is pointless. The answer will always be “It’s better than nothing but neither would be a good first choice.”

If you MUST use it defensively, I would use the hottest solid bullets you can find. If that's what she is going to shoot, make sure she can rapidly put all six of them center mass every time.

I'm with Saxon, the only good thing that comes to mind is, "At least it isn't a .25".

Yeah, changing ammo with the seasons makes sense. If your wife wants to stick with .22, you could try bumping up to a model with a longer barrel if you can.

I've heard that a lot of break-ins are stopped by a gun without a single shot fired anyway. Few things are more intimidating to a BG than a woman thumbing a hammer at them.

I would certainly not feel handicapped by a .22 Mag Single-Six.

In fact, I have recommended them on more then one occasion for a first gun that can serve a dual-purpose role.

Cheap practice & lots of it with .22 LR.

Enough power to take the starch out of Atilla the Hun with a COM shot of .22 Mag.

As for ammo, I would not feel to badly armed with any 40 grain load, either HP or solid.

IMO: Either one beats, or at least equals a .38 Special LRN load.

rcmodel

I like solids all year from what I've read.
And saw at brassfetcher.

remodel whats LRN load?

emodel whats LRN load?

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Lead Round Nose, I believe

22 mag from a rifle would be nasty, you should see the hollowpoint on my CCI 30 grain TNT ammo, its a gold dot hollowpoint, 2200 fps. I don't want anything to do with that, it would be nasty.

Lead Round Nose, I believe

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Lead Round Nose it is.

The standard police revolver load in this country for about 75 years.

I believe the .22 Mag is at least equal, and possibly a superior SD round.
Especially if the shooter in question burns a lot of .22 LR in practice, and can shoot them very well.

rcmodel

Thanks MikePGS I'm slow sometimes

Thanks MikePGS I'm slow sometimes

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Nah not slow, there are tons of acronyms involved in our sport/hobby/obsession.

22 mags are one of my favorite rounds. You can go to the Winchester website and comare ammo performance btw. The .22 mag looks to be superior to a .32 and not too awful far behind the .380's. And yeah I'd stick with solids. I'd pass on Dynapoint ammo though. Mike

the .22 Mag is at least equal, and possibly a superior SD round.

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Are you using handgun or rifle balistics?

One handgun I owned in the past was a Ruger Single-Six, a revolver I kept loaded with magnum hollow points. Since my Ruger featured a 5.5 inch barrel, I assumed it would produce sufficient velocities to expand. Truth be told, I loaded it with solids on a few occasions when I did not own any hollow point ammo. Either way, a person armed with a .22 needs to place his or her shots as precisely as possible.

I assume that .22 Magnum velocities from a barrel of at least 5.5 inches should reach at least 1200 feet per second. Penetration should be equal to or greater than a .22 long rifle cartridge fired from a carbine/rifle. I hope that comparison helps you to think about this issue.


Timthinker

Works for me. Use what you are comfortable with. I'd use it in a minute if that is what I had. For years, my choice was a 4" Colt Diamondback 22 revolver for home defense. It was the only firearm that was loaded. I could hit a quarter pretty consistantly at 25 yds with that particular gun.

.22 for self-defense sounds like an awful idea.

The gun that she likes, practices with, and will feel comfortable using is infinitely superior to a gun recommended by an "expert" who only knows what would make him feel well armed. We get lots of threads here all centering around what a bunch of strangers think some guys wife/gf ought to be using.

See post #2.

This right here is out of a 2" barrel revolver.
http://www.brassfetcher.com/22 Magnum CCI 40gr Maxi-Mag JHP.html

http://www.brassfetcher.com/22 Magnum Winchester 40gr FMJ.html

http://www.brassfetcher.com/22 Magnum Federal 40gr Champion FMJ.html

All bullets tumbled and penetrated to 14.0+" depth.

Ouch!
That's gonna leave a mark!

Performance would be even more devestating out of a 6 1/2" Ruger!

rcmodel

Remington Ballistic Tips, expensive but well worth it and will get you what your after.

I don't think the HP shot from a revolver is going to expand much anyway. SP rounds will do just as well. I would feel perfectly fine defending myself with a SS in .22mag In fact I do sometimes do yard work and such with it strapped to me.

Have you looked in to using a very heavy revolver with .38 target loads?

When she practices, have you tried plugs and ear muffs together? The noise from a .22Mag is quite sharp. I believe that a lot of beginner flinching is from noise more than recoil. I imagine indoors, on the receiving end, the flash, noise and blast would be pretty unpleasant, not to mention being hit with a bullet.

If she practices and can hit with the Single Six, I'd say that the S/S with .22Mag is a whole lot better than something she wouldn't shoot.

Like Jimbo above, I would ask her to try a heavier revolver with .38 wadcutters. My wife is recoil-shy and shoots a GP100 with light .38 loads.

Regards,
Dirty Bob