.22 for self defense

[BADUNAME37]

I would want the longest barrel possible for added velocity and accuracy.

A 10" barreled Ruger Mark II would be my first choice. I would trust my life to that, with eleven rounds in the gun plus another ten-round magazine, or two, or three.

 

[One_Jackal]

Barrel size wouldn't matter to me. I don't have to win or kill the bad guy. I just want escape. The fire flies from a short barrel 22 and it's very loud. Bad guys don't think I have been shot with a 22 I am ok. They think I have been shot get me out of here.

 

[Rorge Retson]

As with two others here, I like the PMR-30, given your requirements...
PMR-30 in action

 

[Dirty Bob]

As Ruger is now producing two reliable, double-action revolvers at a fair price (the LCR and the SP101), I'd choose between those. If you're a revolver shooter, this'd give you a great practice pistol that could be carried if circumstances required. Both have 8-round cylinders. The LCR's about 15 ounces, and the SP101 is double that. Neither would be a problem to carry, although the SP101 is a belt gun, not a pocket gun.

I would, of course put at least 1,000 to 2,000 rounds through any .22 revolver ASAP, to make sure it was reliable and to verify its favorite ammo. I have found, for example, that Federal HVHP would not ignite every time in a youth rifle we have (hammer strike was too light), while the gun was 100% with Federal's "AutoMatch" .22LR ammo. Ruger has a good reputation for both a good product and good service, but it pays to be sure.

Injury or other issues could strike anyone, so a light-recoiling handgun isn't a bad idea. There are other ways to go, however. I concur with the previous posts favoring target wadcutters in an all-steel S&W K-frame or (my choice) in a Ruger SP101 or GP100. This last one, with a four-inch barrel, is very gentle with target ammo. The only problem is finding .38 wadcutters on a dealer's shelf. You'd have to order your carry ammo, in all likelihood.

OTOH, practice ammo is a cake walk to make! There is probably no easier cartridge to reload, and wadcutter loads are very simple to put together. I've fired thousands of my own (cast from a Lee mould and lubed in a plastic bag with Lee Liquid Alox). Wadcutters are pleasant to shoot, accurate and much more effective than you might expect. Here's CE Harris' take on wadcutters for serious use:

Ed Harris: Revisiting the Full Charge Wadcutter
​

And now for something completely different:
For an unusual low-recoil pistol, you could go with a Makarov .380 with a threaded barrel -- not for a suppressor, per se, but for extra weight. Imagine a long flash hider, bored out for the .380 (actually .355, IIRC) bullet. It wouldn't affect cycling in a blowback pistol, but it would give the Pistolet Makarova a "Man from U.N.C.L.E." kind of look. Mak's are very reliable, and I know from experience that you can make light handloads and still have 100% function. The gun's about 26 ounces, and all the added weight would be where it could do the most good. This would make practice a breeze. Not a practical pistol, but it could be fun.

All my best,
Dirty Bob

 

[22-rimfire]

Accepting your premise, I would currently choose the Ruger LCR-22 or 3" S&W M63 revolver. ... probably the LCR-22 due to weight. My Ruger SR-22 pistol has been pretty much flawless in terms of operation, but is a little large.

 

[CajunBass]

If I HAD to use a 22, I wouldn't worry about which one. I'd use whatever was at hand. I'm fresh out of long claws, and sharp teeth.

I also figure that if I have to shoot someone with a 22, or anything else for that matter, they're going to lose interest in whatever they were doing in the first place that got them shot, and will suddenly remember their life long desire to check out the field of emergency medicine, and go looking for the nearest hospital.

Yea, I could be wrong, and I might run into the hopped up drug addict who'll beat me to death with my own gun, but I figure if that happens, I'm having a REALLY bad day already.

 

[Bushpilot]

+1 DPris
Revolver all the way... too many .22 misfires..

I'm with Tok9. My PMR-30 is the only .22 Rimfire I'd put stock in for self defense.

Just sent one back that didn't work... It's no better, or in this case it's actually worse, than some other rimfire autos... 30 rds in the mag don't do you any good when it misfires or fails to feed...

 

[M2 Carbine]

Leaning toward concealed carry but in a gun big enough to function reliability and handle well I'd pick the Ruger SR22.


I liked the gun so well I boght a second one and equipped it with a Crimson Trace laser.

No telling how many rounds I've put through these two Rugers. I have a backyard range and shoot then at least four days a week, night and day.


I also have many of the other brand 22 handguns, S&W, Browning, Ruger, Beretta, Makarov, GSG, H&R, NAA, Henry, and the SR22 is a favorite.

 

[Dirty Bob]

I have to admit liking the looks of the SR22, but I favor a revolver in rimfire, if reliability is the highest goal. If yours is 100%, I won't argue, though. I've been hearing similar things from some other owners: an impressive thing for such a new model. My MkIII 22/45 is very reliable, but I have an occasional hiccup with it -- maybe 1 in every few hundred rounds -- although good ammo keeps the rate of hiccups low.

It's funny: given the action of the SR9 series, I'd assumed the SR22 was striker-fired. From your pic, I realize it's a DA/SA hammer gun, more like the P95 than the SR9 in function. Because so many people are plinking and doing informal target shooting with .22 pistols, I think this was a good decision by Ruger.

Best wishes,
Dirty Bob

 

[PRM]

I've been shooting 22LR cartridges in both rifles and pistols for over 45 years. A .22 Marlin rifle and a High Standard Double Nine are what I were taught to shoot with. We lived in the rural South, and as a kid, every farmer I knew had a .22 rifle in their truck. They were used to shoot about everything that needed shooting from coyotes to rabbits and squirrels. A .22 put more than enough sausage, bacon and other meat in our freezer.

Bottom line - I have had very few ammunition malfunctions with the round. No more so than any other. If it were as unreliable as some post, it would not have been in production for 125 years (first mfg by J. Stevens Arms & Tool Company in 1887).

Lots of better options for SD - but, I do carry my Beretta 21A when concealment is a major concern and I still want to be armed.

The round is more than capable of doing what it was designed for.

 

[ritepath]

My SR22 has been great except for two underpowered dud wannabes. I'd have no problem relying on it for SD, technically it would only have to work 11 more times since I wouldn't be carrying a extra mag.

 

[momano]

defjon, I think Denis and rcmodel nailed it in posts 2 & 4. My wife gave up shooting her 642 .38 because of the recoil. I got a Ruger LCR .22 and she loved shooting it. Then we put some Pachmyer grips on her 642 snubbie and loaded it with wadcutters and it was a whole new and good experience for her. She even tried some one-hand shots- which she was afraid to try before. I have both the LCR and the Bersa T22. Both are fun and reliable; the Bersa is only reliable with CCI, though. Good luck!

 

[skoro]

While I don't think the 22 is a good choice for self defense, it's certainly better than an empty hand. That said, if I were to carry a 22 caliber handgun, I'd choose the S&W Model 351. It's a compact revolver that holds 7 rounds of 22 magnum, which is considerably stouter than the usual 22lr.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

If I were to conceal carry a .22LR for SD I think I would carry a S&W M43 C. It holds 8 rounds and weighs only 11oz empty. The barrel is under 2" and the hammer is completely concealed. (pocket carry comes to mind) It's just like the M442 only in .22LR instead of .38 Special. What ever you buy make sure it's easy to carry so that you always carry it.

 

[mljdeckard]

First of all.....I wouldn't.

But if I did, I would use my 1911 conversion kit with 15 rd magazines, and probably load it with Stingers, and try to dump as many of them to center of mass in as short a time as possible. Some quibble over solid vs hp, etc, I don't think the difference is significant enough to worry about it.

 

[FIVETWOSEVEN]

FNH FiveseveN. More powerful than .22RF and almost no recoil.

 

[MachIVshooter]

Just sent one back that didn't work... It's no better, or in this case it's actually worse, than some other rimfire autos... 30 rds in the mag don't do you any good when it misfires or fails to feed...

I'm sorry to hear that, but mine runs just fine. I would trust it. But then, if I'm going to carry a full-sized gun, 16 rounds of 10mm > 31 rounds of .22 WMR.

 

[KevininPa]

To the OP......

.......I've carried the Firestorm version of the Bersa often while walking my dog. The Bersa will serve you. I have a ClipDraw on mine. For uber reliability, stick with CCI ammo.

 

[stroked383z]

I really like my .22 M&P. I had a tough time deciding on the S&W or the Ruger SR22. Both are great guns. My M&P is very accurate for a shorter barrel. Main reason I chose it is because I will probably end up buying another M&P 9, .40, or .45 (haven't decided yet)

 

[Bikewer]

The .22 rimfire has an excellent reputation as a killer... The llittle slugs tend to take odd routes through tissue and are hard to track down. People die on the operating table before all the holes get plugged.
However, that's often long after the fact, and any number of people have absorbed .22s and died after a prolonged period of hardly being inconvenienced.
Not what you'd want in a deadly-force situation.
As I've pointed out before, fantasies of neatlly puncturing the BG's aorta with well-placed shots are likely to remain a fantasy under the exigencies of combat.

 

[stroked383z]

I personally wouldn't want to depend on a .22 for Self Defense.

 

[FinalCountDn]

Another vote for the LCR-22 so far. I got my wife one to go with her LCR-38. She will still carry the .38 but be able to do a little cheaper plinking while having a familiar feel.

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

The .22 would not be my first choice for sd, but given the right ammo and pleantly of practice you could probably shoot better than the average joe with his glock19. Missfires from .22's are mostly due to cheap bulk ammo most notably Remington's famous golden bullet. I can't recommed a specific gun, but I had a Walter TPH American made that was a hunk of junk. If you could find a German TPH that might be a good.

 

[22-rimfire]

...most notably Remington's famous golden bullet.

The new/improved golden bullets are much much better! Try them out.

From my stable it would either be the Ruger LCR-22 revolver or SR-22 pistol. Both have been exceptionally reliable. The revolver gets my nod however for defensive use as I would just feel more confident.

 

[doc2rn]

I am waiting on Ruger to make a .22WMR like the SR22 with a 3" barrel!
To me that would be perfection!
The S&W 951 is ok but not as accurate as I like so I am still taking my 651 J-frame everywhere lately.