.22 mag handguns?

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milemaker13

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What are the options available for a handgun in .22 WMR? Wife is considering CCW options. Pistol/revolver hasn't been nailed down yet, however I feel a revolver for simplicity would be better.
I have some other threads on the topic, but I wanted to ask specifically about .22 mag. She asked about carrying a .22 (LR), so I suggested perhaps .22 mag.
Also, how would .22 mag compare to say .25 , .32, .380 etc in terms of stopping power, reliability, and recoil?
 
If it was twenty two anything it should be premium ammunition and probably be in a double action revolver. If there were any hiccups she could keep on clicking.
For myself, all of these would be in the same class, that is, better than a stick. Definitely not unarmed but...
The center fired would be most reliable. I wager if one could use a twenty two magnum, one could probably use a thirty two in an emergency.

I commend you for finding an option she would actually use and carry. Well done, sir!
 
DH- that's what this option is exploring. While I do think .22lr is just too small, its still a gun...

I also think your probably right. I've never explored .32 and know almost nothing about it. About the same as .380 for me, no experience either. Perhaps it would be better to consider these two rounds for her..
 
All of the revolver makers have put out a 22 mag. I have shot an lcr and a smith airweight. Of the two, the smith was better. A spring kit in the smith would make it ummm....betterer.
 
I own several NAA minis that I carry from time to time as back up. I also own a Charter Arms 22 magnum Pathfinder that is a nice little revolver.
 
If you do consider a revolver in .32, especially one on .327 Federal Magnum, remember that you get quite a variety of power levels available. Revolvers in .327 can chamber that hot load, .32 H&R Magnum, .32 Smith and Wesson, and .32ACP.

Revolvers in .32 H&R Magnum (the Charter Arms Undercoverette comes to mind) can handle all of those except the .327 FM round.

In .22WMR, the Ruger LCR has already been mentioned. Taurus makes one; I think it's the 941. Taurus also had one out that was a convertible between .22LR and .22WMR, a rarity in double-action revolvers.
 
My 941 .22 Mag is an 8-shot 4"....and the companion 94 is a 9-shot 4" .22 LR.

Both are good guns to plink about with. I bought the 941 with the idea that it could be a backpacking camp-pot gun that had just a bit more oomph than the ,22 lr. I am also priming my spouse to have it become her nightstand gun...since a .22 or .22 mag is better than a stick.

Good luck, hopefully you both will be able to find exactly what she's looking for. :thumbup:
 
PMR30. Nuff said.
PMR 30 has a lot going for it, but the drawbacks may be deal-breakers. Overall dimensions
are rather large, as well as the large grip.

That said, IME many snubbies get real stingy with grip size, in order to try make it even smaller.
My snubby grips are way small, and while the gun's usable, 12 rounds is about all I shoot thru it
at the range. Caliber aside, I would focus on finding a comfortable grip size for her hand.
 
Milemaker13, My only handguns in .22 mag have been revolvers. FWIW, I've done a fair amount of chronographing of .22 Mag ammo in revolvers, and 16" and 18" rifle barrels. Velocities in the handguns is rather erratic, with large extreme spreads, high standard deviations, etc. Also, handgun velocities are much lower, and less impressive, than listed in most factory ballistic charts for .22 Magnum, since those figures are most often from rifle length barrels. I suspect that velocities would be even lower, and more erratic, in shorter barrels as might be desired for SD/carry type handguns. I do agree that a revolver, especially a DAO revolver, would be simpler to operate, especially under stress. I really don't recommend a semi-auto unless the person it's intended for is seriously "into" shooting, etc. FWIW, several women in my extended family, who could have about any SD handgun under the Sun, all chose small 5-shot .38 Spcl. revolvers. An aspect of revolvers that seems not often considered is that the rim fires have heavier mainsprings to ensure reliable ignition, resulting in heavier trigger pulls. One of my neighbors bought a Ruger LCR in .22 Magnum for his adult daughter. She could not pull the trigger. He traded the .22 Mag back in for the same revolver in 38 Spcl., which solved the problem. Recoil of .22 Mag will certainly be less than .32 ACP or .380. But even though I like the .22 Mag cartridge, and have shot a bunch of it, I would still not choose .22 mag for a defensive caliber in a handgun........ymmv
 
She doesn't like snubbies.

Did she give any reasons for her decision? Maybe have her try a Taurus Tracker. The ridiculous difference in barrel length may make her think differently about things. Have her put it in her purse, take it out and put it back while in the car. I think the Tracker would be like trying to use an over/under shotgun in the car.

Conceled weapons are the size they are for a reason, portability and manuverability. (It is definitely not for looks. Four inchers win there.)

I love my Airwieght. I am not a revolver type, but that is the firearm that is ALWAYS on me. I don't suggest that for a new carrier though. They, like myself a few short years ago, are hung up on how it shoots. Which is pretty harshly. A heavier, nicer shooting firearm gets them in the "mood", so to speak. A human won't want to carry if they are unpracticed, practice is easier when it doesn't hurt the pinkie.
Had I seen one first, I would have bought a Lady Smith for myself. Gorgeous gun, sized just right, wood grips, stainless steel for durabillity and recoil absorbtion. No, it's not a girls gun, her name is Lady!

New carriers are not thinking of the daily dead wieght that will be hauled around. Not so bad for a female with a purse though.

Keltec makes a thirty two auto-loader. The atp, p-at, ...pthree... Well at any rate, it is light and holds more than five.:)
 
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My 941 .22 Mag is an 8-shot 4"....and the companion 94 is a 9-shot 4" .22 LR.

Both are good guns to plink about with. I bought the 941 with the idea that it could be a backpacking camp-pot gun that had just a bit more oomph than the ,22 lr. I am also priming my spouse to have it become her nightstand gun...since a .22 or .22 mag is better than a stick.

Good luck, hopefully you both will be able to find exactly what she's looking for. :thumbup:

I had a 941, couldn't shoot more than 16 rds. before the cylinder would lock up.

Sent I back to Taurus , and it came back the same way. I immediately traded it off.

I certainly wouldn't give it to my wife to defend herself.

I hope yours is better than the one I had.
 
I would explain that the recoil of a 38 special from a snub nose revolver is significantly more than a 32 S&W Long or 22 Mag. For practical carry a snub is going to be much more manageable.
 
Yeah, like I said I made it worse by shoving the .38 snub at her. To ad insult to it, RSO comes over and tells her "to line this thing up with this part here" referring to the sights... Holy cow, she nearly lost it.

I need to find a couple of these .32 revolvers to rent/ borrow.
 
Demi- I love how you talk about your special Lady friend. I've seen Lady Smiths available for less than airweights cuz guys don't want a gun that says "Lady" on it. I will keep this in mind in the future my friend. Maybe someday I will have a special Lady of my own!
 
I cannot recommend 22 magnum double action revolvers as concealed carry firearms. The problem is that rimfire ammunition requires a harder hammer strike than centerfire ammo. If you are using a semi-auto, or cocking a revolver to fire single action, then the heavy hammer strike is not an issue. But in a double action revolver, your trigger finger provides the energy to cock the hammer, so a strong hammer strike always leads to a heavy double action pull.

When you are looking at small concealable revolvers, like the S&W J-frame, the problem of heavy trigger pull is further increased. The small size of the guns provides less leverage for the trigger, so the trigger pulls is heavier than on larger service sized revolvers.

I see a lot of questions about how to improve the double action trigger on rimfire revolvers. And the answer to this question is "Get a centerfire."

For a double action revolver with very moderate recoil, I recommend getting one that can use .32 S&W Long ammunition. The revolver could also be made for .32 H&R Magnum or .327 Magnum, since both of these chamberings also allow use of .32 Long ammunition. .32 S&W Long is the softest shooting centerfire ammunition, and it is an acceptable choice for someone who is recoil sensitive.

Unfortunately, the choices for .32 caliber revolvers in current production are quite limited. I would recommend looking at the Ruger LCR. The centerfire LCR revolvers generally have quite good triggers, and they are backed by Ruger's quality customer service. I generally prefer a Smith & Wesson, but S&W are not currently offering any new .32 caliber revolvers.

You mentioned that you would prefer something longer than a snub-nose barrel, and the only Ruger LCR models in .327 magnum are snubbies, but I would still recommend trying one if you can. You always have to make compromises to balance power and concealability, and the LCR is one of the best choices in a limited market.

There is also a debate about how .32 Long compares to .22 magnum as a defensive caliber, but I consider them to be fairly equivalent. Recently, some "defensive" .22 magnum loads have been introduced, but there is no evidence these rounds are significantly better than .32 rounds with lead semi-wadcutter bullets. Both calibers are under powered, but either one is still much better than being empty handed.
 
I had a 941, couldn't shoot more than 16 rds. before the cylinder would lock up.

Sent I back to Taurus , and it came back the same way. I immediately traded it off.

I certainly wouldn't give it to my wife to defend herself.

I hope yours is better than the one I had.
So far it has been, but like English cars and pit bull terriers; some Taurus handguns run great while others seem to have issues that make them unreliable. It's (sadly) only the luck of the draw that determines who gets which result I guess... and this leads to the stories we have all heard about Taurus' products: one guy hated them and anther guy had a good experience.

And yes, if a gun is unreliable don't think you can ever count on it when you most need it. I had a 2" Rossi .38 that would bind after a few dozen shots due to a misaligned cylinder, I couldn't rely on it so I sent it along just like you did.

Stay safe!
 
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