.22 Magnum -- best load for defense?

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BHPshooter

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I've been bad... I came home today with a .22 Magnum NAA mini-revolver for deep concealment (for my new job).

Anyway, I feel MUCH more comfortable knowing this is a .22 magnum instead of a .22 LR, but I want to know what the best "carry load" :rolleyes: might be for this caliber.

I hesitate to carry some of the hollowpoints out there, meant for instant disintegration (for varmints), and I don't know what the .22 magnum's penetration is like, so I'm kinda iffy about carrying FMJs. Soft points, like Remington's pointed SP, seem like they'd be a good "happy medium," but again -- I just don't know.

These three look good to me:
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=849094
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=760186
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=126222

Anybody have any knowledge about the .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire? Particularly, penetration and expansion characteristics?

Wes
 
I've never done any tests with .22 mag before. I have an Automag II. I used it a couple of times on pins, they would knock them off the table, but nothing spectacular.

I know there is a load that uses actual Speer Gold Dot HPs. CCI, maybe? Or just simply Speer. Those would be my choice if I had a little 22 mag gun...
 
Thanks, Kamicosmos.

Those Gold Dots in .22 mag are hard to track down, but they do look pretty good!

I'll have to order some and see how they do in my "milk jug tests." If they don't do well enough, I'll go for FMJ.

Wes
 
Hey Wes - as you may recall I have an NAA Mini. I usually just stoke with CCI maxi-Mags but someone referred recently to a Maxi-Mag V - a higher vel round I guess.

Did you get the shortest version - 1 1/8" or like mine the 1 5/8"?

One thing I will say - I have had odd rounds not go off - somewhat confirming my mistrust of rimfire but - at least being a revo you can bring up next round pretty quick.

It's a true mouse BUG but - still way better than zilch :)
 
I just as soon have a good sling shot or a flipper with a pocket ful of ball bearings or glass marbles! :banghead:
 
Did you get the shortest version - 1 1/8" or like mine the 1 5/8"?
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Mine is 1 1/8"... I would have prefered 1 5/8", but they didn't have one in that length, and this one was on sale. :)

Being shorter, I'm thinking I might go for the Maxi Mag +V, when I can find them.

My biggest thing about this gun is not knowing how .22 mag will perform out of such a short pistol. I've been contemplating stuffing it with FMJs for penetration... it seems that most of the JHPs in .22 mag are made for varmints -- meaning instant expansion and no penetration.

I'm hoping to find a happy medium.

"Better than nothing" is the idea -- at my new job, it's pretty difficult to conceal a Hi Power (except on weekends, which are casual dress). This is just so that I can have something while at work. Yeah, it's not much, but on the other hand it's utterly invisible. It'll definitely do until I get a tuckable holster for the Hi Power.

I just as soon have a good sling shot or a flipper with a pocket ful of ball bearings or glass marbles!
Click to expand...

:rolleyes: Well, between a 5-shot .22 Magnum, and a knive clipped in each pocket, I should be okay until I get another holster. Besides, the shootouts in our parking lot tend to be settled in 2 rounds or less. :neener:

Wes
 
Back about 1980 I had one of those. After about 40 shots a spring slipped free so the cylinder spun freely and the hammer was loose. I sent it back to NAA but the same thing happened again after a few shots. I gave it away after that. I suppose that bug has been worked out?
 
NAA has done the work for you. On their site, they list ballistics for various rounds in all of their guns
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Yes, and it's useful, but I mostly want to know about penetration.

This is more like what I'm looking for, but it doesn't seem that there have been any other tests like that from a pistol that is so short.

Maybe that's all the excuse I need to do it myself... :evil:

Wes
 
I think you'll find that the CCI maxi MAg +V are loaded with Speer TNT hollow points, which are meant to fragment (varmint round). At least thats what they listed when I looked at them at the store the other day. They may have other +V loadings, but I would be sure and read the box over before I bought any.
I haven't played with it much, but I do have a SA revolver with a .22 mag cylinder and have shot some CCI JHP's (45 grain IIRC) through it, getting rid of a few racoons. They seemed to hold together real well, went clear through. Performance with them from a 6" barreld revolver was probably equal to or better than a good .22LR JHP out of a rifle. I also tried a couple of the CCI TMJ rounds, and these seemed to do about the same. Probably would have penetrated a good bit more, but when both go clear through you can't really measure too well.
The JHP rounds in .22mag seem to all be much higher quality bullets than .22LR. They have an actual jacket instead of a just a copper wash on them. I would guess that they would serve you well. Might want to consider some of the heavier loadings since your not going to get full velocity ouf of the short barrel though :confused:
 
yea them mini mags , the sound of the report will surely scare the B-jesus out of the bg whether you hit him or not
 
Water jugs are probably a better bet than newsprint, because it's pretty hard to mix water wrong. Newsprint is far more variable due to soaking and draining times, plus no one really knows for sure whether it correlates with gelatin at all. Water, on the other hand, will produce somewhere between 1.6x and 2.0x the penetration that gel will. So with 1 gallon jugs, you're going to want the bullet to end up inside the 4th jug at least, and preferrably in the 5th, to meet FBI/IWBA standards.
 
I was seriously thinking about that smith and wesson 351pd. figured it would be a great all round pistol, a good trailgun. carry shot, and that +V CCI stuff. or even better carry two one loaded with each type of ammo.
 
My $.02: Never carry rimfire for self defense
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:rolleyes:

Most people will run away when being shot at, regardless of caliber. Besides, have you ever heard the report of the NAA mini's in .22 WMR or .17 HMR? I have one in .17 HMR, and the bang/flash is bigger than a .40 or .45. I would run away.

Certainly a more effective cartridge is preferable, but last I checked there are no 7 oz. cell-phone sized guns in 10mm or .45 ACP. So when clothing does not permit a larger weapon, rimfire beats the heck out of pepper spray or a pocket knife.
 
22 Mags

1st, rimfire ignition is not as reliable as centerfire. That said, there's a difference in reliabitly for one brand to another, and from one line to another wihtin the same brand.

The traditional 22 Mag hollow points do not expand well at handgun velocities, especially with a bareel less than two inches. I can't speak to the newer types hollow points.
 
I carry the CCI Maxi Mag+V in my NAA mini. The box I have right now doesn't say anything on it about fragmenting. Actually, all it has written on it are lead and safety warnings. When I carry the NAA it is the backup to my backup. :D Occasionally it is just the backup. I've never had one of the CCIs misfire.

The hammer spring on mine broke shortly after I first got it. NAA sent me another one and it has worked fine since.
 
I have shot lots of mini mags, stingers, and maxi mags, never had a misfire, I have had misfires with Winchester, Remington, and others.
 
I have shot lots of mini mags, stingers, and maxi mags, never had a misfire, I have had misfires with Winchester, Remington, and others.
Click to expand...

CCI does seem to be the most reliable rimfire ammo available. It ought to be, considering the price :banghead: Ten bucks gets you 550 rounds of Remington or federal bulk HP, or 100 CCI Stingers. And we won't even talk about the .17's..............
 
The traditional 22 Mag hollow points do not expand well at handgun velocities, especially with a bareel less than two inches. I can't speak to the newer types hollow points.
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However, if you do your part, they WILL punch a .220 inch hole in the target. Sounds painful to me.

If all you can carry is a .22 mag mini revolver it's still better than a baseball bat. Carry as large a caliber as you can, but don't go out without a gun.
 
There was just a writeup on this in the lates issue of Handguns magazine. I think they did the tests out of an NAA Black Widow. Near as I can remember, they said the TNT round well designed to fragment at rifle velocities, performed like a premium handgun bullet (i.e. expansion) at the velocities generated here. Plain old FMJ did the most penetration, I think.

Ryan
 
Back in the mid 1980s, when I still carried a badge for a living, I read a report of testing 22s by a department in New York state. They were going to issue the HiStandard derringer as a back-up/off-duty weapon and were trying to decide between 22 LR and 22 Mag. Their tests showed that due to the very short barrel, performance was not significantly different. They decided to go with the 22 Mag, not for any advantage in ballistic performance but for the greater muzzle blast. They felt it had a psychological advantage.

Given all that, I agree with the above statement about not carrying a rimfire for selfdefense, unless you have no other choice. I personally don't consider the tiny 22 revolvers a legimite choice. I had any number of people in my CCW classes try to qualify with them. None ever did.

Dave
 
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