.22 magnum for personal defense

JERRY

JERRY

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Jun 5, 2003
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Who conceal carries a .22 magnum revolver for discreet personal defense?
What do you carry and why did you choose that particular gun? What's your method of carry; inside wasteband outside waistband appendix carry, kydex holster leather holster....
I'm not talking about walking in the woods gun or mowing the grass gun or working in the yard gun... I'm talking about your everyday out and about activity ccw gun.

Pictures are always welcome.
 
I carried an NAA mini revolver in a Maxpedition Barnacle on my belt for a very short time. Was super convenient in terms of being able to make sure I’m always armed, but ultimately concluded it wasn’t a practical carry gun.

Not a 22 magnum, but I carried a Glock 43 in a pocket kydex holster for a year or two. Worked well, but pocket got a bit sweaty.

Depending on your particular gun and build, I think pocket (holstered) carry makes the most sense for a small 22 magnum. The advantage of such a relatively anemic gun is in the ability to have it all the time regardless of dress.
 
As the old saying goes, "it's better than a sharp stick or harsh words".

My only thought is, how much are you gaining (or maybe more importantly, losing) balistically, in such a short barrel over a .22LR?
 
I once handled a S&W J-frame airweight of 8-shots in 22 Mag, with the Crimson Trace laser grip ... and I recall being like, "Wow, this would be an ideal SD arm for someone recoil shy or who can't adequately rack any of the newer sub-micro 9mm's!" (which include most of my women friends ... ). Also recall a 22Mag will penetrate a vest where a lowly 38 Spl won't.
 
Beats feet, fists and foul language. Bill Jordan wrote that a lightweight S&W in 22 Magnum would be an ideal backup, though i think it would be best employed as a belly gun as Charlie Askins defined it.
 
For a hot second during covid when I was a day late and a dollar short to the handgun world, and I needed a carry piece with more capacity than the bond arms Derringer (that was all I had ammo for during the great handgun ammo shortage at the time) I carried a heritage barkeep that I had converted over to a 9 shooter. I did that from May of 2021 to December of 2021 when I bought one of the first diamondback sidekicks. I never felt under armed with either of those loaded up with gold dots.

All of those I carried with a pocket holster in my cargo pants pocket because my greatest need at the time was while driving through rough areas for work.

Then I got a desk job and found out about the .327 caliber when Taurus launched their 327 in February of 2022. I bought one of those as soon as they dropped. Discovered .32H&R magnum with that firearm. By April of 2022 I had picked up my first Charter Arms Professional in .32 H&R magnum and have been very happy with that as my EDC.

I have however been pleased to see Diamondback are offering a short barrel birdshead grip sidekick, and Charter Arms is making 8 shot 22 wmr models now. If I was going to go back it would be for an 8 or 9 shot model.

I don't think I would be interested in S&W's 351 C/PD 7 shot .22 wmr because of how lightweight it is. If I am gonna carry a .22 wmr I want more capacity than what I get in my professional with less recoil.
 
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In the expert revolver training world, the 22 Mag J frames have quite a few fans for casual carry. Some discussion of SW quality control but what else is new. I had a 22 Mag NAA mini and it was like a bomb going off. Scared me! The 432 light weight 32 HR mags are a good solution but out of production. LCRs and other 32s are out there.
 
I occasionally carry a .22wmr NAA mini revolver. When everything else is just too big. 5 rounds of .22wmr beats a stick in the eye!

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The .22lr is too small for my hand and I can't really hold on to it. So it never gets used.

I carry the largest caliber I can carry comfortably. Sometimes that is .22mag.
 
A friend carried a NAA Mini Revolver 22 WRM. He called it his Fifteen Foot Switchblade and "I can raise welts faster than he can scratch them." But he practiced, he could unpocket and shoot quickly and rapidly with decent accuracy at the 7 yards that the Internet Experts say is as far as a civilian can engage in legitimate self defense.

I had a High Standard .22 WRM derringer that I carried until I decided two shots weren't enough.
 
JERRY said:
What is that and do you care to give your personal commentary?
Click to expand...
It’s called a Thundersuck, it’s a double barrel .22 Mag. Shoots 2 rounds at once. Holds 8 rds. This is the Gen 2 version, a Gen 3 is out with improved trigger and rifling to stop keyholing.

Range report. It’s a 1-10 feet gun that loud and recoils like a .357. Just imagine shooting a Stanley Staple gun. I’ll do a range report soon with targets and such
 
The .22 mag has a pretty severe bark in my shorter barreled handguns, this is a Win 40 gr fmj fired from a S&W 4” Model 48-7. Yes, the blast is as severe as the fireball looks.

IMG_0001.jpeg

Below is a .22 LR Aguila Supermaximum 30 gr from a Glock 44 for comparison.

IMG_2549.png

The WMR is sharp enough for me to use plugs and muffs when shoot it in a handgun.

Recoil is light, and energy levels aren’t very high, but for a limited strength shooter the WMR may be a good option if a .380 or .38 is too much. IMHO, for all the hoopla the WMR creates when fired it may be ok in a mini revolver for last ditch defense, but I would prefer a bit more oomph than the WMR provides if I was using a larger gun than a mini.

YMMV

Stay safe.
 
Mark_Mark said:
It’s called a Thundersuck, it’s a double barrel .22 Mag. Shoots 2 rounds at once. Holds 8 rds. This is the Gen 2 version, a Gen 3 is out with improved trigger and rifling to stop keyholing.

Range report. It’s a 1-10 feet gun that loud and recoils like a .357. Just imagine shooting a Stanley Staple gun. I’ll do a range report soon with targets and such
Click to expand...

It's your dedicated toilet gun?

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