22 magnum for self defense.

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1942bull said:
In a self defense situation the critical factor the relationship of speed and accuracy. Fast and inaccurate as well as accurate but slow can mean you are not going to prevail. Accuracy is the key to smaller calibers for self defense. A 22 WMR In the face is better than a 9mm in the arm. But if you are incapable of that level of accuracy coupled with speed in target then a 9mm is going to be better than a 22 WMR out of a handgun.

Here’s why. The 9mm is proven to be good for the job. The US Military, the FBI and other federal law enforcement agencies use 9mm. More and more police department s are going from a variety of calibers to 9mm. There is confidence in the caliber. None of those entities even considered 22 WMR. There is empirical evidence that shows the effectiveness of 9mm for self defense. There is none for 22 WMR. So do you want proven effectiveness or speculation when it comes to SD ammo? The 22WMR had a higher FTF rate than 9mm. It is a fact that rimfire is less reliable than center fire. In other words when you pull the trigger and hear a click instead of a bang your speed and accuracy are affected. That can get you killed.

with all that written I think you are always better off with a gun you have than a gun you do not have. I am sticking with 9mm.
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might check with the Israelis about proven effectiveness from .22 but not disagreeing with the broader point of your post.
 
While squirrel internals is not human internals I can say that on one occasion I shot a squirrel at 15 yards, through the eye with a CCI Mini-Mag .22 lr that left the bullet lodged just inside the skin at his tail. Nearly 15” from an 18” barreled 10/22. He stiffened and died on the spot. Went through fur, skull, internal organs, broke ribs.

Upping performance with WMR should give a nice boost over the Mini in lr.
 
Skylerbone said:
might check with the Israelis about proven effectiveness from .22 but not disagreeing with the broader point of your post.
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Yes, the Mossad once used 22LR as an assassination round. The Defense Force uses 22LR from rifles to suppress violent rioting. I an not knocking 22LR or WMJ. It is lethal. But 22WMR is not going to replace 9mm. It has not replaced the weaker 22 LR. still it has its place.

interesting comparison of 22LR, 22WMR, 9MM, AND 45ACP.
 
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It doesn't matter what everyone else is comfortable with and believe to be effective it is what you feel comfortable with. There are a lot of arm chair quater backs that will offer their opinion on what will stop a perp and what won't... opinions are worth what you are paying for them.

I very rarely carry my NAA .22wmr revolver but when I do it is a lot more comforting than not having anything at all on me!
 
357smallbore said:
Have one gun. A 9 shot 4in High Standard MKIV Sentinel. I have it loaded with Speed Gold Dots for defense
Target I shoot MaxiMags from CCI. Have fired over 400 rounds of all different types of ammo. It has always gone bang. At 20 yards in, it's a real tack driver.
I carry for my CCW and it's my house gun. Like I said , I only have one gun.
Thoughts about a 22 mag for defense. My take is 9 rounds of 22 mag will stop the threat of needed.
Let's not get into banzi charges from a gang, or the meth head that needs a howitzer to stop.
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The bolded part is what is important, its your only choice, there is the truth.
But then that part in red, justification - which is unnecessary because it is your only choice.
Sure, a 22 mag is better than nothing - but is "better than nothing" a criteria we want to use by choice. It ain't for me.
9 rounds to stop a threat - two assumptions: a singular threat and 100% hits neither of which should be assumed.
The meth head...So, a singular attacker that is thinking logically, not psychotic, not drugged, just a rational person doing action that merits lethal force. LOL
You have a gun, which is better than nothing, but a larger caliber (at least 9mm) would be preferred for self defense.

Not included, but common rationalizations: :barf:
statistics, most gunfights 3/3 whatever = not this crap again (Oddly never used when the caliber is >= 9mm)
"good area" = criminals, psychos, "bad people" are conveniently immobile, you have to go to them. LOL
"nobody volunteer to get shot by it" = simplified method for ammo selection, forget 12'' penetration & consistent expansion. Nobody want to get hit with a rock either. (roll eyes)

The bolded part of your quote is what is important, its your only choice, and is the truth.
 
o.p. is good to go, “beware the man with one gun, he likely knows how to use it.”

i like 22wmr alot but only out of longer barrels, i.e. rifles are ideal and handguns need at least 4”. i had a ruger lcr and naa black widow both chambered in 22wmr, but sold them off. i tried in them all sorts of 22wmr ammo, including handgun specific ammo. i found that any 22wmr out of a short barrel is way too much flashbang for too little result for my tastes. these same two snubbie models, chambered in 22lr, are favorites of mine. by contrast a longer-barreled, ruger single six loaded with 22wmr is an often-brought road trip and rural handgun.

my take on normal civilian caliber wars is practice often with, and carry, what you have; you are better off than 90% of everyone else. hits with smaller rounds trump misses with bigger rounds as no small arm caliber incapacitates with concussive shock waves or employs a proximity fuse.
 
Rather than focus on the ammo because like others have pointed out, it's your only gun, I'd focus more on how you shoot. It's fun to take a da/sa revolver to the range and only use it in single action. Even more so with a .22 rimfire as the double action pull tends to be....not great. But in a defensive shooting you will probably need to use double action. I have a High Standard Double Nine which I believe the internals are the same as the Sentinel and it is not a fun gun to shoot DA, it's nothing like my S&W's or my Kimber revolver or even the Ruger SP101 I used to have. I like to make small holes when I take the Double Nine to the range so 99.99% of the time I shoot this gun in single action. But it's a range toy for me.

Since this is your self defense gun make sure you are practicing at self defense ranges (3, 5, 7 yards) and can make fast, accurate shots in double action mode. .22 mag out of a .4" barrel will be going faster than most .22 lr's do out of a rifle, and while it's not ideal for self defense I also think it's an underappreciated round these days.
 
There's been many tests on the Gold Dots.
They show adequate penetration of 12+ inches and expansion from .3 to .4 in diameter.

To me the 22 mag Gold Dot is a good round for certain purposes and people.
 
If your choice, for whatever reason is the .22Mag, then thats what you roll with. Im not going to try to tell you to find a different SD pistol.
I would ask you to rationally analyze the differences pros/ cons between the 22mag and some other, larger more powerful caliber for your self defense carry. What you do with that information is your business as is your handgun choices.
 
Mycin said:
For a lot of years, my only handgun was a Single-Six convertible which I kept loaded with 22WMR as a bedside gun. Once I could afford it, I bought a hi-cap 9mm, but that little 22 Mag would have been a lot better than harsh language had it been needed.
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Same here.

My philosophy about these matters is:

Reliability > Accuracy > Caliber

I currently carry a Sig P365xl, for what it's worth.
 
I remember an old issue of Handguns magazine where they reviewed all the current trendy guns for self defense. This was late 70’s. Wondernines were in their infancy so it was revolvers, 1911’s and guns like the Star PD. I remember the author reviewing the old High Standard .22 Magnum Derringer. To paraphrase his conclusion was something like “although not ideal two shots of .22 Mag to the chest should certainly give you the advantage in a fight”. Made sense to me at the time, still does. Situational awareness is the most important thing, next is have a gun. If it’s all you have and all you can afford then the discussion is mute. “Beware the man with only one gun as he probably knows how to use it”. That being said, if funds allow I would look for something a bit bigger in the .30 and up range that you can shoot as well.
 
You don't have to spend much to get a very good 9mm, and that's what I'd do. But that said I also have a High Standard revolver (in 22LR) and it's super reliable and accurate. One of the knocks everybody has on rimfire for self defense is reliability, but using a double action revolver greatly mitigates that issue because you can just keep pulling the trigger and move to the next round. Use it while it's all you've got, but look at moving up in caliber when you are able.
 
To go back to the OP, if that's what you got - it's what you got and better than nothing. Folks have used the round for SD. Two old geezers shot a shotgun yielding crook in a restaurant with a NAA 22 mag mini revolver and some derringer in 22 mag. Said crook took the rounds and fled. Thus the day was saved.

Sadly, it is well known that a bad gun killed a trooper with his 22 mag NAA while absorbing 357 rounds.

One has to marvel at the Chutzpah of the old toot at the restaurant that waved a NAA Pug at a demonstration with members carrying EBRs. Luckily his wife dragged him inside as some of the demonstrators started to chamber their rifles.

So is the gun optimal - no. Does the OP want us to say that if that is all you got, go for it.
Save your bucks to upgrade.
 
GEM said:
To go back to the OP, if that's what you got - it's what you got and better than nothing. Folks have used the round for SD. Two old geezers shot a shotgun yielding crook in a restaurant with a NAA 22 mag mini revolver and some derringer in 22 mag. Said crook took the rounds and fled. Thus the day was saved.

Sadly, it is well known that a bad gun killed a trooper with his 22 mag NAA while absorbing 357 rounds.

One has to marvel at the Chutzpah of the old toot at the restaurant that waved a NAA Pug at a demonstration with members carrying EBRs. Luckily his wife dragged him inside as some of the demonstrators started to chamber their rifles.

So is the gun optimal - no. Does the OP want us to say that if that is all you got, go for it.
Save your bucks to upgrade.
Click to expand...

Very well put and summarized.
 
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POSSIBLY the most publicized use of a .22 WMR (and most certainly an NAA Mini revolver) in self-defense occurred in South Africa some years ago. Bear with me, because I'm reciting this from memory.

A South African landowner and his family were driving down the private road of their farm when they were waylaid by 3-4 "revolutionaries" brandishing AK-47s. The family was forced to stop the car and get out. The father palmed his NAA Mini out of view as he got out.

At the first opportunity, the father took his shot. He hit the lead terrorist in the gut, and the man dropped like a sack of grain. The father was badly wounded in the exchange. The other family members fled down the road as he managed to crawl into the brush.

The remaining terrorists, assessing this turn of events, also decided to become scarce.
 
Maybe I’m wrong but with .22 against large targets the shot is not going to exit anyway so 100% of the energy will be expended in the target anyway so expansion is not as important as penetration. Given that would RN actually be preferable to HP?
I know I like HP for squirrel, but for a 150 pound target I’m thinking RN for penetration might be better. ?
 
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