Combat worthy .22LR Rifle.

[shiftyer1]

If your also gonna have a shotgun also then a 10/22 or a model60 would be my choice. If you mean only a .22 then I think whatever u have with rapid plans to upgrade. Yes a .22 will kill just about anything MOST people will encounter, with proper shot placement, and the planets aligning just right on the 2nd thursday of the month. I would not relie on it entirely for my survival. A good .22 is worth it's weight in gold......almost, BUT there are much better options available. If your planning ahead.

 

[SUWANNEE MAN]

GSG-5 gets my vote. Soda can accurate at 100 yards with iron sights. Fun little rifle. Great for practice and plinking.

 

[Mike U.]

AAAGGGHHH!! Zombie thread! RUN!!

If your gonna shoot .22 bullets in combat, get an AR. Seriously...(This from an AK guy. .)
.22 LR should never be considered for an MBR. Only way I'd do that is if all my .30 cal Lead throwers suddenly got raptured.

Sure, it'll work in a pinch, and maybe you can snipe someone with a larger caliber rifle. That's about the only real reason I'd consider the .22 LR in a combat role.

 

[P.B.Walsh]

Very well said

 

[jon_in_wv]

I prefer my Romanian M69 trainer for its SHTF role. Its not a comabt weapon but it would work great for scooping up small game so I'm not wasting my 7.62 ammo.

 

[bluntweapon]

(A .22 LR is not an effective cartridge for combat) True but it is a hell of a lot better than throwing rocks

(If you doubt this go out and shoot a tree or something with a .22 LR where you can notice how much damage is done. Be careful about shooting a tree. You should probably only do that from behind cover. Notice how big the hole is. Now shoot the same thing with a SKS or an AK-47 or any 30 caliber cartridge. Now compare the damage.) True Again but peaple are not tree's . tree's are made of wood peaple are made of flesh and bone. tree's are very tough we are soft and squishy and prone to leakage when holes are put unto us.
(If you've ever shot a dog with a .22 you'll know that they can flop around for quite a while before they die. The same goes for a human most likely.) A dogs brain is almost as small as a politicians and much easier to miss than the Popsicle on the end of a stick humans display. Also standard velocity ammo is much more powerful than shorts and is still subsonic and will penetrate a human skull quit easily ( it's mossad approved )

Is the .22 a good choice for a battle rifle? only if it's the only thing you have. Other wise use some thing currently in use by standing armies as a combat rifle ( except possible what ever the French are using ) On the other hand even a .22 will slow down pursuers with a hit pretty much anywhere. It all depends on how fast you and they can run and how much area you have to run in.

 

[JImbothefiveth]

There is no combat worthy .22. Even the .223 sometimes has problems.

Don't the Israelis field a suppressed .22

For crowd control. Unfortunantly, it was more lethal than they wanted, while still lacking stopping power.

Sure it might work but why limit your self

Clearly you are unfamiliar with the internet code. Seeing as how someone with an insane skill level and a lot of luck could use a .22, that's what we should all use, despite what the FBI and people who have actually been in firefights say.

.

All I can say to you guys who built up their 10/22's thinking they will actually become battle weapons is you really should have spent money on something else.

I think a lot of people make their 10/22s look like that for fun. I agree that they are not a combat weapon.

tree's are very tough we are soft and squishy and prone to leakage when holes are put unto us.

The FBI says a round should be able to reach something vital, like the lungs, even if an arm is in the way, since this does happen in real life. They also say that bigger is better, until follow up shots are unreasonably difficult. They say this for a reason.

For instance, in a shootout with some bank robbers, at least one FBI agent was killed because when they hit the suspect in the arm with either a .38 or 9mm, much more powerfull than a .22, the arm stopped it and it didn't hit anything vital. If they had been using a round that met those specifications, at least one life could have been saved. (These people weren't on drugs either, the round still failed to stop) You can get .22s which meet that specification, they just won't be as big, and won't stop as fast.

As for shot placement, one of the agents who survived that fight said that shot placement is important, just not the only factor. (And a poorly placed .45 is probably not a good stopper.)

 

[Vern Humphrey]

(A .22 LR is not an effective cartridge for combat) True but it is a hell of a lot better than throwing rocks
And anyone who would deliberately set himself up to enter combat with a .22 LR is dumber than a rock.

 

[Ed Ames]

Lotsa necro threads recently... I guess the mania has moved from the gun stores to the ammo stores to the online forums.

I think the original question is legitimate. It wasn't "which should I take into combat"... "Combat ready" is an indication of quality.

There are very few 22 guns that are worth anything. They tend to be inaccurate, jam-prone, cheaply built, and poorly furnished. Most are built as plinkers and they take a lot of work to reach "range gun" status.

So disregard the capabilities of the ammunition... disregard whether it would be your first choice or even possible, and consider which rifles meet the general criteria you have for a combat rifle.

Many people consider some (not all) AR-15 clones to be combat ready. If you've handled a good one you realize that they are actually of decent quality, certainly better than most .22 rimfire rifles. The same can certainly be said of all the WWII-era battle rifles. Do any (.22 rimfire) rifles share that level of quality?

Not the round, the rifle.

 

[Blakenzy]

Perhaps a .22LR fitted with a suppressor might be useful as a close range sniping instrument in an urban setting, to effectively harass occupying troops while minimizing chance of detection. Accurate hits in officers' faces with zero report or blast to direct return fire would be demoralizing. Don't know if that counts as "combat" use.

 

[Mr_Rogers]

22LR would not be my first choice for "combat" but, if I was a BG and I knew someone was defending their home with a 22 rifle I would choose somewhere else to rob.

I object to the claims that 22 Autos are not reliable. This may be true with tricked out, plastic, modern guns but I have an old Winchester 74 that leans in the corner of an upstairs room overlooking the chicken coup (critter scaring gun). I think it holds 16 rounds. I take it out occasionally and fire 50 or so rounds, it was last cleaned so long ago I forget when. I can empty a magazine as fast as I can pull the trigger and it has never failed to fire since I've owned it.

 

[mr.trooper]

Combat worthy .22LR Rifle.

Hmm i find i cannot comment and stay high road .

And yet you still managed to make a post...

The OP should look into the reliability of the 10/22, marlin 60, Remington speed master, and browning 22 for starters.

Ideally, i would recommend a Marlin 981T with a red dot scope: it will hold 17 stingers, or 25 shorts. It will have as much energy at 100 yards as a traditional load has at the muzzle. Inside of 100 yards, It will end a bad guys existence.

Its far from ideal, but it is viable. If you can only afford to have one gun, a .22 rifle with hyper velocity ammo is an acceptable defensive weapon, at least until you can afford something better.

 

[elmerfudd]

I'd have to agree with the votes for the American 180. I'd feel pretty well equipped with one of those. Can't think of any other .22's that I'd want to defend myself with.

 

[Loggerlee]

I had a Remington "speedmaster" It never jammed,and was pretty dang accurate.
My wife's Henry rifle is also really reliable.

 

[Coronach]

.22LR =/= combat weapon

Period.

 

[vicdotcom]

Here you go! A .22 Gatling gun!
http://www.bwefirearms.com/gatling.html

A video of them. This might be a different manufacturer though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4i9_kkg30o

now THAT is combat worthy no matter what anyone says! I know its technically not a rifle though. But I wouldnt mind having that in my corner.

 

[Vachss]

My son's AR-7 works pretty nicely and has 15 rd. magazines..

 

[yenchisks]

cant believe the lack of confidence in the lonely 22lr,if you ever find your self hit buy one you ll change your mind, if hit you ll no longer want to stick around but be looking for a medic ,i think a marlin mod 60 would work,most reliable,my step dad has had three laying in the closet that he never cleans for 20+ years and they still work,the only drawback is the reloading.

 

[Coronach]

Listen, if I get stung by a yellowjacket I'm not going to be hanging around, either. Doesn't make the insect an effective combat round.

Would I volunteer to be shot with a .22LR? Heck no! Would I volunteer to carry one into a fight where someone else had an effective centerfire caliber? Heck no.

Mike

 

[mattioli13]

 

[Hostile Amish]

That was not funny.

On topic:

 

[Titan6]

Gosh I hope the OP was kidding all those days ago. I mean the .22LR has been around a long time and if were feasible for combat you could look to one that had been made and used as an MBR and talk about that but as we all know there is no such thing.

I play dress up with my 10/22, mostly for the sake of my boys but also so that it can be used for training as it makes it very similar to other rifles that fire much more effective rounds. Putting cheap red dot scopes on them and such make them fun but anyone who thinks they would be good for combat is bound to be sorely disappointed (at least for a very short period of time).

 

[atblis]

EDIT: It's evident though that it's not being relied upon as a real combat arm considering the other hardware that's being carried.

 

[mija]

The man didn't say that he was going to grab his .22 as a first choice.

If you fall back to one use one that you are comfortable and profecient with. I have a Browning T-Bolt with a heavy barrel that is great. Never jams, 10 shots in a 5" circle @ 100 yd. with peep sights on a rest. Not that you would choose a .22 with other options available. But you are going to have to count on head shots for positive results with a .22. Got a Ruger 10-22 with the heavy hammer forged stainless twisted barrel that does just about as good.
With a .22 for defense it must be very accurate, shot placement is utmost, comfortable to you and reliable. Most bolts, pumps, and levers are reliable. Many semi's are not.

 

[kirklandkie]

i doubt any of you would say this but:
a LM7 .22 AR upper with an M4 full automatic lower assembly
the LM7 is a belt fed .22

google it

-kirk