Flame suit on: 22LR semi-auto for home defense.

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I can readily imagine my mom grabbing a handgun, such as my Taurus PT25, or even my 3-inch Taurus 85, and getting shots off rather easily. No slide to rack, no safety to disengage, just "pull, point, and press to play."

I can almost imagine her grabbing a Mossberg 702 or Ruger 10/22, remembering to charge it (or deactivate the safety if she already had) and get shots off, but I see it as a bit more cumbersome in the little mobile home in which she lives, and not always in the same room with her.

I cannot, in my wildest imagination (and it can be pretty wild), see her handling the charging handle on an AR-15 and/or fiddling with its safety, nor can I imagine her getting a second shot (or set of shots) off, if needed, after the first one is let go at night, indoors, and without hearing protection.

But that's just mine. YMMV (Your moms may vary.)
 
Unless someone is physically impaired to the point that a reasonable caliber couldn't be used, there is no excuse for a 22 to be selected as a primary defensive tool. "Shooters" who have limited experience should get more experience, learn to live with recoil, make the time, and develop the interest in preserving their own life and the lives of those who depend upon them. A 22 is usually not enough gun for animals like foxes and possums. About half the time I shoot a squirrel with one, the thing is still alive.To think that these things will work efficiently against an aggressive human is ridiculous.
 
While I would not recommend a .22 for self defense, if that is all one has then so be it. There are worse things to try and defend your home with.

I would probably not go for a .22 handgun, though. I'm with others who suggest a compact .22 rifle if the. 22 is all that is on the menu. A compact 10/22 with an extended magazine would be something I wouldn't want to face. The handle should be easy enough to charge, and sending 20+ rounds down range like a swarm of angry bees is better than a 100lb woman trying to land a solid hit with a baseball bat.

My 5'5" 92 year old grandfather has defended his home for over 40 years with nothing more than a .22 revolver. He and my grandmother live in a less than ideal neighborhood. Now, he's never needed to fire his gun, but on more than occasion he has gone to a rattling front door at night with his revolver in hand. A few sturn words shouted through the bolted door about the dog and the gun has done the trick for him.

I'm not saying it's ideal, but he and grandmother have managed to not be brutalized in a rough neighborhood for nearly 4 decades.

I think we sometimes put too much stock in our tools, and while expensive tactical training is well worth the money for some, it is possible to take care of yourself with nothing more than grit. The last weapons training my grandpa got was in basic training before shipping off to the Pacific in WWII.
 
Balrog,
We would all rather have a .44mag or 12ga etc, in the event of the unspeakable. However, we all have our limitations for one reason or another.
I don't know what your solution will be...but I can tell you what my family has settled on:
My wife- SP101
My 82yo mother- Henry lever action 22 rifle, colt 25acp
My 60yo sister- Ruger Bearcat
My 83 yo arthritic father- Ruger MKIV 22/45
My 110# daughter in law- Glock 42
 
"Beware the man with one gun, for he probably knows how to use it."

Everyone bashes the Greg Ellifritz study because they somehow have superior knowledge that they just can't seem to articulate, but his statistics are what they are: .22LR does the job as well as any other handgun caliber if the shooter does his job right. The object isn't to kill, it's to stop violent behavior. A lot of home invasions end with the bad guys running away to the hospital and getting arrested there.

I see a lot of threads where someone asks, "If you had to have only one gun..." and a lot of people choose .22LR. IF I had to choose only one, I might actually choose my S&W 63 (J-frame .22LR), I wouldn't feel too bad about it. Sweet shooter, dirt cheap ammo, it would be thoroughly enjoyable to shoot thousands of rounds a month to hone my skills, and while the trigger isn't as light as a centerfire, it's smooth and not as harsh as the online reviewers like to portray. You can usually put in lighter springs even in a .22 revolver, and still get reliable ignition, if you really have to.

For indoor use, .22 is not as loud so the home's occupants won't suffer as much hearing loss, and there may be less damage to the walls. Overpenetration won't be as much of an issue.

Try shooting thousands of rounds of .32, if you can find it.
 
I will be a contrarian - to a point.

Sure, .22 will do, you have to pick what .22 and what gun. If it's a matter of it being hard to handle with no grip, you need to use both hands, and have enough gun to grip to do the job. And if accuracy is preferred, then something with a red dot on it will be better.

AR Pistol in .223. No doubts about it's stopping power compared to .22LR, 30 rounds, two handed operation, hold up to sight the red dot pull trigger.

All too often we ask a question with an answer already in mind and then justify our preconceived notions. Using more elemental examination we just need to see what the problems are then address each and let the process come to a conclusion without steering it with our personal prejudices.

The subject does imply that only a gun is the singular and only possible answer for personal defense in a home intrusion, tho, typical for a gun forum. One hopes there are other measures being taken that would keep the intruders out in the first place.

Moats with dragons never get any discussion here. Hmmm.
 
Tirod, feeding a dragon could quickly become cost prohibitive (LOL).

More seriously, I would be hesitant to recommend a 22 semi-auto unless and until a manufacturer produces one with a dual firing pin, as found on some of the best 22 target rifles. Are you listening Ruger?

And, if the OP goes ahead with his idea and gets say, a Ruger 22 auto pistol for the lady, I'd recommend she train and practice strictly head shots on silhouette targets. That would give the best chance of stopping an assailant, or at least dissuading their continued attack. One would hope ten 22 LR rounds in the face would give them something else to think about.

Dave
 
Balrog said:
I bet a bunch of those people you saw shot with a 22 in the ER quit what they were doing and went to the hospital soon as they realized they were shot.
Click to expand...

Well not always.

We had a very uncooperative drunk that had been shot in the head by a 22. Kept arguing with the Doctors and Nurses that their wasn't anything wrong with him, didn't know why he was brought to the hospital, yada, yada, yada. I finally got down in his face and told him he had been shot in the head. A dim lightbulb went off in his drunken mind. He reached up with his hand and rubbed in where he had been shot. He brought his hand down, saw the blood on it and...

Passed Out Cold!!!

(Oh, Doc removed the bullet that was lodged just under the skin and the drunk went to jail.)

it was not unusual for suspects to be brought in to have 22 and 25 auto bullets removed. The suspect was usually either drunk or high on drugs and the bullet was lodged just under the skin. Cops wanted the bullet removed for evidence so the Doc would removed it, put a bandaid over the entrance and exit wounds and send the suspect off to jail.

Meth heads are very dangerous because much of their brain is fired don't know they are supposed to shop their attack when shot.
 
BSA1 said:
Well not always.

We had a very uncooperative drunk that had been shot in the head by a 22. Kept arguing with the Doctors and Nurses that their wasn't anything wrong with him, didn't know why he was brought to the hospital, yada, yada, yada. I finally got down in his face and told him he had been shot in the head. A dim lightbulb went off in his drunken mind. He reached up with his hand and rubbed in where he had been shot. He brought his hand down, saw the blood on it and...

Passed Out Cold!!!

(Oh, Doc removed the bullet that was lodged just under the skin and the drunk went to jail.)

it was not unusual for suspects to be brought in to have 22 and 25 auto bullets removed. The suspect was usually either drunk or high on drugs and the bullet was lodged just under the skin. Cops wanted the bullet removed for evidence so the Doc would removed it, put a bandaid over the entrance and exit wounds and send the suspect off to jail.

Meth heads are very dangerous because much of their brain is fired don't know they are supposed to shop their attack when shot.
Click to expand...


I've been doing trauma surgery for 20 years and don't think I have ever removed a bullet strictly for the purposes of evidence.
 
Balrog have you ruled out a rifle? A Marlin Camp in 9mm would be more lethal than a 9mm handgun, and easier to shoot.

Next up, I think some of the European full sized .380's would be great choices. Recoil will certainly be less than a 9mm, and the extra barrel length will help the .380, which is considered by many to be rather anemic for defense use.

I think the PMR is a good option too, but IIRC that grip is rather large which may not work for an older woman.

If you do end up with a .22 semi-auto, make sure to keep it clean! Those target style guns like the Buckmark and Ruger Mark series can be finicky when they get dirty. Also, CCI or Aguila solid points are all I'd shoot out of them. I'd pick those brands because I've never had a mistfire with them. And while a hollow point round is better for defense with a centerfire round, a .22 has so little power that a hollow point won't penetrate nearly as well as a solid bullet.

If a .22 handgun is the direction you go, you might want to look into a Ruger SR22. You'll give up a little in accuracy, but you also have a double action trigger for second strike capability.
 
A .22 would not be on my short list for recommending to someone looking for a self defense caliber. But better than nothing...most certainly, and if that's all that's available for whatever reason, then by all means, make the most of it.
 
I am sorry that I missed the part about no revolvers.

The next best would be the tip-down barrel semiautomatics that you don't have to rack. Beretta makes them in 22, 25, and 32. Taurus makes copies of the 22 and 25. The mechanism tips the barrel down and you load the first round directly into the chamber. They're perfect for people who have trouble racking slides.
 
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I know a woman who has a 9-shot 22LR revolver. She's fast and accurate.
Would it be better to saddle her with a larger caliber, with which she's
slow and inaccurate? She can stay on target, and deliver a few rounds
very quickly. I submit that 3 or four rounds of accurate 22LR are better
than 9mm or 38 Special, that missed...
 
I often see where folks say 22 isn't a viable defense round. I went to college with a guy who got caught up because his girl had a crazy x who got jealous and showed up to her house. A fight ensued and he was whooping old boy and his buddy shot my class mate twice with a 22 LR derringer. My classmate is still stuck in a wheel chair with a morphine pump because of his internal and spine injuries. The 22 jumped around in his guts and jacked him up bad.
 
If I were stuck with a 22lr for home defense, I think I'd go with a lever or pump action rifle, optimally a Browning with it's very short throw lever. If a round doesn't go off, work the action and go again.

A Beretta tip up hand gun in a centerfire cartridge would be probably the best be for the OP's situation. Does Beretta even still make them?
 
I have read many news articles over the years where .22's have been used by home owners to defend themselves from intruders. To dismiss the .22 rim fire as ineffective or insufficient to defend oneself is contrary to many real world examples.

The rim fire .22 can be less reliable than a center fire but with good ammunition the failure rate is minimal. I buy CCI ammo for match shooting or any time I want a good reliable performance. A Ruger or Browning would be perfectly acceptable as reliable auto's.

A DA revolver should also be given consideration. With a revolver in .22 LR many hold 8 or more rounds giving up little in capacity to the semi auto. The advantage of the revolver is a typical failure to fire in the .22 lr doesn't stop the next round from being fired with another pull of the trigger.
 
Armored farmer said:
Balrog,
We would all rather have a .44mag or 12ga etc, in the event of the unspeakable. However, we all have our limitations for one reason or another.
I don't know what your solution will be...but I can tell you what my family has settled on:
My wife- SP101
My 82yo mother- Henry lever action 22 rifle, colt 25acp
My 60yo sister- Ruger Bearcat
My 83 yo arthritic father- Ruger MKIV 22/45
My 110# daughter in law- Glock 42
Click to expand...

Say what? You have 110 daughters-in-law, all armed with a Glock 42?
Man ! That's not armed. It's an Army !
 
Blkhrt13 said:
A 70 or 71 beretta would be a decent option. Good enough for Mossad...
Click to expand...

Clearly, they know the limitations of the caliber and apply it accordingly. The .22LR might be a minimal caliber, but in the right hands, much can be done with it.
 
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