High-cap .22lr rifles for defense?

Status
Not open for further replies.
M

mf-dif

Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2012
Messages
321
Location
Georgia
While there are obviously better calibers, I hypothetically sometimes have an internal dialog with myself about high-cap .22lr semi-autos for defense. A single .22lr isn't going to stop anyone in their tracks...but a 25-30rd mag of these little hornets isn't something I'd want to be hit with.

The combination of extreme control, rapid fire accuracy and capacity don't seem so bad? My modern .22lr rifles have been pretty reliable. I can't remember the last time I experienced a stoppage in my Sig 522 or HK MP5-22.

That said, I have other calibers at my disposal, but if it's all I had I wouldn't feel that bad.
 
.22 from a semi sure beats throwing rocks, but it would not be my choice. Too many duds in the rimfire ammo I have shot.
 
Every time I hear that a single .22 "won't stop anyone in his tracks" I think back to the attempted Reagan assassination and how fast those three men went down after each taking a single .22 round from a short barrel revolver.
 
It's a poor choice for a self defense caliber even if it can be lethal.

In a high stress situation you may not be able to make the multiple hits needed to stop a threat
 
You'd be surprised how much power a lowly .22 round has. I've shot through old car doors with them. A square hit with a solid will definitely penetrate into the passenger compartment. Using reliable solids, you could certainly do far worse for defense - but I don't trust hollow point ammo for anything other than target practice.
 
You might not have time to shoot someone 30 times.

Unless it's all you have, or if medical issues require low recoil, you would likely be better suited with a little more horsepower.
 
I have a HK MP5SD .22LR that has been absolutely reliable with all three 25-round magazines I have for it. Sure, I'd feel "armed" with one, but I'd really feel better with my Mossberg 590 or M1 carbine simply because I get the warm 'n fuzzies from something that makes a louder boom.

But in all honesty, I do believe it would work just fine so long as you don't experience a dud (which I haven't run into in the past few years with at least 5k rounds of CCI blazer, Rem Vipers and Rem Thunderbolts).

I'd figure with those 25-round magazines, you have 5 attempts to put the 40gr slugs where they need to go with a 5 shot "burst" (this thing slings them out fast if you got the hang of it).
I think at hallway ranges, I'd put the first 5 in the assailant's face/neck and prepare for another 4 rapid "bursts" if needed. Not that I'd ever want to, but if I have only a .22LR and my wife and daughter's lives are in jeopardy, I'm going to ring the gong with no less than 5 rounds at a time. As far as this goes, the .22LR is sufficient.

23667895006_c36786847d_c.jpg

23066891933_a1a67a91b8_c.jpg
 
Last edited:
j1, I don't know about other models, but I haven't felt the magazine gets in the way.

Then again, I haven't tried clearing my home with it yet either, but I do doubt I'd run into any legitimate issues as I wouldn't be firing it prone within my home.

When it comes to the anemic .22LR (when compared to centerfires), I think you'd want as many rounds as your rifle will hold and still be reliable.

I say reliable as I had a buddy who owned a Calico and though I was quite jealous of its 100 round capacity, he likely never made it completely through a magazine without a malfunction of one kind or another.
 
Ruger 10/22. Bx25 magazine. CCI Mini Mag. I think it'd get the job done. I think the majority of folks would lose their will to fight if they took a Mini Mag to the torso.
 
It wouldn't be my 1st choice, but I don't think it as as bad as a lot of people think.
 
The hi cap mag can get in the way. Isn't ten rounds enough?
Click to expand...
Why would a 25-round .22 magazine get in the way on a long gun intended for in-home use, where you aren't shooting from prone or picking your way through briar patches?

That entire magazine of 25 .22LR rounds delivers about the same payload as one round of no. 4 buckshot from a 12-gauge shotgun; the .22 just delivers it one pellet at a time. Ten rounds of .22 doesn't even deliver half of one no. 4 shotshell, so no, I'd consider a longer mag an absolute must if I needed to use a .22LR in that role. At least a 25-round mag gets you on par with one round from a shotgun.

Also, perhaps the most important reason for having a gun with decent capacity is reserve. If you think you hypothetically need ten rounds in a defensive scenario, you might find yourself completely unarmed at a very dangerous time, in the unlikely event that scenario were to come to pass and all you had was is a tiny 10-round magazine. Most of us do not sleep wearing spare mags, so what you have in or on the gun is what you have, period.

And ten rounds is indeed a tiny capacity for a small-caliber defensive long gun; even defensive lever-actions from the 1860s (e.g. the Henry, or the Winchester model 1866) held up to 15+1.
 
Last edited:
As others have already stated it wouldn't be my first, second, or third choice for home defense but if a high capacity .22 rifle was all I had at the time (most likely my 10/22), then I would find a way to make it work.
 
While it would probably work, I don't think I'd ever do it. I mean adrenaline is one thing, getting that amount of lead on target would stop someone, but what if the perpetrator is going at full tilt adrenaline or worse some kind of opiate?

I'd rather throw out the most stopping power possible in the shortest time frame and mitigate any threat ASAP just for safety sake.
 
As stated, there are much better calibers for home defense.

All of the above said, the Israelis proved a long time ago a Ruger 10 22 suppressed has its place in armed conflicts:

"In the recent Israeli-Palestinian clashes began in 2000, the Ruger resumes it’s original role as a less lethal riot control weapon. However, it’s usage in this role was rather controversial this time. After several incidents involving the death of Palestinians by the Ruger fire, the IDF conducted a field experiment in the Ruger at the IDF Sniper School in Mitkan Adam under the supervision of the IDF Judge Advocate General (JAG). The test showed that the Ruger was more lethal then thought especially in upper body injuries. Also, since it’s suppressed and was considered less lethal by the troops, the soldiers were much more likely to use the Ruger loosely then intended.

As a result of this test, the JAG reclassified the Ruger as a lethal weapon."
 
Gosh a rootie guys! I think the OP knows there are better but was asking about would he be unarmed with a .22 else.

Shoot I would like a Ma Duece sandbagged in in the corner of the bedroom and have 155 and air on call if bad folks were a'comming!

That said, in my college days I felt much better armed with a Savage gill gun click clack with only ten rounds of .22 LR solids in the tube than with my baseball bat or even my machete.

The angry drunk that once appeared at my door bashing the door and screaming about some girl that may or may not have lived in my apartment a year earlier got very calm sober and polite when he saw that old semi auto .22( keep in mind this poor student had no phone and twas before cell phones were an option).

When my sister was awoken at home alone while BIL was gone to worship NASCAR one night she was awakend by her little ankle biter and some one was in the bedroom door way, someone that refused to answer when challenged but stood his ground. Someone who on hearing the bolt cycle on a nice old Remington neglected to open the screen door on his way out and managed to cut himself up on the door handle and frame while running through it.

Now in my case when I can pick other things I am unlikely to choose to defend the wife and kids with a .22.....although that old gill gun is where I can get to it quickly for use around the chicken coop or barn and for one reason or another might be what I end up with when things get tight.

Personally I would prefer to NOT have an extended magazine on a .22 used in home defense. If I had a 10/22 next to the bed I would rather have ten rounds I could ABSOLUTELY depend on going bang than 25 I would be gambling on every time I pull the trigger. If I had a Marlin with clip feed I would even want seven I could absolutely depend on than three or more times as many that MIGHT go bang.

I would choose solids and HV but not Hyper if using a .22 LR for keeping the family safe.

-kBob
 
"...A single .22lr isn't going to stop anyone in their tracks..." Neither will anything else 100% of the time. A single .22 beats a stick or a rock though. Think hyper-velocity ammo if your "modern .22lr rifles" will shoot it well enough.
 
The advantage to a rifle is that most people WILL get more than one hit, compared to a hand-gun.

Sure, everyone COULD pack a S&W .500 for Home Defense. They just WON'T.

FYI, there are a LOT of people who seem to regard an M1 Carbine as pretty much the equal of that .22 in stopping power. That "what if you only hit once" mantra also applies to a 30 round mag in a Carbine.

Is a .22 the BEST choice? NO, not at all. Will a .22 rifle with large reserves of ammo work? UNDOUBTEDLY. If you want more than 10 rounds in a semi-auto without anything "sticking down", look at a Marlin 60, or any tube feed gun.

Really, we're overthinking this. First rule of a gun-fight, have a gun. It wasn't too long ago that many of the biggest and baddest handguns in existence used loose black powder and round balls. Yet, people somehow survived.
 
i was under the impression that a .22lr being a rimmed cartridge generally does not fair well in large capacity magazines.. its nice to want a high cap .22lr, but you generally dont see them because theyre generally not all that reliable and the last thing a gun manufacturer wants is an unreliable weapon
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

R
  • Locked
22 Rifle for Home/Defense?
2 3 4 5
Replies
121
Views
11K
Art Eatman
A
N
  • Locked
22LR AR-15 style rifle
Replies
16
Views
3K
nharms5
N
J
  • Locked
22LR snap caps for 10/22
Replies
4
Views
1K
jzimm9mm
J
G
  • Locked
Rifles that have available .22LR conversion?
Replies
14
Views
790
GenericHero
G
L
  • Locked
Mossberg 340ka .22LR. Info?
Replies
2
Views
3K
LynnMassGuy
L
Back
Top