expvideo
Member
I think so. I think it is ridiculous that I hear so much of "anything less than a 9mm or maybe a .380 is really not a good self defense gun". I think a .22 would be just fine for self defense. Loaded with CCI Stingers, a .22 can have a lot more energy upon impact than most people would expect.
.32s, like was mentioned already, used to be somewhat of a standard in Europe for service pistols. I think that this would be a fairly capable round.
The problem is that with all of the tactical crap that is out there, and with our culture of buying, nobody wants to sell you a $350 .32, when they could sell you a $550 .40, plus night sights, plus a weapon light, plus a guide rod laser, plus a few extra magazines, plus a couple extra long magazines just for kicks, plus a Serpa holster, plus plus plus plus plus.
Shot placement with any pistol caliber is paramount. But we've gotten too much into the habit of "well I carry a .45, so all I really have to do is hit the guy", and we stop worrying about placing our rounds. Also, there is a weird fear of anything ever scratching us, so everyone seems to think that they need a .45 so that the guy bursts into flames and "stops" immediately as soon as he is hit. Well that is a myth, and while some people will drop from a .45 to COM, it is not as simple as that for everyone. Those same people would probably drop from a single .32 to COM. But believe me that a single .32 to the right place will drop the assailant just as fast as a .45. Not to mention failure drills! Tell me that you really expect the guy to keep fighting if you run a failure drill on him with a .32, rather than your trusty hand cannon.
I think that there is a lot of sentiment about needing the biggest possible bullet, and people have lost touch with their abilities to use a pistol as a fighting tool. They rely too much on the energy of the bullet and not enough on shot placement.
