if you absolutely had to use a .22 for self defense?

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There are actually many benefits of the .22LR as I see it. Shot placement and quick follow-ups on the same spot.

You could easily unload 10 or 20 rounds quickly and without much recoil. Using the right HPs, that would be devestating to a person (chest, skull, etc.).

While not my tops in choices, I would not feel undergunned for your normal home/self defense.
 
I would use either CCI Velocitors or Mini Mag solids as long as your gun functions well with them. Penetration is important and either should give you good penetration under normal circumstances.

I also have no problem using a 22 for self defense. I don't recommend it for self defense, but I personally would use a 22LR confidently.
 
He showed it to me one day and I jokingly asked was he afraid of being attacked by a rodent... I quickly learned his logic behind it. With a strait face he told me if we were to get in a fight, he would get me in a headlock, place the barrel in the first available hole and let the gun do the rest....
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First off, he is assuming he could put someone in a headlock. If not, he might be the subject of the autopsy tomorrow morning.

Now assuming his "Plan A" worked out well, he has the aggressor under control. But he puts one or more rounds into his head point-blank? He would probably spend the remainder of his natural life in prison. Sounds an awful lot like premeditated murder to me...and a jury might agree. Especially if the prosecution could access a post like this one.
 
.45Guy said:
I don't know about ballistics gel and all that, but I "know someone" that shot large critters with stingers, that have rather muscular bodies, rather thicker than most human's thoracic cavity. Penetration was outstanding, and he never went hungry.
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Nobody said a Stinger couldn't be effective, in many/most cases they'd work fine. We're talking self defence, though, so you want to give yourself the maximum chance of the bullet being effective, and the Stingers have more of a chance of underpenetration than a regular round nose round.

Let's say the Stinger was effective 80% of the time and the RN bullet was effective 85% of the time, which would you choose? Yes, the RN doesn't have much more chance of being effective, but if my life counted on it, I would want that extra 5%.
 
When .22 is going to be your primary round due to medical condition carry the best you can. For me that is a .22WMR, out of a S&W 351PD. Better all around round that can be had in a variety of premium thin skinned game rounds including the Hornandy V-Max.
 
haplesshero said:
For home defense, I am considering a Saiga in 5.45x39. The action is smooth enough from factory, and i plan on polishing it a bit. Besides, with my interest in taking things apart, i feel it would be a fun project weapon and good survival choice, as well.

Thank you though, the 10/22 is number three on my rifle list.
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No. Not a Saiga. My buddy has a Saiga 5.45x39 and it is actually snappy. My bulgy ak-74, on the other hand, while firing the same round, is as soft as a 22. Apparently that muzzle brake (that is not on the Saigas) works well.

Get an AK-74 for a HD weapon. Super soft shooting. I have literally seen an 8 year old shoot mine and enjoy it.
 
Well it seems everyone else covered the bullet selection pretty well, I just wanted to throw in a few things. If you are considering the AK type rifle for home defense still I highly recommend http://www.themakogroup.com/product_p/sbt-k47fk.htm to help soften recoil. Also a good quality rear grip with some give like the houge or other brands will be helpful to your hand. I found the factory AK grips to be pretty thin and a big fatter over moulded grip may be just the thing.

Just another thought, teach your girlfriend to shoot if she doesn't.
 
leadcounsel said:
There are actually many benefits of the .22LR as I see it. Shot placement and quick follow-ups on the same spot.

You could easily unload 10 or 20 rounds quickly and without much recoil. Using the right HPs, that would be devestating to a person (chest, skull, etc.).

While not my tops in choices, I would not feel undergunned for your normal home/self defense.
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There's something to be said for that. I can empty an entire mag from my 22/45, accurately, in probably a second or two. Would never think to use it for SD, but if I for some reason ever did, my strategy would definitely be to utilize how quickly i can fire it while remaining on target as compared to any other gun.
 
I'd say CCI stingers as well.

There was an old Gun Digest that did soap and clay tests with various 22LR loads from rifles and pistols, the CCI was the stand out.

The most importatnt thing in any self defense arm is reliabilty, you MUST practice clearing jams as rimfires are far more prone to misfiring.

I would NOT rely on a home-modified magazine in a defense situation.
 
No. Not a Saiga. My buddy has a Saiga 5.45x39 and it is actually snappy. My bulgy ak-74, on the other hand, while firing the same round, is as soft as a 22. Apparently that muzzle brake (that is not on the Saigas) works well.
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As far as I know, a Saiga in 5.45x39 IS an AK74. Once you make it 922R compliant, there is very little to stop you from adding the muzzle brake. (although that is a matter for another thread)

To the OP: I'm under the impression that you allready have the P22. If so, you should try and find a range nearby that has some kind of .22 friendly competition. Shooting a match would be good way to practice shooting under pressure.

Chris "the Kayak-Man" Johnson
 
I trust my wife's life to 40gr solid Minimags in a Bersa 23. So far the combination has been 99% reliable. As long as it goes bang, eject, reload when she sqeezes the trigger, I trust her to take care of the rest of the equation.

The 36gr hp's have hung up on me a few times, BTW.
 
To the OP: Good on you for making the best of a bad situation and then practicing. For .22LR ammo, I'd stick with the CCI brand. I've seen that this ammo tends to have the least amount of misfires.

There's another gun I'd recommend to you: the Kel-Tec PMR. 30 rounds of .22 Magnum might be a better bet than the .22LR. The gun is pretty light as well. If the P22 is your carry rig, then I'd say you're set and pretty well prepared.
 
I can't say for handguns but in a rifle a Stinger is lacking when compared to the Mini-Mags for killing ability, JMHO. When they first came out my shooting buddy and I tried killing groundhogs, we shot about a dozen from 40 to 100 yards and the ones killed were the ones shot by the Mini-Mags, all the wounded were by the Stinger. When I say wounded I mean most made it back to the hole which we considered wounded to die later, not the way one wishes to do an animal. They may work in a revolver but I doubt it, Mini-Mags gets my vote.
 
22LR still tops FBI's most deadly calibers list.
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Then why does the FBI not arm its agents with .22's?

The reason is because you want to STOP your opponant. Any deep puncture wound, no matter how small can eventually kill. That is not the object of a gun fight. A man in my town was stabbed with an ice pick in a bar fight and still beat the crap out of the guy who stabbed him. Being drunk and rather harry he could not find the wound as small punctures tend to be self sealing so he thought he would be alright. He died in his sleep later that night.
 
I have muscular dystrophy, severely limited hand and arm strength
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If it had to be a .22 I would much rather have a Ruger 10\22 with Stingers than the Walther p22 You are going to lose a lot of 00mph out of that short barrel.

How about a Ruger charger?? It's halfway between a pistol and rifle.
 
If worse came to worse, and it would have to for me to consider carrying a .22 as my primary carry piece, it would have to be a Walther PP, loaded with Mini-mags. And I say that only because I shoot this pistol more accurately than just about anything else I own and regularly take to the range. I can also load it, unload it, and strip it down blindfolded or in a pitch-black room, if necessary. I just wouldn't want to be caught in a situation where I'd have to depend on it, however.
 
If I had to use .22 for SD I'd go with CCI Velocitors. It's a nice 40 grain hollow point humming along at faster than usual speeds. I also wouldn't mind using federal bulk pack hollow points. These have performed very well for me at the range and while hunting small game.

There are some things you should know about using a .22 for SD. The hollow points generally don't expand from a pistol barrel, they aren't going fast enough. Keep the gun clean as a whistle, .22s get dirty much faster than center fire pistols. .22 ammo is more prone to misfire and malfunction by nature of design, do malfunction drills often.

It is a tiny bullet, do your best to keep it in the heart or brain area. Fast, accurate hits are what you need. Then again that's true with all practical pistol calibers, just more so when you have even less to work with.

Don't let the fact that it's a .22 keep you from being confident with it. It can get the job done if you are up to it.
 
I may have missed the post and I may be wrong but using a screw driver to alter you ammo is a no-no. I see your point in it and would do the same but it is not somethong to advertise.

I keep tracer rounds in my .22 at least if it under penetrates it will burn like crazy.
 
Then why does the FBI not arm its agents with .22's?
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I would imagine its listing is based on sheer numbers. more people are probably shot with 22's due to their inexpensive cost to operate. therefore more people die from 22 wounds.

While a 22 wouldnt be my first choice the OP has a reason for wanting it and it sure beats having nothing...
 
.22 rf

I've noticed that the people that condemn the .22RF for self defense won't let me shoot at their new pickup truck or their pet dog with a,22
 
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