Opinions on .22lr for defense

[slaphappy]

I know there a LOT of better choices out there, but I am looking for something my wife can be comfortable shooting. She absolutely loves the way the Walther p22 fits her hand, and I have to say, it looks like a fun little pistol. My only concern is that is just doesn't pack enough of a punch. Would CCI Stingers cut it if you needed it?

 

[logical]

Unless your wife is unusually frail, I really think people go to far in downgrading what they think is an appropriate gun for a woman. You mention the power issue so I assume it is a defensive/carry weapon so maybe look at a Beretta Tomcat .32....or even a Seecamp .32. Now that the .380 Seecamp is out, the .32s can be found NIB for as little as $340 on gunbroker.

That Walther is bigger and probably heavier than the two I mention..If she is willing to carry a gun that big ....she could get into a .380

 

[slaphappy]

Thanks. I did a search here after I posted this ( I know, wrong order), and I didn't realize what a sensitive topic this was. I had no intention of creating a 5 page troll. I've been thinking a Makarov or something similar may be a better choice for her, but she really liked the Walther, and it's so cool!. Love those Walther p22s and p99s.

 

[logical]

It is a very cool gun but frankly the kind you buy to take to the range or pull out of the safe and say "hey look at this cool Walther"...but 20 oz. unloaded and 4.5 x 6.25 inches is a pretty big gun that only spits out 40 grains of lead.....and a very complicated one at that. If you look at handgunreviews, they also seem to have very Kel-Tec-esque reliability out of the box.

I hear a lot of people like the Bersa Thunder in .380 for an application like yours but no personal experience.

 

[Old Fud]

Go with what you got. Nit-pick later.

Your wife is WILLING to consider using a gun for defense.
She likes what she has.
She's already on the side of the Gods -- Rule of gunfight #1 -- "bring a gun."
And most women, once they've made up their minds, have no problem with Rule #2 -- "WIN."

So far, so good.
Load it up with a nice hollowpoint and be happy.

As you and she shoot more, I have little doubt she will gravitate to other pieces in other calibers. The day may come when she will decide on her own that she wants something with more authority and that she will be comfortable with it.
We all agree that will be better, but that's a tomorrow thing,
and we're talking about today.

Fud

 

[Jim Watson]

Makarov has a tough DA and pretty heavy SA; plus hard recoil from as powerful a cartridge as a blowback that size will handle. Not a lady's gun in my book. Most .380s other than the locked breech Colt Government or Mustang are in the same category.

P32 is tiny and doesn't have as much recoil as blowbacks twice the size. It does not have usable sights; you can kind of direct the shot well enough to hit a man at defense ranges but it isn't much fun to target shoot or practice with.

I think a Kahr K9 (all steel) kind of balances everything out. Portable with less recoil than less powerful blowbacks; simple to operate.

But if the .22 is all she wants to fool with, there are things to consider:
Reliability - rimfire is inherently less reliable than centerfire. You must have good ammo and the gun must be in good shape. I'd try CCI MiniMag first but be prepared to shoot everything on the market to find ammo good enough to go to war with.
Performance - I think penetration is more important to a .22 and would shoot HV solids rather than hollowpoints. Some people like Fud will differ.
Attitude - The only stopping shot with a .22 is a killing shot. They don't call them "face guns" for nothing, the best use is to put little bullets through the eyes and sinuses into the brain.

 

[akviper]

.22's are cheap to shoot. If she likes the gun and shoots it often you are way ahead. A 380 or 32 she only shoots once or twice a year can end up being a liability in a defense situation. If she puts a $12 brick or two of ammo through any 22 yearly she will be a much better shot and more confident with the gun. A hit in the eye with a well used 22 at across the room distances is better than a 44 miss into the wall. Don't forget to check out the little 3 inch, 8 shot Smith & wesson Airlight revolver. It helps out if you get a dud 22 round. Just squeeze the trigger again.

 

[stevelyn]

Load up the .22 with CCI Velocitors when it's its defense mode. Let your wife decide if an when she wants to upgrade to a larger caliber. You just have to be patient. If she shoots much and likes it she'll eventually want to try something else. It's inevitable.

 

[nemesis]

The best personal defense .22 caliber available is probably Remington Golden Saber 230 grain +P .45ACP.

I shall respectfully refrain from posting my opinion on how little regard you hold for your wife that you would risk her life to a squirrel gun.

You and and I both know that she's not going to fire 1000 rounds a week to develop her proficiency and that the chances of her firing the legendary "golden BB" are just about nil.

 

[tbeb]

My wife is petite and not into guns. Her house gun is a Ruger Speed Six loaded with .38 special +P 125 gr. JHP's. Double action trigger pull was lightened to eight pounds. Stock grips are used to make finger to trigger reach as short as possible.

If forced to use a .22 long rifle handgun for self defense, then I would choose a revolver. I would probably load it with Winchester Super-X Power Point 40 gr. Hollow Point. I don't know if it will expand, but it is a heavy bullet with good velocity.

 

[Standing Wolf]

Better a .22 than nothing. Every little bit helps.

 

[DT Guy]

I would much sooner face a woman armed with a .38 that intimidates her, and which she's put 100 rounds through in the past two years, than I would a woman with a .22 that's she's confident in and comfortable with. Only HITS count, after all.


Larry

 

[45 ACP]

"Opinions on .22lr for defense"

Inadequate.

Troll enough for ya?

 

[Onmilo]

Not my first choice but I'm not your wife and six hits from a twenty two beats one miss from a too loud, too hard recoiling thirty eight every time.

 

[HighVelocity]

The best personal defense .22 caliber available is probably Remington Golden Saber 230 grain +P .45ACP

 

[Preacherman]

The .22LR can get the job done, if accuracy is factored in - headshots are going to be essential, though. I talked a lot about training disabled shooters to use .22LR weapons, because some of them can't handle anything with stronger recoil. See this thread for details, and get your wife to put at least 5,000 rounds through her .22 until she can shoot as described. Given that, I'd be reasonably confident in her ability to defend herself with a .22.

I second the recommendation for CCI Velocitors as a carry load, BTW. It's a relatively heavy bullet for the caliber, and penetrates well.

 

[lyricsdad]

oh jee this thread again lol.

OK, this is speaking from experience, as I dont have federal charges on me (thank god).
I had a situation involving my wife, her cousin, and the perp. My wife was speaking rather harshly to an individual (the perp) who "ganged" along w/ a couple of buddies her brother. They left him for dead i guess you could say. So she had a few words for this guy. He was clearly getting high on marijuana and god knows what else. Drinking also. We just got back from town which btw is about 95 miles away getting supplies. I always carry on this trip. I heard my wife stearnly chatting with this individual.

He was sitting there until her cousin also heard the goings on. They wanted the person to leave property as it was also my wife's moms place. Long story why he was getting high there, as he is an aquaintence of my sister in laws boyfriend. So my wifes cousin opened the door and asked the individual to get out of the vehicle. He complied. He the punched my wife's cousin, knocking him out for a few seconds or minutes it was all too fast. at that time I pulled out. He flicked a lit cigarette at my wife, I racked the slide, turned the laser on, and had my p22 aimed on his face. before he could do anything else but ask what was that on him, he was informed that it was a gun. I told him to get down.

He looked at me seen I had the pistol pointed at him. He then panicked and ran away, really crazy in some sort of ducking while running.

The p22 did in fact do its intended job. It protected my family. And although I didnt have to fire a shot. The mere intimidation of the laser and the pistol pointed at him prevented any more of a crime.

I thank god every day that my wife was not harmed. I also am glad that I had my pistol at that time. I usually dont carry here in my small town, its just the fact that we were just coming back from town and dropping items off at my wife's mothers house. I am glad we didnt go home first as my wife would have just went out there first.

So in this case, a .22lr did in fact prove itself for self defense.

A week later, I purchased my walther p99 in .40 SW
If I have to shoot someone in self defense or the preservation of life of my family. I want my shots to count. This is why the main reason I picked up my p99. I was just going to leave it in lay away so I could slowly pay on it throughout the summer.

Thank God for the second amendment.

 

[lyricsdad]

BTW I had CCI Stingers loaded. For self defense w/ a .22 i wouldnt recommend anything else other than either Quickshots, Stingers, or Velociters, I know there are other hyper velocity ammo out there but this is what I have had experience shooting in my .22

 

[john l]

I would like to share with you my personal experience. My wife never even shot a gun before she met me. We got married and I just started her out on my ruger mk 2 22lr just plinking. didn't even talk about sights and the use of them. just trying to sneak in a "love for shooting 22s" she quickly went thru about 1500 rounds of 22 lr over the course of a few months and year or so. She quickly learned sighted/unsighted shooting. every once in a while she would shoot my glock 19 9mm. Slowly and up to present, shooting a 9mm is fine with her.
Please try to make shooting fun first of all, and then she'll keep doing it.

YOU may find that as your wife shoots lots of 22, then other larger, more adequate home protection rounds aren't that big of a deal for your wife to shoot. That's when she will see for herself that a nine or a 40 is a safer bet than a 22 for HD
I think that women aren't so much afraid of recoil and noise exclusively, but the whole cloth of the "newness of the experience of shooting". Once that wears off, then shooting bigger guns is fine, because now they are comfortable with loading, unloading, aiming, shooting, safe handling practices, etc.
That said, then if she wants to only shoot 22s for HD, then consider a revolver 22. if a 22 squibs out, pull the trigger again. Cylinder rotates, yer back in business.

For those who crap their pants when thinking about 22 for home defense, then consider the idea that if any of us had the luxury of choosing what to use for a lethal force encounter, only the dimmest dullards would choose a handgun of any caliber. 22 lr is more than fine for HD, but there are better choices. Another tiny choice is the 32 H&H mag. Sweeeeet.
Above all, try to foster regular shooting sessions, no matter what she and you choose-caliber wise. You know, like a date night. Happy shooting.
john l

 

[lbmii]

The main thing is to use what will feed the best. I doubt any hollow point will expand at short barrel velocities. I really do not think you want expansion anyway. I would go with a good 40 grain lead round nose.

 

[coylh]

http://www.firearmstactical.com/test_data/22lr/cci22-32stgr-r2245.htm

 

[buttrap]

I sure would like to know who can walk off 10 or 11 .22 HV rounds up the air intake spout? its not the best choice but if you can shoot one well it sure beats trying to pee on their shoes.

 

[Dionysusigma]

IMNSHO, the only .22 I would ever seriously trust to save my life would be an American 180.

However, when I first got a place of my own, I only had two guns--a SAR-1 and a Marlin 60. I was worried about the 7.62x39 going through the walls and hitting the people in the aparment(s) next to mine, so I loaded the Marlin with Federal HPs and left it next to my bed. I could hit paper plates from 50 yards easily enough with it, so shot placement was in the bag (especially since the longest LOS in my apartment is about 25 feet).

I've since picked up a Mossberg 590, a Beretta 96, and a Bersa .380 (which I traded the Mossy for)

 

[bakert]

22s for self defence

I'm not very enthusiastic over small calibers for a carry gun, BUT a .22 sure beats a set of car keys or a purse. Also I think much better that the pepper spray my own wife carries. Being shot or shot at will deter the majority of assaults. Even with a heavy caliber gun there is no sure thing as to stopping an attack but in most cases the BGs are not that determined and I would much rather get a hit(s) with a .22 that a miss with something bigger. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Puppy]

Statistically speaking, more people have been killed by the .22LR than any other cartridge.

Dont get me wrong, I aint saying that the .22LR is the ultimate defense round, but make no mistake about it ... the .22LR has proven itself to be quite lethal.