Ruger 10/22 as a home-defense weapon?

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Rob, pick a gun. Any gun, even a 10-22 will work. THINK about what you want to do with it. THINK about the gun's limitations and its strengths. Form your tactics for your gun's strengths and weaknesses. Now THINK about your strengths and weaknesses. Incorporate what you know about yourself into your tactics.

What this all boils down to is knowing yourself, your firearms, practicing A LOT and planning ahead of trouble so that your tactics will work. High capacity magazines, like 50 rounders or 100 rounder drums, can literally make the 10-22 into a fast-firing buzzsaw. Learn to do high speed double-taps and then precision head shots. Put a Tasco scope, a lo-po system (low power 2 X 6) that has an illuminated reticle, on your 10-22 and now you have a lot of accuracy that will let you control out to about 150 yards or so. In the hands of somebody who has practiced a lot with one, a 10-22 can ruin a bad guy's day quicker than many other firearms. Sure, it may not, in some people's opinion, be the best option but it will work when nothing else is available AND if you have practiced with it. Also make sure that you have a cleaning kit for the rifle. And stay away from super fast (zinger type) or super slow (sub-sonic) ammunition because that's specialty stuff that may not properly work in your rifle. You want nice, standard middle-of-the-road ammo that you can buy in bricks (500 round lots or boxes of ammo) for about $10 to $15 each. Now go have some fun.
 
I didn't think this thread was still going! Thanks for the responses. I didn't think a 10/22 would be much of a HD/SD gun, but it's better than nothing.

cwmcgu2 said:
Plus I doubt the media could spin a cute college girl into a overzealous killer due to round count.
You don't watch the news very often, do you? :)
 
A box of good .22 will run you about 7 bucks for 100 rounds. 9x19 plinking ammo will run you about 11-12 bucks per 100 so its not exceedingly more expensive then the decent .22 ammo. Yes you can get 500 round bricks of cheap .22 for around 12 to 15 bucks but this ammo is more likely to cycle poorly in your semi auto, not be as accurate and although fun enough to plink with I think as you become a better shot you will gravitate towards the 6-7 bucks a 100 stuff.

Try $6 for 100 Mini mags, and $11-12 for 50 rounds of 9mm, not 100. That IS the plinking stuff. the defensive 9mm is more like $15-18 for 50.

Walmart sells 10/22 NEW for $182

humanchestcavityP22penetration.jpg

i took the liberty of taking the penetration of various 22lr rounds in balistic gelatin FROM A HANDGUN, cutting them in HALF and plotting them over a cross section of a human torso.

I carry my Walther P-22 as my CCW piece. I would use my 10/22 for HD, and i wouldn't feel under gunned with the factory 10 round magazine.
 
As others have said, of the guns I have it would be far from the first choice but I would not feel underarmed with a 10/22 with 25 stingers in it.
 
While a 10/22 is not my 1st choice, I would not feel "under gunned" with one.


10 shots as fast as I could pull the trigger with almost no recoil.
 
22lr or 22m

A 22lr will stop an intruder, 1 shot. that is from experiance. and that was from a revolver, less velocity than a rifle. But at close range, in the house, not much differance. A 22 mag will do the same. You don't have to blow a big hole in the guy to stop them. I don't mean injure them and scare them off, I mean stop them period. Learn to use what you can afford, and be proficiant with it. A 22lr pistol will make an intruder very nervous, if they see you pointing it at them. From their position, it looks like a small cannon. A 12 ga shotgun, they will urinate and crap themselves at the same time, because they know at that split very split second, there life is over. It's a matter of personal choice and affordability, and proficiancy. If you have a .45 pistol and miss your practice targets, than it won't be good for much more than waking up the neighbors when your house gets invaded.
 
I think that the 10/22 is a great weapon. Just don't expect any 1 shot drops. If you have to shoot, just unload the entire 10 round factory mag into your target... they will fall. I can't get 100% reliability with anything but... stock factory mags and top quality, high velocity ammo. For home defense I would use CCI Velocitors or Mini Mags/Stingers. Avoid cheap bulk ammo for SD/HD.

And yes... the 870 12ga would work better.
 
I see alot of 10/22 10/22, well what about the marlin m60 its a great first gun.:)@ half the cost
 
If someone intends upon purchasing a high capacity magazine for a 10/22, then check its reliability. Some years ago, before high capacity magazines were banned for a few years, there were reports that some of these clips did not feed well in Rugers. I owned a pre-ban magazine and experienced no problems. What the situation is today, I can not say with certainty. My advice is to test your magazines on the range to insure their proper functioning. I hope this helps.

Although I favor a larger caliber weapon, a "banana clip" with 25 rounds of .22lr ammo is nothing to take lightly. In addition, many accessories are made for the 10/22 which can improve its functioning and appearance. Good luck with your rifle.


Timthinker
 
Not ideal but will probably do with practice and good shot placement. I have used a Nylon 66 and a S&W mod 63 as defensive pieces a couple of times but something I would not do if I have a choice generally.

The higher capacity 10/22 mags can be a bit less unreliable also. What ammo do you all think would be best for a defensive .22lr?

As for reasons to fear a home invasion one was not listed, people knowing you own a lot of firearms, be careful out there.

As for drugs I don't like to do them and most the people I do know that do them are loser potheads with their dimebags of "stress", not likely home invasion canidates:)

As for sleeping with other peoples spouses/gf/bf no comment but I'm surprised that not even more people are killed over this,it's very common it seems that people cheat on their significant other. Crimes of passion and all...

I wish I had enough cash that I was worried about home invasions.
 
Check ANY weapon intended for self-defense for reliability before putting any trust in it.

My 10/22 was a jam-o-matic until I stopped using one particular brand of ammo and replaced the extractor with a better third-party one.
 
A 10/22 is a viable home defense weapon, if not the ideal one.

Keep it simple, don't go crazy accessorizing it if you're going to use it for HD. (Adding accessories can come later once you get something better suited for HD.) There are a few accessories that could be beneficial:

1. A clamp-on weapon light. Most HD situations occur at night and target ID is paramount.

2. Williams Firesight front sight. It's a fiber optic bead that captures ambient light and makes it much more visible. I would avoid a scope or even an inexpensive red dot sight for a defensive gun. A scope's magnification reduces your field of view and slows target acquisition. A cheap red dot make break, the battery may die, or you may forget to turn it on in a SD situation. A peep rear sight coupled with a Firesight bead up front will give you fast target acquisition but good precision as well.

3. RELIABLE 25 round mags. Generally, Ruger 10 rounders are the most reliable but Butler Creek Hot Lips and Steel Lips mags can be very reliable. You'll need to try them in your rifle. Don't rely on any mags until you've put a hundred rounds through them, though.

For SD ammo, avoid the cheap bulk pack stuff. It's often not reliable enough in either functioning the weapon and will have a greater number of duds. My first choice for .22 LR SD ammo would be CCI Mini Mag SOLIDS. .22 LR has marginal penetration so I wouldn't use hollow points. CCI Mini Mag ammo is very high quality. I've shot a lot of it, never had a malfunction in various semiauto .22s, and never had one that was a dud. Mini Mags are more expensive than the bulk packs, so use the latter for practice.
 
Yes 10/22 is a great HD weapon. Extremely accurate within 25 yards without any optics and you can easily nail the guy right in the forehead. And it certainly is strong enough to take down a man. I mean, you guys all read about that 5 yr old taking down a bear with a youth rifle, right? That's just a shorter rifle with 22. It's good enough for a 450lb bear, you can definitely take down a punk in your house.
 
Oh i forgot to mention. I'm a strong opponent of a shotgun for HD. I get that shotgun is a great weapon, but can you imagine cleaning up the mess afterwards? why go with the messy way when you can go with a cleaner way with just as reliable results.
 
If you decide a 10/22 isn't the ticket, get a shotgun before you get a 9mm. They are generally less expensive and more versatile (skeet, hunting, HD), not to mention more effective. But you may as well plan on getting them all eventually.;)
 
I would rather have a reliable 10/22 than a AR-15 for inside the house shooting. Heck yes...........If you want to use a 10/22...Go for it......(AR-15 muzzle blast is hellacious inside a house) I will stick with my M1 Carbine though.....;)
 
Get the Aquila 60-grain subsonic ammo. It is a real penetrator, for .22lr, and it is quiet. It is a short-range round because of the slower velocity, but for home defense it would be the ticket.
 
.22 is fine and you will recover from firing it indoors. I shudder to thing of ever firing anything more than a .22 rife indoors without hearing protection.
 
It'd be better than a sharp stick, but it would probably be the last of my long guns I would grab for a HD situation...

A couple advantages you'd have though is a fast rate of fire and virtually no recoil... so pull the trigger as fast as you can until the threat is eliminated.
 
Beats nothing, but you can get a good, used ex-cop shotgun purty cheap, they tend to have "low milage". I got an ex-police Mossberg 500 for under $200.00. That & Remington Low Recoil #4 Buck is my goblin repellent at the house.
 
As long as people can feel pain and understand when its time to retreat, any gun will do the job. Even an air rifle. Unless the attacker is psychotic, hopped up on drugs, or very, very drunk, any gun will do the job. Of course, an air gun is horribly indequet for HD/SD.

If you have small budget, like I am, there is definitely nothing wrong with a 10/22.
Hell, I don't even have a 10/22. I had $175 for a beginner rifle (this includes all the taxes and strings attached), and I bought a Marlin bolt-action becasue it fit my budget. And I can definitely tell you that a .22 round (even the subsonic ones) are not 'peashooter' rounds. I've found them going thru 1/8" steel at 25 yards, or thru several 2x4's at 50 yards.

.22lr is cheap and plentiful. Walmart sells bricks of 550 Federal High Velocity at 9.90$. The downside is a dud every 80-100 rounds. Other brands are slightly more expensive, at most no more than 19$ per brick of 525. Federal is what I usually use becasue its cheap. Others brand, duds are rare.

With a .22, first, its easier on your ears, especially indoors. Gunshots from a larger rifle or shotgun is super-amplified indoors or in small areas.
The second thing is that there is little chance of hitting your neighbors (other people in your house is something else).
And third, a larger magazine (if you can) plus a quick trigger finger makes up the lack of power with the large quantity of shots fired.

Low in recoil and cheap to practice with, a 10/22 is fine for HD/SD. However, if you do have the money, a shotgun (even a small caliber) or a handgun is better suited for the role. A larger caliber rifle is a poor choice because the chances of hitting your neighobrs or other people. I have an SKS. First, I'd defintely shatter my eardrum if I shot that indoors. Second, if I hit my attacker, it'll go right thru him, a wall and its out in the street. Adn third, if I missed, theres about 6 sheets of 3/8" wood and some fiberglass insulation between me and my neighbors.

If you do intend to use a 10/22 for SD/HD, load up on CCI Stinger and large magazine sizes. Stinger has the most power and no increase in recoil.
 
well as long as it is clean, well oiled, with the receiver being wiped down so it doesn't foul the ammo you should be good to go. Just don't use the cheap bulk packs.

Use something like the CCI stingers or such. I can put about 15 rounds downrange with my 10/22 as fast as I can get one well placed round off with my 12 Gauge. So for about the same amount of lead down range in the same amount of time till the next shot, it's not too shabby. Just make sure it runs well.

I see nothing wrong with it at all.
 
Very interesting topic. Wish I had time to read all of the comments.

Rob 87:

If you can find some public/private land (permission to use on private) just hang a tree branch just above some water in front of a 7-foot mud bank and trees behind it.
Take string or wire in order to hang a large, empty white Tropicana orange juice jug about a foot above the water. You have a fairly good idea where the bullets impact because of how the jug wobbles or rotates. Empty jugs give you instant feedback, even with my ancient .22 single-shot Savage. It works pretty well.:)
If you prefer a boring paper target, then ok.

The gun stores sometimes sell a new type of small orange or bright green targets which make it easier to spot each new round, compared to normal paper targets. The bullets reportedly make a larger hole or torn spot on these, better seen from a distance.

FMJ Mike:

Maybe you received this question from me weeks ago, about some .30 carbine rounds not autoloading into the chamber of my brand-new Kahr carbine. This happened with about 8 boxes of Rem. ammo since I bought it about 8 weeks ago. Out of each group of 4-six rounds,the bolt must be pulled back in order to hook the shell. The round sits there at an angle at the top of the magazine. Keep in mind, my entire background until recently is with my bolt-action .22.

The gun is in the store where I bought it. The gunsmith has had it for about 2 weeks with no word. Different people say it needs to be broken in or the mag oiled, maybe a new spring. All parts have been cleaned and oiled after each day of shooting, and nothing left in the magazine. Also, the experienced older gunsmith is an independent contractor. He only works there and locks up his workroom when gone. He wondered whether the gun needs 'a hotter load'. It is normal Rem. copper jacketed ammo, 110-grain. Shouldn't any normal short magazine almost always autoload with no hang-ups? The mag. came with the gun.
Thanks for any tips out there.
 
I used to be in with the ".22 is inadequate for self defense" crowd. . . then I bought a Ruger 10/22 and started shooting it. Yes, .22LR is an underpowered cartridge compared to almost anything else. But, it's still a little chunk of lead moving really, really fast. In less than three seconds I can turn a 10-round factory magazine into a group of about four or five inches at ten yards. If the Ruger was all I had for home defense, I definitely wouldn't turn my nose up at it. I'd feel even better about it with a RELIABLE high capacity magazine. Think of .22LR as time-release buck shot ;)
 
Want proof of the .22's power to injure seriously? Set a soda bottle out at 15 yards and shoot it with a HP .22, note what happens.

If all I had was the 10/22 I would trust my life to it. I got the Tactical Innovations mags for mine. They are adjustable and steel lipped and have worked flawlessly with only minor adjustment. I have 3 of them, one in the rifle and two in pouches in it's bag.

If you put enough of them into the BG it is the same as having shot them with a shotgun, multiple little holes in sensitive places.

All that being said I have my 9mm carbine (Kel-Tec Sub2000) by the bed because I have one and why not use a more powerful round since I have it. My back up is a 10/22 with a full 25 round mag in it, sitting ready in the closet.
 
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