What is the "wimpiest" handgun you would carry for SD?

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Astra Cub 22 short is smallest .I had a NAA but didn't like it to hard to hold on to and to slow shooting . 22LR was OK to carry. I felt 22 Mag was waste of money. More noise and recoil than improvement over 22LR.

Most time I have a KelTec 380 on me.
 
.22 Long Rifle of course.
Except, in the REAL WORLD, the .22 LR turns out to be not so wimpy at all...just review the video of the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan...the shooter used a SNUB barrel .22 LR!
Don't EVER kid yourself...despite what legions of armchair, internet experts will tell you, a SINGLE HIT from a .22 LR is capable of ending a human life...or putting said human in a wheelchair for life...
 
I will carry any caliber, if I can have perfect shot placement with it. I feel a solid hit, lets say in the head, is better than a .38 Special that goes through a shoulder. That said, a solid hit with a .38 Special, is so much better.
I carry a 9mmP pocket pistol. I can do head shots easily at 7 meters, while not under pressure of an attack. But then again, if ever it might be in for a repair, I will not feel unarmed by carrying my .22LR target pistol with a 6'' barrel. I can shoot 10X better with it than with my pocket 9mm. Only thing that would bother me about it is not the lack of firepower, but rather the reliability factor. .22LR semi autos tend to malfunction much more than center fire semi autos. Well mine does. FTE, FTF, all of those things you don't need in a defensive weapon.

If recoil is not a problem, why would you want to carry smaller than 9mm?
 
So far the thread has been pretty civil. These threads usually turn into its got to start with a four and hold 15 rounds or its not a gun.

Calibers I own go from a .22LR to a .45 Long Colt. Today, I'm carrying a .44 Special - just because I want too. Most days, I carry an NAA Black Widow in .22 magnum.
 
I want to thank everyone for keeping this "High road" and not starting a flame war.
I was just curious what the minimum was for everyone.

I forgot in the OP, but I have used .22LR for SD, but for small nasties around the place.
 
A .22 short NAA mini revolver.

.22s bounce around inside the body and basically scramble internal organs into liquid. Bigger bullets like 9mm and .45 just go straight through usually doing little damage.

At least that's what the internet taught me.
 
Hometeached1 said:
Just wondering what is everyone's minimum for SD.
Mine is a S&W 642 or SIG P232.
Click to expand...

Self-defense is a pretty serious task, so it is important to carry enough gun. I'd go with nothing less than a 9mm.
 
Smallest caliber I carry is my Glock 42 in .380, and that's only if I'm going up the road to the local Kwik Mart in a pair of sweats. Otherwise it's generally a Glock 30S with a pair of jeans.
 
I'd rather have a .22 than nothing, but for me it's the 380 ACP. They're about as powerful as it gets in a small reliable pocket gun. I don't particularly care for the cartridge in and of itself, but for the size, weight and capacity I think they're about as handy as it gets.

I have a Kahr CW380 and it's been great, very accurate and recoil is easy for such a small gun. I like it much better than the previous LCPs I owned, it's just got better features and is better overall in quality.
 
I guess it depends. Normally a commander size 1911. Quick trip to the store I drop my Davis p32 in my pocket. In the woods is a .357 or my .41 mag.
 
.380 ACP (9mm Kurz). Specifically a Ruger LCP. Prior to that it was a Kel-Tec P32. The LCP fits in the same holster.
 
I have a NAA in .22 short. I carry it from time to time. I much prefer my .22LR with Stingers. I have several .22 magnums, which usually get left in the safe..

Then there are my .25 acp's. The Beretta is the only one reliable.

Of course, I like to back up these powerhouse loads with either a .38 or a .45.
 
Wimpiest would hafta be my beretta minx in .22short, it just plain works, eats anything I feed it, and I can shoot it well. The lack of recoil makes for 7 well placed shots in a pretty good hurry.

That being said I usually carry something .357 and up
 
For me, it's more ammunition dependent due to muzzle energy.

What I would consider carrying - Glock 26 with +P 115/124 gr JHP ammunition.

What I feel more comfortable carrying - Glock 27 with 165 gr JHP ammunition.

YMMV
 
If it doesn't start with a "4" and ends with a "5" than it's not getting carried.

I trust my life with ultimate stopping power.

All other calibers are inferior.
 
The caliber I'm carrying might stop me from voluntarily stepping in and playing hero if some stranger's life was in imminent danger. But if me or mine were in imminent danger, I wouldn't hesitate to use a 22 or a 25 or w/e I had available. Even if the other team is using 44 magnums and ninja swords, a 22 is better than nothing. I'd rather come up with the wrong end of the stick than to not even try.

Not saying a 22 can't stop a fight with one shot, but if you can even put up some kind of resistance you might be able to buy enough time to give the other guy a chance to change his mind. And the longer you can put up resistance, the more chances you give him. Even if you can't stop him immediately, and he puts some new holes in you, he might decide to temporarily make a little distance between himself and the wrong end of a 22, or even leave while he's ahead rather than finishing what he started. Especially if someone else is likely to have heard the noise. The faster you can get him to leave, the sooner you can call an ambulance. If you're lying there with nothing, he can stop and make coffee while deciding whether to stomp your head in or put one behind your ear, and whether he's going to do that before or after he rapes and eats your children. A good hit with a 22 will also greatly increase the chances of the other guy getting caught, even if it does you no good in your lifetime.

Would I voluntarily carry a 22? Sure I can see slipping a .22 into a pocket rather than nothing. Maybe something made my NAA or Walther or whatnot. But if I was going to go through the trouble of belting up a holster and I plan to wear typical clothing, I don't see how I wouldn't go with at least a 380. The P3AT/LCP makes it too easy.

Not that a P3AT will make me any more confident in stopping power. I imagine if at any time I were to need to draw a gun in SD, I would wish I had a 10mm. I just don't think my need for drawing a gun is very likely, and I think 380 has a slightly better chance than 22LR of not sucking.
 
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Well I carry a J Frame as an edc and wouldn't really call it "wimpy" especially loaded with Gold dots... on some occasion' ive slid a Phoenix .22 in my pocket just because ...
 
Cooldill said:
If it doesn't start with a "4" and ends with a "5" than it's not getting carried.

I trust my life with ultimate stopping power.

All other calibers are inferior.
Click to expand...

Lol, nice impression of...

Oh wait, never mind :eek:


I carried a 22lr LCR for a while. I'm carrying same in 38 at the moment. There is/was logic to the choice:

-originally carried a G19 for a few years and was muscular enough to conceal it in T shirts

-took some Shivworks classes, size and strength weren't relevant if I gassed out, so I started doing more cardio... Also had to cut back on bodybuilding hobby due to busy self employment lifestyle

-summer rolled around and suddenly the g19 wouldn't conceal, sure I could have gotten a single stack 9mm but for various reasons a revolver was a better choice (round butt conceals better for me than a squarish one)

-didn't own any 38, ammo shortage was at its worst, did own a few thousand 22lr

-purchased 22lr LCR and got some training to get proficient with the gun and be able to actually conceal something, anything, in summer

-once 38 became more readily available for purchase I got the same gun in 38 and the 22lr version makes a great teaching gun and one I can recommend to people who don't have as much to spend on practice ammo or who are recoil averse.


I will keep it brief but my view on 22lr is:

-judging by most people's targets at the range they'd be well served by a more shootable caliber since they aren't getting good hits

-comparing good hits with a 22 to good hits with a larger defensive caliber I believe the speed of hits with the 22 in many cases makes up for the smaller wound channel. Penetration isn't great but it isn't that bad either.

-performance with intermediate barriers is probably very poor which is one of the main reasons I chose to stop carrying it.

-whenever I hear 22lr being bashed as a defensive caliber in a broad brush stroke way I don't necessarily think it is being under rated but I do think those people over rate the bigger pistol calibers quite a bit
 
The answers being given have now degenerated to the point of silliness if not outright pot stirring. This one is done.
 
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