"Would you want to be hit by it" Moronic question

[Mr. Ready]

In almost every discussion i've read about what rounds are appropriate/inadequate for self defense this question nearly always pops up, often from reputable contributors. No, i wouldn't want to be shot with a BB gun but that doesn't mean i'd trust it to stop a drug-crazed maniac.

Its an idiot question and totally invalid for a topic on self-defense. People who ask this need to stop asking or start carrying a slingshot because im sure they wouldn't want to be hit by it and by their logic that makes it adequate for self defence.

 

[larryh1108]

Then don't tell someone that their choice of caliber for CCW is too whimpy and will not do the job when facts are almost any caliber has killed many men over the years. If someone chooses to carry a .22 or .25 or even a .32 for self defense, it's their choice and their problem, not yours. That analogy usually surfaces after someone ridicules someone elses choice of caliber for carry.

 

[N003k]

Except...there's no hard and fast rule about what's adequate.

Ideally, we'd all be able to conceal, handle, and place rapid shots on target with 20mm vulcan cannons, which would stop any human aggressor I'd say.

However since that isn't happening anytime soon...if someone isn't comfortable with anything larger than a .22...well, better a .22" hole in someone trying to attack them than no hole at all. Everything is trade offs, if they're not comfortable with anything larger, who are we to tell them that their choice is poor.

Is someone with arthritis that can't handle a .32 comfortably foolish for using a .22 semi? No more than someone that can't handle a .45 comfortably using a 9mm...

 

[JERRY]

theres an awfull lota macho folks who put down the .22lr and .25acp in mini guns....but as stated, none want to stand in front of one.

i dont recall anybody stating those calibers were optimal but, often times all some folks can carry or shoot well.

 

[bluekouki86]

The only reason I carry a .45 is because they don't make a .46

 

[PoserHoser]

^^^ Actually they do .460 Rowland

 

[1hobie]

nevermind

 

[Furncliff]

^ You beat me to it.

 

[bluekouki86]

I guess you got me poserhoser....but I think the saying predates that caliber. Some states (oklahoma) limit you to .45 caliber weapons for ccw.

 

[orionengnr]

The OP is correct--it is a moronic argument. The same people usually say " a hit with a .22 is better than a miss with a .45" as if those were the only two options.

Use whatever you choose, or whatever you are competent with. But understand that this will be different for each of us.

And next time you ask what I want to be shot with, take into account that I am shooting back.

Actually they do .460 Rowland

As I'm sure you know, ".460" Rowland is a misnomer, as is ".44" Mag.

 

[Averageman]

We had a POW stagger in toward the perimeter with one of his buttocks about half missing and a two inch gash right up his back and a large chunk of his head missing.
I'm not sure what he was hit with, but that played hell with all of my theories about "Stopping Power."

 

[WALKERs210]

Stopping Power, I was told by a police officer about a man that was shot by 2 officers both were carrying 45ACP. This was back in the early 90's, and after both had emptied there mags they cuffed the man and he was taken to the hospital and lived. Several years ago a young man around 15-16 had been out squirrel hunting with a tube fed mag on a Marlin 22cal rifle. When he came into the house his dad told me the young man pulled the loading rod and dumped the rounds out, worked the action several time. Then he pulled the trigger and there was in fact a round in rifle, it went off and stuck his younger bother who was killed by the 22LR. What is the perfect stopping round, at times I think it is as much pure luck as to anything else. Ohh almost forgot the Title of post, NO I don't want to get hit by one, and I still have scars from 32calfragments that hit me in my neck and right shoulder. It hurt like the devil but never broke the shin. I keep a 18" Mossberg shotgun with buckshot for my home defense.

 

[Indifferent]

If I had to pick a round .25acp to the chest...
I did get shot from a high end pellet rifle in the stomach, it did penetrate but was easy to pull out. It hurt pretty good.

 

[Bill_Shelton]

I liked the old Star Trek mini-Phasers that not only froze and killed the bad guy in his tracks, but utterly vaporized him. Afterwards...No muss, no fuss. No reason to call the police or an ambulance. Everything else is just a clumsy and messy compromise.

But we do not live in the world of Star Trek, so we must choose our self-defense weapons with great forethought if they are to serve us well. Accordingly, everyone's needs are different and unique and should be respected, and I am heartened to see a lot of people on this board agree.

Thanks.

​

Rock-n-Roll!!!​

 

[ChaoSS]

The problem is that a defensive round has to be much more powerful than a round that is intended to simply kill, eventually. If you wanted to assassinate someone, and had the time to line up a shot, and could get close enough, a 22 would be perfectly adequate. I wouldn't want to get shot with one, there is a risk of dying, even if you end up at the hospital.

However, I think that a .22 is going to do a whole lot less damage, and is less likely to put someone down right away. The bigger the hole, the more fragments spreading out, the better chance of hitting a major artery. Also, the bigger the hole, the more fragments, the better chance of someone being temporarily incapacitated simply by the shock.


So yes, a .22 is better than nothing, but it is perfectly legitimate to say that you wouldn't consider it an adequate defensive round.

 

[481]

I agree with the OP. The "If it is unacceptable for SD, would you allow yourself to be hit with it?" argument is pretty nonsensical.

There are a lot of things that I wouldn't wanna be hit with like doggie poo, cat urine, spit, or medical waste, but I wouldn't use them for SD either.

 

[TAKtical]

If you do your homework and look into penetration, velocity, etc. and you are happy with the round you carry, dont worry about what anyone else says. I carry combat calibers because I have no issue concealing or firing full sized pistols. If you need to carry a pocket sized 22, at least you are carrying something. That being said, crazy things happen. Some guy recently got shot in the face and neck 6 times with a .38 and the police found him in his car trying to drive away. All you can do is pray for the best and prepare for the rest.

 

[mrvco]

.22LR or Bear Spray?

 

[Agsalaska]

The minimum requirement for an SD weapon is the ability to use it in neutralizing a threat. For most on this board we think it is a gun. For most people in the Unites States it would be mace, bear spray, or a stun gun.

 

[BigBore44]

The "best" is the one you are the most accurate with. Bullet diameter and weight mean nothing if you aren't hitting your target. I carry the .45 because I am accurate with it. And it is the best SD round....for me. But some day my wrists may become weak and I may have to reduce that to a 22 mag. BG is still gonna have holes in him. Doesn't matter the caliber. If you walk away from the engagement unharmed, the weapon did its job adequately.

 

[CheckFire]

Just rhetorical.. if the original question is 'moronic' and an 'idiot question', then why did someone ask it, and why is anyone trying to answer it? {Again}

 

[okiewita40]

I don't want to get shot at all. But reguardless of what anyone carries. The one thing to remember is shot placement trumps all other things.

 

[breakingcontact]

Don't think throwing around "idiot" or "idiotic" is productive.

It is however an all too common refrain, "I wouldn't want to be hit by one".

 

[Mr. Ready]

If you do your homework and look into penetration, velocity, etc. and you are happy with the round you carry, dont worry about what anyone else says. I carry combat calibers because I have no issue concealing or firing full sized pistols. If you need to carry a pocket sized 22, at least you are carrying something. That being said, crazy things happen. Some guy recently got shot in the face and neck 6 times with a .38 and the police found him in his car trying to drive away. All you can do is pray for the best and prepare for the rest.

Some guy huh? I think it was my uncles ex-wifes bothers sons best friends cousins dads coworkers doctors wifes nieces far removed cousin

 

[mljdeckard]

I not only concur with the OP, I have been saying it for years. I think, a better question than; "Would you want to be hit by one?" would be, "Let's say you are going to be shot, and you are allowed to pick from three rounds. a .25 ACP, a 124 gr FMJ 9mm, and a 230 gr .45 HST. Which one would you choose?"

All handguns suck. The reason we spend so much time and money developing better bullets is because you are asking them to do something they can't do. (Reliably stop an attacker with one shot.) In choosing inferior pistol cartridges, it's like saying; "I know that parachutes are terrible options to have to use in an emergency, but it doesn't matter which one you use because any parachute is still a parachute. Get the used one with the patches that's a lot smaller and easier to carry around."