.22 For a Carry?

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  • PistolPastor

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    I've always been discouraged to carry a .22 by people saying it won't stop anything. I do have a Ruger LCR .22 to shoot down range because the ammo is cheap, it's really fun, and when I get super accurate with it, I'm going to upgrade to the .38. However, I was reading an article that recommended .22s as a carry because of the accuracy you can achieve easily with them and the speed that you can fire while maintaining that accuracy. I thought it was a compelling enough argument to open up the can of worms on here and see what people thought. Thoughts?
     

    possum_128

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    If using if for defense against mole then yeah. To protect yourself from two legged critters then use a bigger gun. A .22 may kill someone but more than likely they will kill you before they die.
     

    Cameramonkey

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    Unless you are elderly or weak and just cannot handle anything bigger, dont. Just dont. It is easy to shoot and makes holes in paper, but it is lacking in power to be a suitable primary weapon. (unless you just cant handle anything bigger)
    Nothing smaller than a 9 in general. And 380 only with the right ammo if you must.
     

    Ballstater98

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    My parent's locker drops cows for butchering with .22. Now, that's up close, standing still, and out of a rifle with shot placement. I want to stop a threat as quickly as possible and agree with the previous comments.
     

    BehindBlueI's

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    However, I was reading an article that recommended .22s as a carry because of the accuracy you can achieve easily with them and the speed that you can fire while maintaining that accuracy.... Thoughts?

    That someone who didn't know what they are talking about needed to sell an article. A .22 is, depending on the length of the stick, usually better than a sharp stick. However, rim fire is a poor choice for self defense. Just not enough damage to meat or bone.
     

    dvd1955

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    A 22 might drop a cow, but if somebody is amped up on drugs it might not even slow 'em down. A 9mm might slow 'em down enough to put a couple more rounds out.
     
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    I watched my grandfather shoot a raccoon out of a tree with 3 shots from a .22 and the dogs couldn't catch it before he was up another tree. I used to run traps with him in the late 70's and watched muskrat get pissed when you'd shoot them the first time. I equate that caliber to nothing more than a target practice round.
     

    brotherbill3

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    I'll go out on the limb and admit - I carried a 22 for several months - because it was the only pistol (revolver) I had and I couldn't afford a new one immediately.
    I soon upgraded to a 9mm. (sadly that revolver had to go along the way but it was only partially sentimental so ... oh well)

    Later - I had to get something to DEEP conceal - as in small enough to pocket carry AND NEVER be noticed; smaller than I could get in a 9mm - and $ was still a bit of a limitation.
    So I got a beretta 21A in 22 LR - I also did not want to worry about cost of ammo or to add "another caliber" to what I needed stock for SD and the appropriate level of practice.
    I carried that frequently; and for a while it become my primary - when I traded my "normal EDC" 9mm (glock 26) to get the wife a Glock 43
    which came with a 'do not leave the house without this' requirement - (she tends not to carry her much more liked 19 around, but carries this 24/7 when not home)

    Soon I got the opportunity to trade with a buddy for a CW380 that had become a safequeen (for him).

    SO _ and ONLY IMO - and FOR ME at the time ...
    Was I a bit and knowingly "undergunned" with the 22? YES,
    Was I going to fill an aggressor with holes prior to switching to fist and knives? (if needed, hopefully, YES)
    Was this still better than not having the 22? YUP. ...

    why other factor prompted the switch to the 380? finding the right gun; AND getting into reloading to "help" offset the cost of ammo.

    a good 22 carried is better than something NOT carried. I would not recommend it if you have other options ...
    - unless there are other limiting factors - your age, health, physical limits to operating and using a larger caliber, and a few others.
     

    Old Dog

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    I heard a dumbocrat say that the .22lr was a great danger cause it tumbles and bounces around in the human body and causes great damge. Is this not true???:n00b:
     

    AngryRooster

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    Rimfire is also not the most reliable type of ammo. For something self defense related you want reliability.

    Everyone says shot placement above all else, that's not entirely true and the 22 is a perfect example of that. You need to place your shots properly, but once it gets there it has to have enough mass and velocity to do the job.
     

    hog slayer

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    I carry a S&W 617 10 shot 22lr often when cutting timber as it is ideal for that environment. From time to time I will end up in public with that same firearm and am very cautious as I understand I am significantly handicapped should I need to use it.

    That's it. I'm not adding to the thread much.
     

    HoughMade

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    Oct 24, 2012
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    ...recommended .22s as a carry because of the accuracy you can achieve easily with them and the speed that you can fire while maintaining that accuracy...

    So more practicing with, say, a 9mm isn't a thing? I'm just a simple country boy, but that seems like the path to accuracy and follow-up shots when needed.

    Other advantages: Not much recoil. Better stopping. Reliable ignition. Reliable feeding.
     

    PistolPastor

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    Dec 18, 2017
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    So more practicing with, say, a 9mm isn't a thing? I'm just a simple country boy, but that seems like the path to accuracy and follow-up shots when needed.

    Other advantages: Not much recoil. Better stopping. Reliable ignition. Reliable feeding.

    I think the argument for what they were saying was with the lack of recoil it's "easier"
     

    Cameramonkey

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    And to follow up on BrotherBill, yes. A 22 is better than nothing. If thats all ya got, bring it! But dont carry it if you have other options.

    And as to the reliability factor of a 22, if I HAD to carry a rimfire, it would DEFINITELY ONLY be a revolver. Because when it doesnt go boom, Im already pulling the trigger for the next round regardless. I dont have to stop and rack a slide and go through malfunction procedures to get the gun back in the fight while a possibly pissed off assailant is advancing because that first round didnt incapacitate or even cause a psychological stop.
     

    STEEL CORE

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    I was young once and had a Jennings, and a Erma Excam PX-22. Fun toys back then.
    Carried them too but as I said I was young, and that was all "BG" (Before Glock).
     

    PistolPastor

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    So it sounds like my initial plans to keep a 9mm on me and then get good with the LCR .22 and upgrade it to a .38 for a secondary or a deeper conceal is the right way to go. I really like the size of 380s but I can't stand shooting them at all.
     

    BehindBlueI's

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    So it sounds like my initial plans to keep a 9mm on me and then get good with the LCR .22 and upgrade it to a .38 for a secondary or a deeper conceal is the right way to go. I really like the size of 380s but I can't stand shooting them at all.

    The trigger on the .22 LCR sucks...but if you do get good with it, it'll be a breeze to shoot the .38. The rimfire trigger is so much heavier, and needs to be for reliable ignition.

    .38 wadcutters are, per round, roughly 3x the cost of .22. They are pretty light recoil, though, and the LCR's original grip does a good job of taming recoil. I did a lot of testing of various ammos when I first got mine, and everything but 158gr full house magnums ranged from tolerable to pleasant. I carry PDX-1 .38+P in my .357 LCR.
     

    Coach

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    .22 is a bad idea for carry and/or home defense. The poor quality and reliability of the ammo makes it a bad idea. How many bad rounds of .22 have you come across in your life. A lot more than with center fire. The guns themselves are not reliable enough to be carry guns. You need boom, boom, boom from the EDC.

    The accurate shooting required for a .22 is still going to be tough. If you can hit the tear duct every time then it will be fine. Doing that on demand on the street will be tough. A full magazine in the chest will kill someone but not very fast and they can do a lot of shooting and stabbing in the mean time.

    I have seen many a steer of the 2000 pound variety dropped in my youth to butcher with a .22 rifle. I have also seen Grandpa chased to the fence when he missed the brain. Those follow up shots got a lot harder as well. The steer never had the ability to shoot back which was a plus. In addition, the bullet to the brain was a stun and the cutting of the throat was what often did the killing in this context.

    I have this question come up every time I teach the Ladies Guided Shoot at Parabellum. I have come to the conclusion that a .22 can be worse than carrying nothing, and especially for people that are not very capable of fighting. If I dump the gun into the criminal and it does not do its job our relationship just changed drastically. While they bleed out if they bleed out we are going to fight, if I am capable of fighting.
     

    billybob44

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    GREAT Post!!!

    .22 is a bad idea for carry and/or home defense. The poor quality and reliability of the ammo makes it a bad idea. How many bad rounds of .22 have you come across in your life. A lot more than with center fire. The guns themselves are not reliable enough to be carry guns. You need boom, boom, boom from the EDC.

    The accurate shooting required for a .22 is still going to be tough. If you can hit the tear duct every time then it will be fine. Doing that on demand on the street will be tough. A full magazine in the chest will kill someone but not very fast and they can do a lot of shooting and stabbing in the mean time.

    I have seen many a steer of the 2000 pound variety dropped in my youth to butcher with a .22 rifle. I have also seen Grandpa chased to the fence when he missed the brain. Those follow up shots got a lot harder as well. The steer never had the ability to shoot back which was a plus. In addition, the bullet to the brain was a stun and the cutting of the throat was what often did the killing in this context.

    I have this question come up every time I teach the Ladies Guided Shoot at Parabellum. I have come to the conclusion that a .22 can be worse than carrying nothing, and especially for people that are not very capable of fighting. If I dump the gun into the criminal and it does not do its job our relationship just changed drastically. While they bleed out if they bleed out we are going to fight, if I am capable of fighting.

    ^^^I don't think that it could have been said any better.. You KNOW the old saying about poking a Bear in the eye...Then you have a MAD Bear....THANKS Coach...Bill
     
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