[primer1]

Originally Posted by JonM

When dealing with self defense when you pull the trigger it should go boom every single time. Spend any time at all plinking with a 22lr and you will experience clicks instead of booms.

Rimfire priming systems have a terrible track record of spotty ignition. With a gun like a ruger mk series failure drill is fast and the only real issues are fail to fire due to faulty ammo. The click no boom is just not something i care to ever experience in a sd situation.

Zombies dont shoot back you got time for failure drills.

If all i have at hand is one of my 22lr i will use it but i try never to be in that situation.

If she's scared of a 357 or whatever else, she could not hit the target, have her eyes closed when shooting, drop the gun, or not shoot it at all and let the bg take it and use it on her. I would get her comfy with a .22 and later introduce something slightly larger. BTW, I've never had a .22 misfire, except when a semi auto was out of battery from being wimpy while letting action foward. And I've fired many thousands of them.

[ScottA]

Originally Posted by primer1

BTW, I've never had a .22 misfire, except when a semi auto was out of battery from being wimpy while letting action foward. And I've fired many thousands of them.

.22 semi-autos are notoriously finicky. I've experienced all kinds of misfires, misfeeds, etc with various .22's that I have shot.

Then there is my Smith model 17 .22 revolver. I've had that gun since about 1996. I have no idea how many rounds I have put through it. I think somewhere back in the far recesses of my memory, there may have been a few misfires where the firing pin clearly dented the round. But the overwhelming number of issues with any .22 round have been in semi's.

[JonM]

Some brands have different levels of reliability. While ive fired many many thousands of cci stingers through various 10/22 ive never had a single problem with them. Ive also fired many many remington bulk bullets and have failures as high as 10% in the same gun. Deep firing pin strikes no boom.

Rimfire is just not reliable enough a priming method.

Balistically speaking i dont think there is much south of 380acp i think really beats a 22lr in a handgun its just the reliability issue.

[pioneer461]

Originally Posted by canebrake

I find the 22lr best reserved for plinking and mafia hit men.

The Mafia hit-man thing is a myth.

A .22 LR will kill, of that there is no doubt. Any weapon can and will kill, under certain circumstances. Notice I said weapon, not necessarily firearm. There is a never-ending debate among knowledgeable gunners as to which caliber is "best" for "knock down power." "Knock down power" is largely another myth, but experience has shown that larger calibers tend to be more effective. While there is no "magic bullet" that will make a one-shot-stop, some seem to perform better than others. A 90 grain .380, or 147 grain 9mm might expand under ideal conditions, but a 200 grain .45 will never shrink, and the idea is to inflict as much traumatic tissue damage as possible in the shortest amount of time possible. -`

Is a .22 better than nothing? Yes, they are. The trouble is, with most uses of a .22 for self defense, they are not effective in stopping a large aggressive opponent. Sure, put a number of shots into a 200 pound, doped up criminal and he (or she) may eventually bleed out. The problem is, how much damage will they do during the several minutes it takes to loose consciousness due to blood loss? Basic physics tells us that a 40 grain bullet traveling at relatively low velocity will not penetrate sufficiently to take down a large aggressive attacker. Bigger is better, but there is no such thing as "best."

[kusterleXD]

I prefer my .45 for self defense but for my wife who isn't comfortable shooting large caliber weapons I would rather her have a .22 that she can shoot than nothing at all.

[ScottA]

Originally Posted by pioneer461

The Mafia hit-man thing is a myth.

A .22 LR will kill, of that there is no doubt. Any weapon can and will kill, under certain circumstances. Notice I said weapon, not necessarily firearm. There is a never-ending debate among knowledgeable gunners as to which caliber is "best" for "knock down power." "Knock down power" is largely another myth, but experience has shown that larger calibers tend to be more effective. While there is no "magic bullet" that will make a one-shot-stop, some seem to perform better than others. A 90 grain .380, or 147 grain 9mm might expand under ideal conditions, but a 200 grain .45 will never shrink, and the idea is to inflict as much traumatic tissue damage as possible in the shortest amount of time possible. -`

Is a .22 better than nothing? Yes, they are. The trouble is, with most uses of a .22 for self defense, they are not effective in stopping a large aggressive opponent. Sure, put a number of shots into a 200 pound, doped up criminal and he (or she) may eventually bleed out. The problem is, how much damage will they do during the several minutes it takes to loose consciousness due to blood loss? Basic physics tells us that a 40 grain bullet traveling at relatively low velocity will not penetrate sufficiently to take down a large aggressive attacker. Bigger is better, but there is no such thing as "best."

The picture that came to my mind was close range, from behind, at the base of the skull, into the medulla. A .22 would certainly be preferable under such "controlled" conditions. Much less to clean up.

[Shade]

Originally Posted by winds-of-change

I think if someone feels they can only handle a .22, then it should be a .22 that they have at bedside.

I, myself, would reach for my .357 revovler first and foremost.

I agree, .22 is better than a stick. My advice is get as large/powerful as
you can confortably handle.

I am 6'2" 300 lbs, and was a welder for a good part of my life. I was taught
in the Navy by a Marine Instructor (Gunny Coe) to shoot one handed, cause
that is how they taught it back then. I have shot .50 S&W, .454 Casul, and
.44 mag all one handed without issue. I am comfortable with that, you may be
or you may not be, that is for you to determine, not me.

I have no issue shooting any one of them. My got gun is a 1911 in .45 ACP.
I am very comfortable with it and thanks to the Navy and Gunny Coe I can
operate it in my sleep.

Originally Posted by primer1

If she's scared of a 357 or whatever else, she could not hit the target, have her eyes closed when shooting, drop the gun, or not shoot it at all and let the bg take it and use it on her. I would get her comfy with a .22 and later introduce something slightly larger. BTW, I've never had a .22 misfire, except when a semi auto was out of battery from being wimpy while letting action foward. And I've fired many thousands of them.

My wife has a .357 Magnum she practices with light .38 spl target loads in
.357 brass. The gun is loaded with .357 Mag HP or SD. She is comfortable
with that. She feels that semis are to complicated, she likes the simplicity of
her revolver, she is comfortable with that.

[pioneer461]

Originally Posted by ScottA

The picture that came to my mind was close range, from behind, at the base of the skull, into the medulla. A .22 would certainly be preferable under such "controlled" conditions. Much less to clean up.

Clean up is not a problem. What you suggest would probably be an effective method, if your aggressor is cooperative and will hold still while you set it up. Plus, if you are able to sneak up behind him / her and take out the central nervous system, it may be a bit difficult to justify as self defense.

When folks have to defend themselves, it is almost never how they envisioned it would be. At least that's been my experience. Your mileage may vary.

[kycol]

The CIA has issued many 22's fitted with silencers to their agents.

[primer1]

Anyone correct me if they know for sure... The Israeli special forces uses .22lr as standard issue?