.22 cal is best for self defense

[Outdoorsman1]

OP said..

I am new to the site, yes but I'm not new to shooting.

And...

People spend too much time shooting at bull's eyes and saying what good shots they are. If you can get that initial shot off perfect every time with your .45, more power to you, but you're nuts if you think you wouldn't miss in a real life situation. Follow-up shooting is more important in my book.

I say....Shooting and carrying for self defence are two entirely different things. Just because you are not new to shooting does not mean you are an authority in carrying for self defence.

And... Beleive it or not, there actually are people out there that ARE "good shots" with a high caliber handgun. And what makes you think that under a "real life situation" the stress involved would be less if you were shooting a .22 or a .45...??? (Stress = affecting ability to shoot acurately no matter what caliber).

"Follow up shooting is more important"... Maybe not "more" important but still important...

So, would you not prefer following up with a caliber PROVEN to have more STOPPING power..???

Personally I carry .40 Cal. and regularly practice "Double Tap"... (Just in case)...

Outdoorsman1

Outdoorsman1

 

[SouthernBoy]

For those who believe that the .22LR is an effective and viable caliber to use for self defense, by all means carry it. Then in the off chance you find it necessary to put it to use, you'll know whether or not you took the right decision and your questions, thoughts, and opinions will be answered.

 

[JamesB]

I carry my .40 everyday. There are a few places where it is to big/bulky to take with me. Or those rare occasions, I do have a .25 Barretta. I call it a great thing to have when you ain't got a gun. I would still really prefer my .40, but it beats the hell out of throwing rocks.

 

[Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D.]

Try this:

Draw and fire your normal carry gun while backing up from the target. Empty the whole mag.

Go to the target, measure the radius and multiply it by about 3 (stress factor).

Now do the same thing with your .22

Still feel good about your .45??



I know everyone is going to come back with practice practice practice blah blah blah. You will always be a better rapid fire shot with your .22.
If I'm going to shoot someone, I want to hit them. Penetration, expansion, stopping power means nothing if you miss.

Nothing wrong w/ the .22 if that is what works for you. You should always shoot what you are comfortable with and everyone shoots at a different skill level. With this in mind, there is nothing wrong with choosing that caliber *if* that is all you can be competent with.

I tried your exercise and yes, I still feel good about my .45 ACP (Glock 36). I got a similar grouping moving backwards and laterally at 20 feet w/ both my .45 and my Ruger .22 (granted, my groups did open up more w/ the .45). Quite honestly, I personally would rather send a 5" group w/ 6+1 rounds of .45 ACP under stressed rapid fire than a 3" group of 10 +1 rounds of .22LR. Not to get into "The Caliber Wars(TM)", but that's just me...

Respectfully, I submit that yes, you may be a tiny more accurate w/ the .22 but with the .45 (or other caliber) you are delivering more energy to the target in an area that is good enough for self defense. I've seen plenty of IDPA matches where I've seen the .45 ACP being launched w/ laser like accuracy at quite a rapid pace...

 

[FMJ 911]

All Bullets are deadly!

I really dislike it when people say: ".22's are so wimpy, get a .45.". NEVER UNDERESTIMATE ANY FIREARM, REGARDLESS OF CALIBER!!!

I'd say a .22 to the head would be as lethal as a .45 to the head, but a .45 has better stopping power if you hit anywhere else.

Get what you are comfortable with, and stick with it.

Weapons Technology is so vastly improved today, even "Wimpy" calibers pack serious punch!

 

[gunns]

Trying to remember how I was trained in the corp. Duck, Cover and shot placement.

 

[The Wolfhound]

Oh, to leap into the fray....

There are many fatalities from .22s every year. I believe that this is actually statistically accurate. It ignores the corresponding statistic that .22s are used in an exceptionally high percentage of shootings in general. This corresponds to the extremely high percentage of .22s in the total firearms numbers. Confusing kills with stops is not a good strategy for prolonging your life or those of your loved ones. Perhaps the high percentage of kills by .22s is related to the need to "shoot until empty" to stop the threat. Perhaps it is related to the low noise of the .22 not alerting the public to the shooting thus the victim is unattended longer. I will verify that .22s are known to bounce around inside a victim. I observed that personally in the 70s in the ER. A rib will deflect the round, especially once it has slowed down by passing through the body. One victim checked himself out of the ER against medical advice only to be checked into the morgue the next day. When I last saw him he had 4 known bullet wounds, only one was causing more than a bit of pain. Drawing conclusions from insufficient data sets leads to bad conclusions.

 

[1j9l9f0]

Okay, so I know this will carry some weight for both sides. I carry a Walter P22 for two reasons, one I am confident in it, and carry plenty of spare ammo, and two right now I cannot afford to carry anything else. Right now I am in that pursuit but its completley up to getting it done. So to those who say "Good Luck" to anyone who carries, I would rather carry a .22 then not carry at all. Also, I agree you have to be exseptionally good to hit hard targets but atleast you have something to protect yourself. I am active duty Marine and I am able to fire and manuever and if I got into a gun battle the objective is 1. End the threat, 2. Get the threat to leave. This is sent with every respect to real guns, with big bullets.

 

[SouthernBoy]

Okay, so I know this will carry some weight for both sides. I carry a Walter P22 for two reasons, one I am confident in it, and carry plenty of spare ammo, and two right now I cannot afford to carry anything else. Right now I am in that pursuit but its completley up to getting it done. So to those who say "Good Luck" to anyone who carries, I would rather carry a .22 then not carry at all. Also, I agree you have to be exseptionally good to hit hard targets but atleast you have something to protect yourself. I am active duty Marine and I am able to fire and manuever and if I got into a gun battle the objective is 1. End the threat, 2. Get the threat to leave. This is sent with every respect to real guns, with big bullets.

First, thank you for your service to our nation.

You can get a decent 9mm for the same price as a Walther P22. Granted, it's not going to be a premium gun but it works fine and is reliable. The Kel-Tec P11 has served many very well. Just a thought you might want to consider.

 

[1j9l9f0]

First, thank you for your service to our nation.

You can get a decent 9mm for the same price as a Walther P22. Granted, it's not going to be a premium gun but it works fine and is reliable. The Kel-Tec P11 has served many very well. Just a thought you might want to consider.

I got the p22 for $200 so that's why I got it. I will be working on getting a 1911 .45 or browning hipower next. Unless I can find a nice revolver.

Bad thing is I have a bunch of ar stuff to trade but no interested parties.

 

[SouthernBoy]

I got the p22 for $200 so that's why I got it. I will be working on getting a 1911 .45 or browning hipower next. Unless I can find a nice revolver.

Bad thing is I have a bunch of ar stuff to trade but no interested parties.

I bought a new Browning Hi-Power Mark III-S in 1989. (this'll make you sick) I paid $389 for it. It's had some tuning done by Northern Virginia Gun Works (Sandy Garrett) when it was still pretty new. Lightening of the trigger, a competition hammer, polished feed ramp, and smoothing out the mags and mag well so that magazines dropped free. This is one gun I will never sell or trade.