My wife bought a snub 22 revolver 1.78" barrel. I have no bloody idea what is considered the best SD ammo out there. Googleing just presents myriad so called experts who all have different answers & thoughts & I'm just plain stumped.
If the only revolver you had was a snub 22, what would you want to trust to do the best job for you. Please include the weight & type of bullet you'd use. Remember, this is for your wife/GF/sister etc. All answers are welcome.

My wife has very bad arthritis so her home defense gun is a Model 18 revolver. She cant pull the trigger double action but can thumb cock it and shoot. She is VERY accurate with it out to 15 yards or so... routinely hits clay pigeons at that distance all day long.

I tried several different rounds but settled on the Winchester Varmint HE with the segmenting hollow point. the testing I have done on milk jugs full of water and wet news print lead me to believe that one or two of those in the chest will stop all but the most determined intruder.

If I was relying on a 22lr for SD, I would go with Remington Viper ammo.

I occasionally carry a 22lr, and I load it with CCI Velocitor. Alternatively, MiniMag solids.

+1 on the Velocitor.

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USN Submarine Service '66-'71

CCI has Mini-mags and Stingers.

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Because of the metric system?

If it were me, I would go with a CCI mini-mag solid (or similar round) for penetration. As a hunter I use HP rounds on small game and in that role they work well but did not provide the penetration that I would want in a defensive round. I've typically had them stop after approximately 5" of penetration. In one instance I used them to administer a coup de grace on a deer. An errant shot to neck muscle penetrated less than 2". I'll grant that at snub nose velocities a HP is less likely to expand and limit penetration but if that the case, why chose a HP? The hypervelocity rounds out of a handgun do wonders on snakes but again, limit penetration on larger body mass.

YMMV , just my observations.

Velocitors are 10 percent heavier and 14 percent faster. They supposedly use GDHP tech. I would not expect expansion from my 43c. But heavier and faster is heavier and faster.

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Certified Curmudgeon

I keep cci sgb, small game bullet, for my M63 4". I prefer to go for penetration. Also cci minimag solids.

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Well done > well said

CCI Mini-Mag High Velocity 22 Long Rifle 40 Gr Copper Plated RN

CCI Stinger 22 Long Rifle Ammo 32 Grain Copper Plated HP

CCI Mini-Mag 22 Long Rifle Ammo 36 Grain PLHP

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Ad Astra Per Aspera

It's not so much the type of .22 ammo as it is bullet placement. To quote Jeff Cooper: "Shoot for the eyeballs."

John

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

Right now I am trying out CCI Copper 1850FPS

Ammo Review: CCI COPPER-22, the Fastest .22 LR Ever - The Truth About Guns

American Rifleman | Tested: CCI Copper-22 Ammunition

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It is the Indian not the arrow

Agreed. Shoot the most accurate solid you can find. The eye socket is a small target.

I would honestly switch them to a .38 special loaded with low recoil, standard pressure ammunition.

tried that & it was a complete total bust. She has slight nerve damage to finger tips. thanks for the suggestion

From what I've reads far, the CCI ammo seems to be an overwhelming choice. The only one I don't have is this frangible one. I'll try them all out with my wife & see which one works best for her.
Thanks everyone.

I’d just use standard velocity solids.

I’ve never found the higher velocity or theoretically expanding bullets to perform better (frequently they don’t perform as well) than standard velocity ammo on living beasties when fired from a handgun.

How so?

My mother(74) and my grandmother(91) can manage low recoiling standard pressure .38 special in the context of civilian self-defense shooting. Both have arthritic hands and my grandmother has some nerve issues as well.

Winchester makes a Super-X load in a 40 grain copper-plated hollow point that is rated at about 1,400 feet-per-second out of a rifle.
Should do around 1,000 fps or so out of a short barrel.
Comes in 100 round plastic boxes.
Don't know if some of the special frangibles do anything better than the Winchester Super-X at lower pistol velocities, and they cost more, and often sacrifice bullet weight.
With .22 LR it's all about shot placement and penetration for self-defense work. Expansion is great if it does not hinder penetration too much.

Don't let anyone tell you that a .22 is useless for defense because it does so little damage.
I was shot with one ( CCI 37 or 40 grain hollow point Mini-Mag ) by accident 3 years ago with a little Taurus pop-up barrelled pistol close-up ( about 4 inches ) and it's no fun.
I suspect a standard velocity round nose load of any kind would work well enough too.

Certainly lots of opinion above.
I have a SW317 .22LR snub which is basically a ***. It may be able to get through one cylinder, maybe not (aluminum cylinder swells). I would strongly recommend taking the revolver and potential cartridges for a good shakedown before trusting.

On ammo, the reason to test is I found dramatically different performance based on .22 cartridges. Aguila 60gr sounds impressive, but would tumble at five yards. Tumbling sounds good, but might get me five inches of penetration. It also shoots three plus inches off from POA at five yards.

Best POA in my particular 317 is from high velocity 40gr +/- cartridges. Aguila Interceptors and MiniMags both seem generally accurate as well as shot close to POA. I decided they would be my chose for personal defense based on POA and likely penetration, but I have little faith in .22LR based on the overall rimfire reliability. cCI MiniMags have been pretty reliable to light my first, but have gotten even a dud there.

Also, I put a significant amount of credence in Greg Ellifritz’s, cop/firearms trainer, opinion on J Frame .22s. I believe he carries SW317 as a backup personally as well as a deeply concealed concert gun. Greg also has a background of thinking how to accommodate all sorts of shooters, including those at certain deficits.

He had a great story about a deadly gentleman of sorts - Real World .22s for Self Defense | Active Response Training

There are other good .22 revolver stories on the Active Response site.

The lowest bullet weight fastest hollow point for the most energy deposit and stopping power. Something like the Stinger loads or Velocitaors.

CCI Mini-Mag High Velocity 22 Long Rifle 40 Gr Copper Plated RN

This would be my choice as well.

I feel ya, my wife has a similar condition and cannot or will not shoot anything with more recoil than a .22 so I have played with all different manner of .22 trying to give her any edge I can find

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It is the Indian not the arrow

+2 on the Velocitor....... Could she use a S&W M&P Compact for a rapid 3-4 round dump???

Well, without over analyzing it, 22's are IMHO very underestimated. Without getting into it too much there are a handful of well known cases of 22's used and people ended up severely injured & killed.

I would suggest using at least a high velocity 40gr solid lead bullet such as Federal Automatch, Remington 22 Thunderbolt, Winchester Super X, hyper velocity, CCI Stinger, Aguila extra high velocity. In other words most quality 22's that are at least 1270fps or more.

40 grain solid bullet high velocity because I am concerned with penetration. Don't expect one shot stops. A bullet wound may discourage the perpetrator, or not. Keep shooting until aggressive activity stops.

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Made it, Ma! Top of the world!

I have owned at least a dozen .22LR revolvers (and probably that many semi-autos as well). Without exception each one has been sensitive to ammunition. The most common problem has been failure to fire with certain ammo brands in certain guns, and what works quite well in one is likely to fail in another. Best suggestion I can offer is to purchase a couple of boxes of standard or premium .22LR ammo by different makers and test fire those in the revolver. Any type that won't provide 50 consequtive "bangs", extract and eject cleanly, etc, should be eliminated. Even after finding one brand and type that seems to work flawlessly I would purchase 200 rounds more and run that through before I consider the testing complete.

Then, as you work your way through one supply don't arbitrarily assume that another production lot of the same ammo will perform to the same standard. Probably the only constant in .22 rimfire ammo production is constant change. You will have to evaluate each new lot of ammo to make sure it is up to snuff before relying upon it for defensive use.

Out of a 1-7/8" barrel I doubt that there will be any huge differences in velocity, and I doubt that even the most high-tech HP ammo will provide consistent terminal performance. I would worry more about absolute reliability than I would concern myself with advertised performance.

I have personal knowledge of two one-shot human kills with a .22 pistol, but I have no idea what ammunition was used. As both shootings were quite a few years ago, I'd guess they were 40 grain solids. One was a head shot, one was a chest shot. I'd think any HV 40 grain solid bullet would be adequate. The Israeli Mossad hit teams used a shooter with a .22 pistol, that guy usually emptied his gun into the target, just to make sure.

MOSSAD took care of a lot of bad actors with suppressed .22s, most assuredly shooting subsonic solids. I wouldn't overthink ammo choice too much. Any ~40gr solid should do fine.

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Psalm 27:2

I didn't even read to the bottom of the thread when I made my comment. Funny.

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Psalm 27:2

Another vote for CCI Velocitor.

I love MiniMags!
But you guys have convinced me to try the Velocitors.
It’s a given for Revolvers, but I’m interested in how they will function in my small autos- Beretta 21a, PPKs, Beretta 70s.

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

Bought 5 boxes of Velocitors today. Will try them out when they arrive.
Also picked up 2 other CCI 22 lr types. Will do my own report back to
The Forum afterwards.

One of my wife's 22lr revolver is always kept loaded with Velocitor too. I have noticed Velocitor is not always reliable in autos so I would use CCI Minimag solid in auto. IMHO CCI Minimag solid is the most reliable and in many cases the most accurate 22lr ammo.

I remember years ago someone asked Bill Jordan if a .22 is adequate
for defense. He answered with the exception of those killed in wars,
there have been more folks killed with a .22 than any other caliber.

I used to favor CCI's Stingers in my .22, but I have experienced some
reliability issues. I agree with Lobo. You need to throroughly test the
ammo you choose to be sure it is reliable in your gun.

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In Omnia Paratus

Each and every person who is or knows someone who is limited to a .22 for any reason should go back and read LoboGunLeather's reply until the meaning of it is darned near part of your DNA.

.22 rimfire ammo tends to be finicky. The first criterion to meet is ABSOLUTE reliability in the firearm at issue. The next will be adequate penetration. I would probably be more inclined to solids, but I suspect in reality, most .22s are going to be inadequate for penetration if a tougher part of the body is hit. The eyeball is a decent, but unrealistic target. Give serious thought to the throat/neck, as the blood vessels and spine are relatively less protected there. Remember that handgun rounds suck, and that anyone who expects a problem they can't avoid and not taking a rifle is not very smart. What we have here is an ADA exception to that rule - it seems to be the best she can do. Therefore, the education about what is important is even more vital than usual.

Hopefully she has a revolver with decent capacity, so she can do as much damage as possible as fast as possible. Use a 3x5 card as a training target, and put right above a large grocery bag, with a paper plate above the 3x5. This will give a decent simulation of the torso, head, and neck ... and then have her practice until she is reliable and capable at 5 yards. If she gets there, consider 10.

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NHI, 10-8.

I would choose any heavy solid--- be it high vel or standard vel really does not make as much of a difference as one would think. I was hit with a low vel target load made by Remington for the military. I was 22 at the time and weighed 200#. The shot entered under my left arm and wound up high in my neck facing the opposite direction from its entry--thus it tumbled. The bullet traveled about 14 inches. I was knocked down with great authority and it took me about 15-20 seconds to figure out what happened--plenty of time for repeat shots if needed. Hollow points will not give the needed penetration required by a small bullet to be effective. The gun was a 2" High Standard Sentinel revolver.

I finally got my wife to the range today and she shot Aguila 40 gr. interceptors 7 Sellior & Bellot every variation of CCI ammo.

Okay. Here's what happened with my wife's Ruger LCR 22lr. She shot "CCI Velocitor" & found that it was absolutely the cleanest & best ammo with no misfires. The Aguila & S&B ammo was dirty & she had misfires. I just spent 1/2 hour cleaning her revolver. Glad my friends here & on another forum told me the each LCR reacted differently to different ammo.
Thanks everyone. We both appreciate all of the advice.

I got to the party late but I would have suggested the CCI Velocitor too. I like the fact it's a 40gr projectile and a stated velocity of 1435 fps from a rifle. Someone above mentioned the bullet has GDHP tech in the bullet and it does. I know many shooters like the Stingers because they are faster but the bullet is also lighter @32gr. Additionally, I have never found the Stinger ammo to be as accurate as the Velocitor ammo.

If your wife goes with the Velocitor ammo I feel she made a very good choice.

Just a note, there are speedloaders available for .22 revolvers so you might want to look them up. There are others brands but here is one link from Ruger.
LCR® and SP101® 22 Caliber Speed Loader-ShopRuger

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Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

I'm not much in favor of a .22LR for us for self defense, but if you (or your Wife) must, then I'd use the CCI Velocitor because they are 40 grains and CCI is IMHO the best and most reliable Rimfire ammo available. While the Stingers are faster they are also lighter (too light for my liking).

I found a great Speedloader called Speed Beez for the & shot Ruger
LCR . Bought 2 for her & got them today. Works super. I also use them
With my EAA WINDICATOR 6 shot 357 & my 686+
7 shot 357 mag. Great product & sure beats twisting
Like the old one do.

When I faced this decision I came up with RP Viper, a truncated cone (SWC style) hyper velocity after a number of tests. I couldn't count on expansion in a short barrel, so I elected for better penetration, with the advantage of that SWC profile.

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Merle, retired
western PA

Not trying to belittle your choice, but I'd be concerned about too shallow penetration from those small fragments. Gel tests I have seen indicate they are devastating, for a short distance, but not so good about getting in deep. Could be a problem with large individuals, or heavy clothing.....

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Merle, retired
western PA

If not Velocitors I would try Winchester 42 Max Dynapoints . They are a 42 grain Bullet at 1300+FPS for a rated muzzle energy of 162ft/lbs. for MY guns I’d try both in whatever medium I could find (ballistic gel, water,) whatever penetrated MORE is what I’d load. If my loved ones would only practice with a .22, that’s what they would get. Better than a 38 never shot. I’d like a 8 shot 11 oz Smith my self.

Be better off and more likely to use a can of OC pepper spray. Stuff is pretty wicked

My decision on the ammo would depend on the handgun used for self-defense.

If it was a revolver I would go with CCI Velocitor as they are the fastest 40gr 22lr ammo I've chronoed so they would have the most energy. Down side to Velocitor is that they are not always reliable in pistols. I have a Ruger MK II, Beretta 21 and a BERSA Thunder 22lr that will occasionally fail to feed reliability.

If it was a pistol I would go with CCI Minimag Solids as they are the most reliable 22lr ammo I have used in pistols. I have yet to see a 22lr pistol have feed reliability issues with Minimag solids. In addition they have decent velocity and solid bullet should give good penetration.

I would be giving the bad guy a face full of Velocitors rather than targeting body mass if all I had for SD was .22LR. Train for the headshot with a focus of nose and eyes. I like the 2"X1.5" post-its on a 3X5 card.

I like Eley Force (42 gr HV), CCI Small Game (40 gr Flat Nose) and Federal HV Target (40 gr RN). My NAA Mini has Eley Force in my pocket right now is loaded with Eley Force.

Worth repeating, you don't have ammunition related failures with a revolver.

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Certified Curmudgeon