.22 LR ammunition for 2-inch revolvers?

[TAROMAN]

If (hypothetically speaking, of course) a person chose to carry a 2" Model 34 as a PD weapon, is there any one brand/type of ammunition that would perform better from such a short barrel?

 

[Steve in Vermont]

I recently bought a .22 revolver (3") and was advised to try various brands/types of ammo to find what my gun liked. Never having owned a .22 revolver I was skeptical, shouldn't it like all ammo? Sure enough, they were right. My revolver likes the 36 grain Federal Bulk, which is a good thing since they are the most inexpensive I've found. So that's my advise to you.

 

[Swabby]

Personally, I would still carry a hyper-velocity round, regardless of barrel length, for PD duty. Start with CCI Stingers or Winchester Xpeditors. They are two pretty nasty little 22lr hollowpoints. The great thing about the 22lr is even the expensive rounds are cheap. You could spend the morning going around to your local gun shops, buying up a few different kinds, then spend the afternoon trying them out. Good luck.

 

[Dragon88]

North American Arms has a lot of ballistics data on their website. They produce tiny 22lr and 22 magnum revolvers, and show actually velocities from their super short barrels. While it doesn't directly correlate to a 2" 34, it might show you what various 22lr rounds do from small SD guns.

Ballistics

 

[Treeman]

Most people are shocked to discover how little they actually lose in a short barreled .22lr revolver compared to longer barrels. The science behind it involves case length and capacity and expansion ratio but the bottom line is that a "2inch" revolver has quite a bit of usable length in relationship to the little cartridge when cylinder length is factored in. Most "high velocity" .22s will break 1000fps from a snubby. The "hypervelocity" rounds do lose more than normal"HVs" compared to a longer barrel but they still get rather zippy. My personal preference with the .22lr for self defense is a 'solid' bullet. Specifically CCI Mini-Mags since they are a quality round which generally groups well in most guns and I have never had a misfire with Mini mags.

 

[filmit]

I have a model 34 and a chronograph and you will lose a lot of velocity. Stick with the Stingers.

 

[GatorFarmer]

Any premium offering that your gun likes. I would avoid bulk pack stuff for carry. Why? The vagaries of rimfire ignition are a problem to begin with compared to centerfire cartridges and there are simply more duds, hangfires, what not with the bulk pack ammo.

There's two schools of thought regarding .22 defensive ammo. One says to use Stingers or something akin to them - the might open up and make a nastier wound. The other theory is to use solids - if a bullet opens up, penetration might not be sufficient, .22 rounds sometimes tumble, et al other reasons.

I have a 3" Charter Pathfinder. I don't purchase ammunition specifically tailored to personal defense for it since that isn't something that I use it for. If for some reason it was all I had, I'd load it with some CCI Stingers that I have laying around. Not that I necessarily believe they're the best, but they do go bang reliably and I'm not sure how much difference there is going to be with various offerings in this caliber.

 

[Swabby]

I posted in another like thread about my choices here. I do a lot of small game hunting in the fall with my Remington 582. I know the barrel is almost 10X longer than a 2" M34, but when I use Hyper-Velocity hollowpoints on game, the tissue damage is massive. True a squirrel is not a human, and a human is not a squirrel, but they are both made up of tissue, bone and blood. And, for anyone who has never tried to skin one, a squirrel is a very tough little animal. I think if a bullet can get through both front shoulders of a squirrel, it could penetrate human ribs. The wound channels are very impressive for rounds like Stingers, Yellow Jackets, and Xpeditors. A wound channel that you can stick your thumb into is about as much as you could ask for out of a bullet that starts out at .22 in diameter. I can imagine they would cause quite a bit if blood loss in a human as well. It would definitely be a deterrent.

 

[pharman]

22 LR defense round

My personal choice for self-defense round in a 22 LR is the CCI Segmented Hollow Point, also known as "Quick-Shok." These are totally awesome. A blistering 1,640 fps and when they "hit" they break into 3 segments to create 3 devastating wound channels. I use them in my Walther P22, which I keep for my "house" gun. So essentially it is like hitting the perp with 30 separate pieces of lead. Totally awseome and it is easier on the eardrums than a larger caliber. Try one on a groundhog and see what happens. The groundhog "drops' right now. Hope this helps you...

 

[alwslate]

I have a 2" md 34 and a chronograph and I would use the brand of 40
grn solid that gave the highest velocity. In my gun this would be Fed.
Lightning.

 

[weedfarmer]

agree on, stay away from bulk have had bad luck with them

 

[ArchAngelCD]

While most people know about CCI Stingers and like them I feel there's a better choice. CCI also makes a Velocitor round which uses a 40gr bullet instead of a 32gr bullet like used in the Stinger.

The Stinger's 32gr bullet is rated @1640 fps
The Velocitor's 40gr bullet is rated @ 1435 fps.

I feel the heavier bullet will penetrate more when shot from a short barrel revolver or a rifle for that matter.

 

[one eye joe]

My personal choice for self-defense round in a 22 LR is the CCI Segmented Hollow Point, also known as "Quick-Shok." These are totally awesome. A blistering 1,640 fps and when they "hit" they break into 3 segments to create 3 devastating wound channels. I use them in my Walther P22, which I keep for my "house" gun. So essentially it is like hitting the perp with 30 separate pieces of lead. Totally awseome and it is easier on the eardrums than a larger caliber. Try one on a groundhog and see what happens. The groundhog "drops' right now. Hope this helps you...

I agree with you, pharman. These rounds may be difficult to find, however, and may not shoot accurately out of your weapon. Try several types of HOLLOWPOINT, HYPER-VELOCITY ammo until you find one that your weapon likes...

 

[Don CM]

quick shock is the way to go-from my kit gun there is no difference in group size-there is a difference on target-try shoting a small melon-which is human brain size!!!

 

[chief38]

Personally I would NEVER carry a.22 rimfire for self defense, unless that was the ONLY gun I had! A .22 is better than nothing, I suppose. That said, if I was restricted to carrying only a .22 I would carry Velocitor 40 grain ammo in it. It is about the hottest .22 rimfire load at a true 40 grain weight that I know of. Regardless of brand or style, eventually there will be a failure to fire with rimfire ammo, and I don't like that concept. To me carry ammo should have a center fire primer, but that is just my opinion.

Chief38

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Personally I would NEVER carry a.22 rimfire for self defense, unless that was the ONLY gun I had! A .22 is better than nothing, I suppose. That said, if I was restricted to carrying only a .22 I would carry Velocitor 40 grain ammo in it. It is about the hottest .22 rimfire load at a true 40 grain weight that I know of. Regardless of brand or style, eventually there will be a failure to fire with rimfire ammo, and I don't like that concept. To me carry ammo should have a center fire primer, but that is just my opinion.

Chief38

I'm glad someone else likes the Velocitor from CCI.

 

[vipermd]

REAL22lr velocities

[QUOTE=ArchAngelCD
The Stinger's 32gr bullet is rated @1640 fps
The Velocitor's 40gr bullet is rated @ 1435 fps.

According to to ballistics from NAA ( Thank You to Dragon88 ) :
The stinger's 32gr bullet ran @ 801 fps
The velocitor's 40gr bullet ran @ 767 fps these results are from multiple shots through 2 guns measured @ 8 ft with a 1 5/8" bbl. The stinger gave a mean of 1002 fps with multiple shots through 2 guns with a 4" bbl.
That gives you 52.24 fpe out of short bbl and 71.33 fpe out of 4". Better than fingernails. A baseball @45mph (66 fps) that weighs 5 ounce (2187.49 grains ) will give you 21.43 fpe

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I think the ammo will perform much better in a 2" M34 than a tiny little NAA .22LR revolver. Those numbers seem very low and it's hard to believe the Stingers lose half their reported velocity in a short barrel.

 

[housedp]

What a selection of revolvers ! Low noise/recoil. Cheap to shoot. Use shorts for practice , choose what you are comfortable with for carry. I have two of them and they are great.

 

[alwslate]

From my 2" md 34; Rem bulk HPs avg. 919 fps, Fed. bulk HPs avg 922
fps, CCI MM HPs avg 878 fps. Fed Lightning solids avg. 930 fps, CCI MM
solids avg. 891 fps.
Got a chance to chrono some Stingers yesterday in my 2" md.
34. Avg 1088 fps. A substantial increase in velocity over HV
HPs or solids but still an awfully small bullet compared to any
38 cal. slug.