What is the smallest caliber you trust to protect yourself?


My personal favorite defense gun has always been a Beretta Jetfire in 22 short.

Over all the years I've been hiking I never leave without it in my pocket. Of course we all know too the first rule when hiking in the wilderness is to use the "Buddy System". For those of you who may be unfamiliar with this it means you NEVER hike alone, you bring a friend or companion, even an in-law, that way if something happens there is someone to go get help.

I remember one time hiking with my brother-in-law in northern Alberta . Out of nowhere came this huge brown bear and man was she mad. We must have been near one of her cubs.

Anyway, if I had not had my little Jetfire I'd sure not be here today.

Just one shot to my brother-in-law's knee cap and I was able to escape by just walking at a brisk pace.

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Shoot fast & live long
Warren

My personal minimums are .38 Special in a revolver, 9mm in a semi-auto.

However, I'd prefer .357 Magnum or .45 ACP if I really thought it was necessary.

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'Merica!

...I suppose it really depends on the size of the brother in law.....

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Dum vivimus Vivamas

I'd say a .38 spl +P in a M60 at the house and a .40 in a 4006 at the farm, although I've recently picked up a few .45 ACP autos. For all around home protection I still defer to my Benelli M2 with a full choke and 000 buck!

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Isaiah 55:8-9
Phil. 4:13

Ahhh guys, this was humor i.e. a joke, a "put on"? Ahh forget it, just don't leave home with anything smaller then a .900 magnum.

380 using Hornady Crisitcal Defense ammo.

Good point, but you could have saved a round by just tripping him...haha
My personal minimum for protection purposes is a .40 s&w.
But i know alot of guys who carry .22

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They hold no Quarter

Taurus "The Judge" 3" barrel, loaded full with Winchester PDXI .410 Defender !



Ernie

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S&W .500 Magnums RULE !

22mag with the new pd loads. otherwise 380 at minimum

.22LR with Aguila Interceptors, Aguila Super Max Hyper Velocity, or Winchester fragmenting Varmint 3/1 loads

Reminds me of the walking dead episode, sort of.

I carry a Bodyguard 380. This is the smallest I'll go and usually only when I can't conceal a .40

I sometimes carry my Beretta Tomcat in .32 loaded with Hornady Hollow Points. I would not want to get into a fire fight with 3 guys with AR's, but I would trust it in a one-on-one with your general thug.

My normal carry is a 9mm at work and .38 while out.
I might start to carry the 1911 though.

Ah, the old mantra, "I don't have to outrun the bear. I only have to outrun you."

My Ruger LCP .380

i guess for me it would depend on how good a shot i was. those who are excellent shots can get away with smaller calibers and still "kill" easily with head/heart shots. a larger caliber helps make up for less than stellar accuracy by inflicting more shock trauma. IMO. are you the tip of the sword? or are you the battle axe?

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" what would God think?"

I guess I must be the tip of the sword - my Ex-wife was a Battle Ax!!

.380 with Corbon DPX is smallest I feel comfortable with. My Sig P232 feeds those without the smallest hiccup and is scary accurate.


Pete

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Don't tread on me

I feel that even a 22 can be deadly when in the hands of someone trained to use it properly but my personal choice is the 38+P in a revolver or 45 ACP in an auto

This is my exact thinking


No argument with the 22 being deadly but will it knock a motivated offender back if he is within 3 feet?

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NRA Certified Instructor

Depends on where I am. At home, if my M&P 15-22 were all I could grab, I wouldn't feel all that undergunned loaded with 36 grain hollowpoints. After all 25 X 36 = 900 grains. Away from home, the smallest I've carried is my SP101 in .357 Mag. using Gold Dots but also have carried a Combat Commander loaded with .45ACP Winchester Black Talons. I will say that there are parts of Atlanta however where the smallest caliber I would settle for is SEAL team.

CW

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μολὼν λαβέ

.223 is the smallest caliber I trust. In a handgun I am OK with warm 32 H&R loads, would consider 380 OK if weather was warm enough to not require a coat. [if you mean cartridge]

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Front sight and squeeze

My personal minimum is a .38 Special +P in a revolver.

But, I prefer a .357 Magnum or a .45 ACP if I really thought it was necessary.

Your sisters husband or your wifes brother?

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Even older, even crankier....

The 105mm howitzer. But in a handgun a 380 is a small as I go. I would use a 22 LR if I had to.

A straight razor - doesn't jam or run out of ammo.

That's funny roundgunner, too bad it was wasted on here.

It reminds me of the guy that said he was being chased by a bear and jumped for a branch 60 feet in the air, but missed. But that was alright, he caught it on the way down.

I have carried a .32-20 S&W while working as a sheriff's deputy.

"It reminds me of the guy that said he was being chased by a bear and jumped for a branch 60 feet in the air, but missed. But that was alright, he caught it on the way down."

Elmer Keith wrote that he was walking down a trail once and almost stepped right on top of a rattler. He stated that he jumped straight up, drew his Colt single action, and fired three times, once on the way up, once at the top of the jump, and once on the way down. When he landed, there was pieces of snake everywhere.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

I'm a pretty good size fella. I have one BIL who's a couple inches shorter but outweighs me by a good 50 pounds. I have another who's an inch taller and + 30. I'm going to leave the .22 Shorts at home and move up to a .22 Long Rifle.

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Insert short witty words here

Don't even think of posting this sort of subtle and sardonic comment in the reloading forum, lest you run afoul of Skip and his acolytes.

9mm. Then only if loaded with 124 Gold Dot +P's because I know that they work.

I had a bad experiance with a .380 and since then the higher end 9's are now the lightest I will pack.

Failing that it's a .40 Kahr or a .357 Smith 640-1.

I would go as low as .380 but would much prefer 40 S&W.

At home, it depends on which room I'm in, but never a .22. A retreating action moving towards the heavy stuff means N frame .44s and 45acp the goal of reaching the 12ga. or the 32-40 SRC.

The first time I spent any time with my wife’s brother (we were married over 10 years by then) I was sure the family had been exaggerating. Nobody can be that bad. I was wrong, the wife was right.

It is hard to explain but this will scratch the surface:
Father in law(one of the best friends I have been honored to have) and I served together a couple times before he retired as a Master Chief with over 33 years, he talked about his kids some but not too much. I may have seen my wife once or twice before I really MET HER as in a date when we were in our late 30s.( a whole different odd story)

BIL joins Marines and starts crying and begging to get out. Tries to get FIL MC to help grease the get out of the Corps wheels. Gets out after about a year.

I had never met him but now he comes back and has USMC T shirts, bumper stickers, hats, etc...

Treats his kids like they are in boot camp, a real prize.

One of the funny stories my nephew tells is that his ex wife (former Marine) beat the stuff out of him and chased him out of the house with a frying pan. ;-)

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Shoot fast & live long
Warren

I like my compact .45, 4516. I carry it with me everywhere.

What round do you think will knock someone back? Remember one of the basic laws of physics: "equal and opposite reaction". People getting knocked back is movie stuff for the most part. You sure can slow someone down though with a large enough round.

I do think there are better choices than a .22 though they would work great on a brother-in-law's knee.

Generally the smallest gun I carry is a .40 S&W M&P compact or my .357 snubbie. I know that knocking someone back is a movie thing but I would not be confident that a 22 out of a 2-3 inch barrel would necessarily end an encounter. A larger caliber stands a better chance of ending the assault and protecting your life when compared to the 22.

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NRA Certified Instructor

We prefer the term "Minions". Sounds more menacing ...

Besides, Dillon doesn't make shell plates for the .900

I carry a 45acp or 44 magnum. period!

Good plan, having your BIL fight a delaying action, while you withdraw to a more defensible position.

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John 3:16 .

roundgunner,

Good story, had me going there.

.380 ACP in Colt Mustang, but 357 Sig in Glock 32 is my normal off duty sidearm.

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I am a sheep dog!
1601 (ret)

Just emphasizes the importance of shot placement over caliber...

What caliber is an ice pick?

Around here a 9 with +p golden sabres. In Miami a bazooka

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sticks-n-stones&hollowpoints

Glock 40 caliber in model 23.

My .32 long is enough to get me out of trouble, if need be. Going into the woods, I like a .357 in the southeast.

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SV,14,17,21,28,29,39,66,586

I did years of drug deals with a 25 in my pocket. I got no problems with keeping my Kel-Tec 32 handy nowadays.

i thought a .22 marlin papoose with 7 rounds of stinger was sufficient until I was confronted with a 250 lb monster intent on kicking my door in to get at whatever was in there I suddenly realized I was mistaken about my choice of caliber< long story short the door held and The next day I had .38 with 158 jhp +p and felt minimally protected things worked out with this idiot and no one got hurt