I would like to hear from those of you with experience, or merely an opinion, on the benefits or liabilities of the use of a snubnosed .22lr. Besides a back-up, or bedroom gun, what's the point? I've got an open mind, enlighten me!

I would like to hear from those of you with experience, or merely an opinion, on the benefits or liabilities of the use of a snubnosed .22lr. Besides a back-up, or bedroom gun, what's the point? I've got an open mind, enlighten me!

I've got a Walther PPK-L in .22 that is a tack driver.....it is VERY accurate and a perfect gun to have in the cabin in the woods for "critters". It is compact, light, and pocketable.



For personal defense it is certainly better than a fist, but I would rather stake my life, when facing a dangerous animal (man), on a large caliber bullet.
My answer, in short, is a snubby .22 is a nice handy field gun (S&W called theirs the "kit Gun", indicating you can carry it in your tackle box.
Terry

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Terry
SWCA, SWHS, IWLA, NRA

I doubt anyone would recommend the .22 in any gun as a primary self defense gun. On the other had I would rather have it than nothing. My wife has very little strength in her hands, so recoil is a real issue for her. When she is with me and I am armed, she will sometimes carry my Mdl. 317 (2"). Now that it has been broken in, the trigger is fairly smooth and she shoots the 8 rnds pretty well. I use the gun as a snake gun or little pest gun, loaded with shot loads. It works well at close range.

Most people wouldn't know what you were pointing at them if you had to use it in self defense.

That's a might purdy Walther- I'd be happy to own one of those!

I have a Rossi .22, about the size of a J-frame with a 4" barrel. (I know, it's a Rossi, but it's actually quite a nice little gun.) It's fun to shoot, and cheap to feed- what other reasons do you need?! I agree that .22 LR is not known as defensive round, but in a reliable gun, with decent shot placement, it is quite a but more potent than empty-handed defense!

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LEO since 1981.

It sounds like you're talking about the fixed sight, 2" Model 317. I would never use a .22 as a back up or bedroom gun, but short barrel .22 revolvers do have their place. I prefer them with adjustable sights.

They're handy to have in the field for snakes or small game. It's an excellent training tool when someone’s transitioning down to a 2” .38 Special (not the easiest thing to shoot well) and it's good cheap practice if your carry gun is a J frame. They're fun to plink with too.

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"I also cook."

While bought for use as a BUG, my NAA Black Widow is fun to shoot and quite accurate. BWs are relatively inexpensive and of exceptional quality. So my answer is they're fun and cheap to shoot.

I've got a NAA mini revolver in 22. I can do 1" groups at 10 yards with it. FWIW.
It goes whee lots of other guns can't

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Forum consigliere

Lots of fun, kind of like throwing a rock that goes BANG! I have a Ruger not so snubby with an Outback II can on it. Great for backyard rodent and other vermin control. Not a combat gun, though.

I have a 34-1 that is fairly similar to the revolvers my wife and I usually carry; it is fantastic for cheap practice, practice, practice.

My NAA .22lr. (1 1/8" barrel) mini does what few guns can. It looks cute. Even my wife tells me how cute it is.

Cheap practice

Very little recoil.

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A real sucker for the J-frames

I like my little 2" Model 63. Considering it's short sight radius, I can still get 1.5" groups at 20 yards consistently, and it does pretty well DA within 10yds for field shooting. It makes a dandy little companion hunting gun when you are already carrying something bigger. The adjustable sights are a big plus there.

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" I said, good DAY! "

Here's my M63 & M651 snubbys lots of fun to shoot, the 651 .22 mag, very loud and impressive muzzle blast......

I also have a PPK-L in .22 with a 1967 bbl date!!

Uncle Jeff said my PPK should be a .22 and I obeyed.

A very large number of folks have succumbed to the lowly 22LR. I have a 650, and a 651 with 2&3 inch barrels, of course they are 22mags, but my 4" 63 is also deadly accurate. I have a Taurus 9 shot snubby in 17 Mach 2, and I would not like to stop one of those little 17 grain HPs with any portion of my anatomy. Yeah they don't have much knockdown power but a few of them placed in and around the torso can be mighty distracting to a BG, and they can be fired really quickly!