22 mag for home defense?

[jtcarm]

Most home defenses do not end with the firearm even being fired.

That's what I thought, but I wasn't sure.

 

[Cal44]

A long gun in 22 mag -- say a lever action 18" carbine -- might be a good home defense weapon.

With the long barrel, the 22 mag round comes to it's own, and packs a wallop.

Not much recoil should make follow up shots easy.

Plus a 22 mag hollow point probably wouldn't penetrate as many walls as a heavier round.

Just a thought.

 

[Biggfoot44]

I am one of the people who like .22WMR , and think that it performs above expectations * When fired from at least a 4in bbl, and preferably closer to 6in * . Doesn't bring it up the prefered level of SD , but well above a .22lr . Think in the ballpark of .32acp to .380 from a compact, but with better accuracy and control. Judgement for the OP if he considers that adaquate.

The recently introduced "Self Defense" .22WMR loads are optimized for derringers , mini revolvers , and the recently introduced 2in snubs. For a 4in or longer bbls , I prefer an old school 40gr jhp. I have chrono'ed the W-W 40gr at close to or hitting 1400fps from a 4 5/8in revolver. ( By comparison from short bbls , the 40gr WMR overlaps the various 36gr .22lr fired from 4in revolver. )

 

[Raised on a Deere]

Ditto

We have beaver problems in the ditches at the farm. 22 long rifle from a rifle or a handgun just won't take them down as they are a tough critter. 22 magnum will do a job on them! I have always been impressed by the power of this cartridge. Very effective on four-legged varmints, and I think it would make most two-legged varmints go away.

I was not into guns at age of 30 but came to having to deal with what we call groundhogs in central KY. Eating corn crops and destroying garden. Borrowed a neighbors 22 and was surprised that mostly I was not killing them. Did a bit of talking around and wound up buying a Marlin short throw lever action 22mag and put a nice 6 power scope on it. I could hit those guys just as they came out of their holes from 100 yards and hear a nice resounding thump. The gun had enough kick to feel like you were shooting more than a bb gun and a nice report and I loved the echo off the trees.

I came to love to shoot that gun because of the flatter trajectory than the 22 and enough range to not to have to work my way in close and it did the job I needed.

It was the only gun I had and I knew it was not a deer killer but very effective around the farm.

 

[Michagun]

I just went through this with my 85 year old Father, my Brother & I are both retired LEO's. Dad has kept one of our former Duty Guns for a house gun for years, 1st my Model 59 & then my Brother's while mine went out for a refinish & re-spring job ( I Retired in 2001 & my Brother in 2011 ). Last week, Dad and I went out to shoot the 59 some. We found he couldn't shoot the 59 very well due to recoil, so I had him try my 4" Model 64-3. He didn't have enough hand strength to shoot it well in double action. Solution, he took my Grandson's Ruger 4" MkIII 22/45 home. He was able to shoot it fast and accurately & it was no problem to rack the bolt, another difficulty he had with the Model 59. Sometimes you just have to go with what works for you, in my Dad's case it is 10 rounds of 22LR that he can handle fast & accurately ..... ;o)

That is a good story and is the key. One must have a defensive weapon that they can quickly and competently use when the need arises. Caliber matters little if one cannot get it into action and hit the target quickly.

 

[pharmer]

The .22 mag has ballistics (ft/lb) that approach .38 spl loadings. Rimfire ignition is the problem for me. In 50 years of shooting I have had at least 10X more ignition failures from rimfires than centerfires. joe

 

[CaptRon956]

Not my first choice but better than nothing. To be honest all handgun calibers are weak I have taken partial heart shots on a deer with a 308 only to watch him jump straight up and run for a good 35yds

Handgun calibers are weak? I see no show of hands here on the forum to prove that theory...

If your deer dropped after running 35 yards from a .308 chest shot then he bled out pretty fast IMO. That was a good kill and nothing to shrug off... Similarily, there's a video on you tube of a pharmacist nailing a BG with a compact .45 at 3 yards that still showed the BG running off camera, probably 15-25 feet before he succumbed...Probably from bleeding out as well....

To me that sounds like the bullet/gun did its job because if you watch that vid, and there's many like it, the BG took off running & was out of the fight after the first or second shot...

Nobody in his/her right mind wants to get shot of any caliber... If a .22 is all a guy has, then by all means use it to defend yourself..

 

[Cal44]

Nobody in his/her right mind wants to get shot of any caliber...

Sometimes the BG isn't in his right mind, however.

Particularly if high enough on drugs.

 

[Professor Frink]

I just went through this with my 85 year old Father, my Brother & I are both retired LEO's. Dad has kept one of our former Duty Guns for a house gun for years, 1st my Model 59 & then my Brother's while mine went out for a refinish & re-spring job ( I Retired in 2001 & my Brother in 2011 ). Last week, Dad and I went out to shoot the 59 some. We found he couldn't shoot the 59 very well due to recoil, so I had him try my 4" Model 64-3. He didn't have enough hand strength to shoot it well in double action. Solution, he took my Grandson's Ruger 4" MkIII 22/45 home. He was able to shoot it fast and accurately & it was no problem to rack the bolt, another difficulty he had with the Model 59. Sometimes you just have to go with what works for you, in my Dad's case it is 10 rounds of 22LR that he can handle fast & accurately ..... ;o)

One of the best responses to a caliber discussion I had the pleasure of reading. Well said and reasoned sir!

 

[DWalt]

There have probably been as many, or more, civilians killed or incapacated by the .22 LR in a handgun than any other caliber over a period of many, many years. A properly placed .22 bullet will do the job. Plus followup shots from a .22 handgun are much easier. And the .22 Mag is a notch or two above the .22 LR. Of course, a .22 Magnum is adequate for personal defense, provided the shooter can place his bullets well. As a general SHTF gun, I would take a good .22 semi-auto above any other weapon for numerous reasons which should require no explanation.

 

[Old cop]

Things change as we get older, I'll be 70 next year and know this first hand. Right now my .38 & .380 work just fine for me, but as time goes by I might need to change to my Model 18 twenty-two LR. I've seen some mighty big men felled by a well placed .22.

 

[Highhawk1948]

I have no problem with the 22magnum. Killed a lot of varmints with it. Would use it for self defense. If that's what you got and can shoot it we'll, use it!

 

[Mark6005]

I still prefer larger calibers but our henry 22 mag and ruger 22 mag revolver have their place. We like to shoot the 22 mag way more than 22 lr.

 

[5-Shot]

You might want to read the article linked below. I have no idea if it is accurate but it convinced me. It is a different look at handgun stopping statistics.

An Alternate Look at Handgun Stopping Power | Buckeye Firearms Association

Ed

 

[steelslaver]

Interesting results and conclusions in that article. One thing that isn't factored in is level of training and experience of the shooter. I believe that the level of training is far more important than caliber. A good good shooter trained to handle stress with a 22 is more deadly than a complete novice with a shotgun. Learn to shot what you chose and mentally prepare yourself as best you can for such a situation.

 

[Mtnfolk325]

Why not get him a 12 gauge SxS? 8" to 12" barrels loaded with less lethal

Nothing is scarier than looking down those big twin muzzles as they are being pointed at you with shaky old hands

He does not want a long gun, more comfortable with something small. It is really for piece of mind, they have a 24 hour alarm that is monitored & all doors have deadbolted security screens. All gates are locked from the inside, they had a burglary in 1977 and the home has been as secure as Fort Know ever since

 

[Stargater]

I've always had a great deal of faith in the .22lr autos. They are very easy to shoot and you can put a lot of bullets into a target in a very short period of time. I knew one guy who was working on his house when he was hit with a .22lr round. He thought he'd been stung by a large wasp. He got down, dizzy and disoriented, and passed out. Although he got to a phone, he couldn't complete the call, but help was sent immediately. He woke up in the hospital, and his doctor told him he'd come very close to dying. The incredible thing is, they traced the bullet to a site where a woman told police she had seen two kids shooting a few rounds from a car (or near the car). Police found some shell casings at the site and it was just over a mile from the home the guy was working on. Again, this fellow told me that the sting was like a wasp, only it felt deeper, and he immediately felt disoriented and it was difficult for him to breathe. That's pretty impressive for a shot fired from a mile away!

The.22mag is more powerful, and one writer recounts how an Israeli immigrant with a Ruger Single-Six with a magnum cylinder, killed a terrorist and stopped a major attack. I've also studied civilian shootings, and the .22lr has an enviable record for putting down bad guys. The .22mag is the same, but offers a vicious blow to the ribs as well!

I'd love to find some of that defensive .22mag ammo. I also recommend that Single-Six users and those pushing for optimum accuracy check out Paco Kelly's accurizing tools. They're amazing. Check them out here: http://pacotools.com/tool_discriptions

They also can make all .22 rimfire bullets of any type more lethal, as well as more accurate.

I still wish I my little S&W M63.

 

[RichCapeCod]

I just went through this with my 85 year old Father, my Brother & I are both retired LEO's. Dad has kept one of our former Duty Guns for a house gun for years, 1st my Model 59 & then my Brother's while mine went out for a refinish & re-spring job ( I Retired in 2001 & my Brother in 2011 ). Last week, Dad and I went out to shoot the 59 some. We found he couldn't shoot the 59 very well due to recoil, so I had him try my 4" Model 64-3. He didn't have enough hand strength to shoot it well in double action. Solution, he took my Grandson's Ruger 4" MkIII 22/45 home. He was able to shoot it fast and accurately & it was no problem to rack the bolt, another difficulty he had with the Model 59. Sometimes you just have to go with what works for you, in my Dad's case it is 10 rounds of 22LR that he can handle fast & accurately ..... ;o)

I'm also retired LEO (41 yrs. two depts). Permit me to restate the well thought out post above;

Whatever firearm, piece of equipment or tactic you intend to deploy, two criteria must be met:

The firearm/tactic/etc. must be PRACTICAL, and,

The firearm/tactic/etc. must be TASK (or JOB) RELATED.

Failing to meet either of the above criteria is likely to result in failures in the field as the firearm/tactic is not relevant to the needs of the user.

Rich

 

[Drm50]

22mag HD

I guess a lot of you have never had the opportunity to have been
shot. For self defense purposes a gun that can be handled and
fired accurately is more important than obsessing over cal and
fancy pd bullets. A 22 mag will make you awful sick, so will a
Hyper 22hp. It will take the gremlins mind of harming you. I
agree bigger the better but I wouldn't feel naked with 22 mag.
Remember it's for PD not air assault. I read awhile back about
a NY cop that had been in wrong place at right time, off duty,
in several shot outs at robberies, he won them all with S&W
22mag/kit gun.

 

[topgun47]

Like most posters here, 22 mag. wouldn't be my first choice, but most of those swamp guys use it to put away an 800-900 pound alligator, so a well placed shot will obviously work.