best SD 22LR ammo for wife

[Doc Holliday 1950]

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.

 

[stykshooter]

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.

 

[bulletslap]

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

 

[amd6547]

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

 

[Jonzim]

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

+1 on the Velocitor.

 

[petepeterson]

CCI has Mini-mags and Stingers.

 

[Goldstar225]

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.

 

[TomkinsSP]

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

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.

 

[britbike1]

CCI

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

 

[Scorpion520AZ]

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

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpQEKhpuMco[/ame]

 

[PALADIN85020]

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

John

 

[6actual]

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

 

[MichiganScott]

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

John

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

 

[Mister X]

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

 

[Doc Holliday 1950]

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

 

[Doc Holliday 1950]

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.

 

[Rpg]

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.

 

[Mister X]

tried that & it was a complete total bust.

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.

 

[smoothshooter]

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.

 

[HardToHandle]

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.