Never understood no how that thinking, pilgrim.
Twice as much energy as a .22LR from the same length pistol barrel. Yes it's noisy. It also ain't no slouch, neither, and you should have your ears in anyhow even if shooting .22LR. As for not performing as well as it does from a rifle, and having a big noise, well the very exact thing can be said for the .357 magnum but everyone loves that round. There's some good loads out for the .22 mag specifically designed for self defense, and, well, I wouldn't want to stand in front a one, no sir!
I think one of Ruger's convertible sixguns is a real treat! Load up the LRs for cheap all day plinking and even small gaming, and load up the magnum cylinder with some Hornady Critical Defense for when walking the trail and in camp. As to accuracy, yes it is true the bore diameter for the gun is .224" to accept the magnum round. But, what you'll find out is that if you mike a lot of .22, you'll get that diameter quite often. The trick is to experiment and find different loads.
From my readings, the guns are often quite capabale of outperforming the shooter once the right load is found. But, they do seem a bit of a crapshoot as for pure accuracy, but if you happen to get one that really pattterns instead of groups, Ruger will take a look at it for you, great CS.
