The Stopping Power Of The .22 Caliber Short Bullet

[Airborne423]

Hello, I have a question about the impact of shooting a .22 caliber short bullet fired out of a North American mini revolver with the small barrel (approximately 7/8 of an inch in length.)
"The Situation" You are in a position to legally shoot an armed offender who is about to cut you with a large knife. At a distance of about 10 feet, this offender who is wearing a heavy leather coat is coming at you with his knife. You pull out your
North American revolver and fire at the offender striking him in the chest area of his heavy leather coat. The .22 short bullet used is a Remington High Velocity .22 caliber bullet.
The question for all or any Ammo Expert out there is: At 10 feet will that .22 short bullet go through the offenders heavy leather coat and enter his chest, and in your opinion would or could this .22 short bullet probably put a stop to his attack?

 

[texmex]

It will most likely go through the coat and then penetrate to just under the skin. It would not be very likely to physically incapacitate, but he probably would not want to be shot again. Not something you could count on, but a little better than nothing. If he keeps coming, the next shot needs to be to the face or eyes.

 

[Tubbsy]

Ive shot squirrels in the head with a .22 short out of a rifle a few times.... try to stretch it too far (past 20 yards or so) and its not always a kill.... shorts tend to have more inconsistencies in actual performance in my experience as well. Definitely would not trust my life to it...

 

[Breakaway500]

You are going to really piss off someone if you shoot them with that pea shooter and if they find out,good luck to you! Seriously..get a better self defense weapon.

 

[Hair Trigger]

Personally, I think if you shoot someone with a .22 Short and expect it to have much effect, there should be a contact burn around the entry wound.

In your scenario, instead of going for a body shot and hoping to defeat the clothing, aim for a very vulnerable area like the face or neck, or groin, and be close when you fire it.

And be damn sure you're justified.

 

[jake1945]

People who used 22 rim fire ammo for a suicide have survived head wounds.

 

[Mrnurse]

22 short, 5 inches distance, left or right eye socket, or Neck Arterial left or right... other then that sell it and buy a firearm.

 

[schutzen-jager]

too many variables to give a viable opinion - personally seen 450 pound hogs drop instantly from one shot from .22 short standard velocity - also had a co worker years ago go to to doctor for a sore on his back that was bothering him , doctor found a .22 long rifle bullet there -

 

[sandog]

If you have to use a .22 Rimfire, at least go to a .22 WMR.

 

[Pisgah]

In the scenario posed, I don't care if you're shooting a .22 short or a .44 magnum; you'd best take your shot, then beat feet rapidly without waiting around to judge the effect.

 

[6518John]

Hello, I have a question about the impact of shooting a .22 caliber short bullet fired out of a North American mini revolver with the small barrel (approximately 7/8 of an inch in length.) "The Situation" You are in a position to legally shoot an armed offender who is about to cut you with a large knife.

You seem to have a number of dilemmas (I remembered an Airborne Marine/law enforcement officer with a shotgun that sat loaded for 25 years). You wouldn’t be simply pulling our legs with these questions would you?

— Stoeger 18 inch, 20 gauge shotgun loaded for 25 years.

— Your Opinions Please

— Airweight ammo question

— Can Any New S&W Revolvers Be Purchased Without That Key Safety?

— Information Needed

— Model 10 Malfunctions

 

[mikerjf]

LOL, that helps! Since it's a troll attacking us, we need at least a .357.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

I saw some Shorts just the other day.
First ones I’ve seen in years.
They are good for dispatching rats inside barns.
Marginal for squirrels in trees.

 

[max503]

The NAA might lack the intimidation factor of a full-size gun. That, coupled with the lack of power from a 22 short could lead to a bad outcome. Especially if the knife wielder is high on drugs, alcohol, or emotions.

 

[Jessie]

He’s got a 7/8” barrel! He’ll be lucky to hit any part of an attacker outside of 6’.
Shoot for the eye or neck artery?
Good luck with that. I would shoot it into the ground to try and alert some help as I ran away.

 

[Marshal Tom]

You are likely to get injured far worse than the perp! He might be dead but not realize for a while, giving him enough time to make you into sushi!
If you insist on carrying an NAA, make it a .22 Magnum.

 

[jjfitch]

Start with the obvious before making yourself crazy!

Hello, I have a question about the impact of shooting a .22 caliber short bullet fired out of a North American mini revolver with the small barrel (approximately 7/8 of an inch in length.)
"The Situation" You are in a position to legally shoot an armed offender who is about to cut you with a large knife. At a distance of about 10 feet, this offender who is wearing a heavy leather coat is coming at you with his knife. You pull out your
North American revolver and fire at the offender striking him in the chest area of his heavy leather coat. The .22 short bullet used is a Remington High Velocity .22 caliber bullet.
The question for all or any Ammo Expert out there is: At 10 feet will that .22 short bullet go through the offenders heavy leather coat and enter his chest, and in your opinion would or could this .22 short bullet probably put a stop to his attack?

The purpose of self defense is to eliminate the threat of injury or death to self and another person! Can you with any confidence expect this scenario to prevent injury or death to you or another person?

Even a 44 Magnum at that distance may not prevent injury! (Google: Tueller 21 foot rule!)

Footnote: I booked a drug dealer into the jail that had a 3"X3" "bandaid" on his forehead. His eyes were bloodshot and he stated he had a headache. The booking officer handed me the medical release. I read it prior to accepting the "arrestee"! He had been shot "point blank" sitting in a car, 6 times in the forehead! 5H!T!

I called our on duty M.D. for assessment. Bottom line he had 6 .22's that entered his forehead, traveled around his head under the skin and were resting under the skin behind his head/neck area!

Granted he was at least 260 pounds and his head was huge with lots of "cushion"!

The following Wednesday he was "on the bus" back to prison on a parole violation!

Jeeze.....! 's

 

[Drm50]

Shot a lot of squirrels with shorts. Never had trouble killing them but often the bullet would be under hide on opposite side. We used them to shoot coon and possum. Had to be head shot to drop them. Good ammo for Bull Frogs. Wouldn’t depend on them for personal protection.

 

[colt_saa]

A 22 Short does have killing power, but it has Zero, yes I said ZERO Stopping Power

Stopping Power is the ability to take your assailant out of the fight. A 22 Short does not do that.

Now if left untreated your assailant may bleed to death, or you might get extremely lucky and hit a vital organ, but that is not the norm with a 22 Short

The 22 Short in your pocket is still better than the 38 Special you left at home because, often just the knowledge that a firearm is in the game will give perpetrators the desire to back off.

Unfortunately in your scenario, your NAA 22 is unlikely to penetrate a "heavy leather coat" even if pressed right up against it. You might bruise your assailant just before he cuts you.

The suggestion of switching to the 22 Magnum is a good one. Even if it does not provide a significant increase in power level, it does have a rather dramatic increase in muzzle blast and muzzle bark. This might be sufficient to make an attacker think something more than a 22 is in your hands

 

[OLDSTER]

Certainly not a proponent of the .22 short for SD. However, lots of us are old enough to remember when John Hinkley nearly took out President Ronald Reagan and a couple members of his staff using a "Saturday night special" revolver loaded with, I believe, .22 shorts. Just remembering.