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Should 22 Mag be the Choice as a Defensive Caliber?
AShooting Journal ^ | 11/19/2015 | Oleg Volk

Posted on 11/19/2015 9:14:35 AM PST by w1n1

When 30 carbine was introduced during WW2, many called it inadequate. It became massively popular, and not just with the rear echelon troops. Far from the sheer power of the 30-06, it was more useful to a radio operator, a cook, or a typist. Likewise, 22WMR is nowhere near the power of 223Rem (already deemed inadequate by many), yet its ballistic cousins 5.7x28 and 4.6x30 are well regarded for certain niche uses. Until recently, 22WMR was mostly used in hunting guns, the occasional exception like Grendel carbine aside. But consider it in the Personal Defense Weapon (PDW) format: lightweight, accurate, nearly recoilless, and effective.

For the test, I used two CMR30's updated to the production configuration. Both were reliable and well received by the numerous shooters who tried them. While slow fire provides about 1.5MOA dispersion, we did rapid fire standing at 18-20 yards. The target was a 1/4" hardened aluminum, diamond plate backed, with 2x4s. 9mm +P and .357Mag defensive ammunition shot through 4" barrels left minimal impression on the plate. 22LR let just a tiny splatter. From the carbine barrel, 22WMR ball blew through the metal and the wood behind it. We tried CCI hollow point load with the same result.

Read the rest of the story here.


TOPICS: Hobbies; Outdoors
KEYWORDS: 22mag; 22magnum; banglist; cmr30; guns
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To: DesertRhino
NO thank you.
I'll keep my faith in my military acquaintances that I served with overseas, and their REAL LIFE, WARTIME EXPERIENCE
I'll stay with the .45 first and then the .40, and after that, the/38 special.
81 posted on 11/19/2015 11:37:01 AM PST by Yosemitest (It's SIMPLE ! ... Fight, ... or Die !)
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To: X-spurt

That Glock 26 is a single stack, and I NEED the two round magazine extension, just to get a good grip.


82 posted on 11/19/2015 11:38:32 AM PST by Yosemitest (It's SIMPLE ! ... Fight, ... or Die !)
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To: X-spurt

83 posted on 11/19/2015 11:41:24 AM PST by Yosemitest (It's SIMPLE ! ... Fight, ... or Die !)
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To: Yosemitest

You’re talkin’ to one, real life and all, with a few decades. But don’t worry, your 45 will work as well as a 9. The truth is, carry what you can shoot well, and what you enjoy, and whatever makes you feel like a cowboy. And I mean that about the cowboy sincerely within the bounds of reason. If you feel like a stud as you wield your hero’s weapon, you’ll likely fight better. Don’t take a SAA to Iraq, or take James Bonds 25 Beretta as your daily CCW, but you get my point.Between 38 and 45 every handgun is close to the same and it all comes down to the shooter.

Soldiers are just as susceptible to BS as anyone else. Some swear that the 30 carbine is a worthless popgun stopped by a quilt. The truth is that they missed a lot in the frozen waste of Korea. SF in Vietnam enjoyed it, the Israelis respect it, the Nazis prized it as a capture gun, and Jim Cirillo the number 1 police gunfighter in US history said the 30 carbine was the only thing they used that was 100% one shot effective in the stakeout squad.

For extra credit, ponder why a wholly worthless round like a 9mm is a world standard after a century when the 45 death ray was available. Weak rounds are quickly abandoned.
And the Nazis used a lot of 9mm. But what did they know about effectiveness of machinery?


84 posted on 11/19/2015 11:50:00 AM PST by DesertRhino ("I want those feeble minded asses overthrown,,,")
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To: DesertRhino
And you can't "shoot well;" unless it FITS in your hand.
If you like your 9mm, that's YOUR choice.
I'll stay will the experience Ive LEARNED from 1974 through 2001.
85 posted on 11/19/2015 11:54:53 AM PST by Yosemitest (It's SIMPLE ! ... Fight, ... or Die !)
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To: sarge83

I thought hollow points were a violation of the Geneva Convention?

My dad didn’t get over to Korea until it had already started. ‘51, I think. He used to get kinda mad when he heard the TV or someone call it the Korean War. He said he never saw one Korean...they were all damn Chinese.


86 posted on 11/19/2015 12:01:00 PM PST by WKUHilltopper (And yet...we continue to tolerate this crap...)
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To: Yosemitest

I have bought from them too.


87 posted on 11/19/2015 12:06:13 PM PST by ChildOfThe60s (If you can remember the 60s, you weren't really there....)
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To: donozark

Yeah, it’s hard on your hand/trigger finger.

I don’t carry it, but I keep it in the nightstand because with the heavy trigger I am a lot less likely to have an accidental discharge grabbing it in the middle of the night.

In the house distances, it’s got a nice punch with good SD ammo.

For carry, it’s the Kahr or the Shield with extra mags.


88 posted on 11/19/2015 12:11:48 PM PST by ChildOfThe60s (If you can remember the 60s, you weren't really there....)
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To: DesertRhino

89 posted on 11/19/2015 12:18:22 PM PST by Yosemitest (It's SIMPLE ! ... Fight, ... or Die !)
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To: ChildOfThe60s

They’re good people.


90 posted on 11/19/2015 12:18:47 PM PST by Yosemitest (It's SIMPLE ! ... Fight, ... or Die !)
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To: w1n1

Taurus 922 Tracker comes with a .22LR cylinder and a .22 Mag cylinder, each mounted on its own crane assembly. A button on the right side (replacing the screw the used to hold the crane in place) releases the crane so they can be easily swapped out.

91 posted on 11/19/2015 12:20:16 PM PST by JoeProBono (SOME IMAGES MAY BE DISTURBING ’VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED;-{)
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To: WKUHilltopper

If I were using an M1 today I would get the 110 grain round. As for the Geneva convention we didn’t sign this part of the agreement but have abide by it.


92 posted on 11/19/2015 12:25:33 PM PST by sarge83
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To: WKUHilltopper

My uncle saw lots of Norks over there. Fought in several battles, one being Taejon and saw General Dean right before the battle started. Dean got captured in that battle. He was on a mortar team but did a lot of fighting in the early part of the war with his M1 and hand to hand combat. He talks about finally getting some bazookas which would knock the Norks tanks out and stopping them at Pusan.

He ended up going through Pyongyang and he said it didn’t look anything like it does now, they tore it all to hell. Finally made it to the Yalu and stopped on a ridge overlooking it. Heard his colonel tell the officers don’t go into the town below this late in the day, this is a better defensive position stay put here for tonight and set up defensive positions before dark. The Chinese hit them that night, had they went into the town they would have been slaughtered.


93 posted on 11/19/2015 12:36:12 PM PST by sarge83
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To: TTFlyer; All

Is the .45 ACP a great caliber for stopping power of men? Absolutely.

Does it outperform smaller calibers such as the 9mm as it once did? No.

Modern ballistics have closed the gap between the 9mm and the 45 ACP. Many modern hollow tip bullets have 50% expansion. This means that a 9mm bullet (.355) actually expands to .5325 caliber, larger than an unexpanded 45 ACP.

Those are the cold, hard facts.


94 posted on 11/19/2015 12:45:56 PM PST by Red in Blue PA (war is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength, obama loves America)
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To: Yosemitest; All

For all of those people who claim the .22 is a worhthless round, look at the damage inflicted by Nadal Hassan at Fort Hood with his FiveseveN in 5.7 x 28, essentially a faster version of the .22.

I would make the argument that even a 45ACP would not have done as much damage in as short a time, as there is little recoil, allowing one to re-gain their target faster, as opposed to the kick of the 45.


95 posted on 11/19/2015 12:49:13 PM PST by Red in Blue PA (war is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength, obama loves America)
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To: Wheelman81; All

The only reason I would say no to the .22 is not because of stopping power. I have never met a person yet who would volunteer to stand in front of me shooting a .22. A .22, well placed, will kill most men. Make no mistake about that.

However, because it is a rimfire caliber, they are notoriously unreliable. My carry guns will all be centerire guns, whether it is my Kimber Ultra 45 ACP, my Sig P238 in .380, or my FiveseveN in 5.7 x 28 (essentially a variant of the .22 going at rifle speeds).


96 posted on 11/19/2015 12:55:47 PM PST by Red in Blue PA (war is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength, obama loves America)
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To: sarge83

Gotcha...thanks.


97 posted on 11/19/2015 1:05:19 PM PST by WKUHilltopper (And yet...we continue to tolerate this crap...)
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To: w1n1

The best home weapon (home defense or otherwise) is the one you are comfortable and accurate shooting. IMHO, the 12 ga. shotgun is the ultimate home defense weapon. Use 6-shot shells, and you will not need to waste time aiming. You should be able to place the first round on the target or a piece of the target, and then decide to complete the job or call LEO.


98 posted on 11/19/2015 1:19:00 PM PST by SgtHooper (Anyone who remembers the 60's, wasn't there!)
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To: AlaskaErik

I have an 8-round 357 mag S&W spinner that works just as well as a 7+1 round 1911 45.


99 posted on 11/19/2015 1:22:17 PM PST by SgtHooper (Anyone who remembers the 60's, wasn't there!)
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To: Jim Noble
beat 4 misses with a .44 Magnum

Nahh...not too much beats four misses with a .44 mag.

100 posted on 11/19/2015 1:43:02 PM PST by Fightin Whitey
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