You would be surprised at how little respect the 22 cartridge gets. It may not have much powder or a heavy bullet, but that lil sucker will kick that little bullet out at super sonic speeds for a mile or more.
.22LR can certainly be deadly when fired from the barrel of a gun. But outside of a gun barrel there is insufficient pressure to send the projectile at anything close to supersonic speed. Thus, the “brass firecracker” comments.