“If carrying a mouse gun comforts you, do so. But do not fire it, for you may strike someone, and give them reason to cause you great harm.” - Jeff Cooper
Why not carry both?
Knife always...
I’ve witnessed many training sessions with 2 cops w/guns and the knife expert always takes them both down. Throat cut/leg artery opened...they’re dead.
The laughing joke around here is don’t bring a knife to a gun fight - laugh all you want. These guys were 20 feet away from each other too when the whistle starts.
why not both?
If you want to test a .22 short for penetration, use the regular Remington Golden Bullet HV. It was shocked at how deeply it penetrates compared to other brands. It shot right through a hard rough-sawn 2X4 and buried out of sight into the oak tree it was leaning against. Hollow points went 1/2-3/4 way through the 2X4, as did other brands of solids. The Remington solid’s lead is very hard compared to other brands. I used a Beretta Minx and the target was about 10 feet away.
Ummm....NO!
If I were presented with a circumstance in which all I had available was a .22...then I would use it as well as it could be used...as in one to the eye and one in the ear...or the whole dump into center mass...whatever would work best.
But anyone that goes out and actively seeks a .22 of any type to carry as a personal defense weapon, in lieu of something more powerful, as opposed to using it to accompany something more powerful, is woefully and mindnumbingly naive...possibly ignorant beyond redemption.
The absolute smallest caliber I will carry in a hand gun for anything other than recreational use or crow-killing is .380...and that will be the hottest load I can find.
I have three carry handguns...a .380 Bersa Thunder, a .380 Walther PPK and a Colt Defender .45.
I always have at least one of them on me...sometimes all three, depending on the weather and where I may be going.
As far as blades...I carry a Benchmade Griptilian with a Tanto blade for extreme need to cut flesh.
It is sharper than a razor and simply looking at the edge will result in a cut somewhere on your body and it is the only one with which I would think to defend myself with, if I had to.
I also carry a Freek, a Case Stockman and a Remington bird knife, the bird knife more out of habit from my days of upland game hunting, the Choke Wrench and Gut Hook being the most used "blades" on that knife.
But for anyone that has never been in a so-called knife fight...I say that the percentage of intelligent human beings that are able to purposefully take a knife and cut another human being...with malice intended and aforethought, is very small.
I personally do NOT bring knives to gun fights...for that matter, I don't bring guns to any fight...I just happen to have one or more on my person if there IS a fight and so should you, but a sensible one, not a pop gun that would probably result in you getting your ass kicked or worse.
So, unless the magic fairy simply makes a .22 appear in your hand at the time you are being robbed, mauled, raped, robbed, whatever...do not be so stupid as think a .22 will give you a tactical advantage over a REAL gun, just because it is smaller, lighter and easier to hide.
The Science of Ballistics is full of truths...I have never found a lie amongst the Laws of Physics, either.
The short is OK in the right gun such as the Beretta Minx. I have owned a couple of the NA Arms mini revolvers and they are just too difficult to handle.
I have read that in a knife fight, you can count on being cut. Even the very best, get cut. William Fairbairne, who was head of the Shanghai Riot Police for many years, was covered with scars from knife fights.
Many consider him the greatest fighter ever.
Those derringer things have the most head-scratchingly tough triggers. I don’t get it. There is no way that these can fulfill the premise that the firearm is the great equalizer.
A knife should be carried at all times by all men. But not for cutting other men. If you pull a knife and you aren’t trained (trained WELL) on how to use it you’ll be pulling it from your own neck in about 2 seconds.
But if you can conceal a .22 you can conceal a .380. And if you get the right .380 you’re talking about the same kind of defense capability as a 9mm at closer range.
The smaller caliber guns are “better than nothing” but with a little work you can carry something larger.
I wouldn't want Doug Marcaida coming at me with a knife regardless of what handgun I had but I'm guessing if he were staring down a .22SR in the hands of Jerry Miculek, Marcaida wouldn't push the issue.
BBB
Gun trumps knife. Every time.
A reference article: The Tueller Drill Myth: Why The 21 Foot Rule Isn’t a Rule At All
I have personally observed in many training classes that the critical factor is situational awareness and alertness.
The drill that changed my mind (and removed the "fear" implied by the "21-Foot Rule"):
I was amazed to see that in a class of 10-12 students of all skill levels, almost every student in the center was able to effectively engage the attacker effectively and consistently before being touched. I also observed that most of the more experienced students were able to do it with a relatively large margin of error.
Knowing what was about to happen and mentally rehearsing the response was, I think, the key to even novice shooters being able to 'win' the drill. I took these lessons to heart. In addition, the most effective students where the ones who thought to "git off the x."
FYI, I ran through this drill every time using my normal concealed carry location (AIWB) to give a more realistic scenario. I was still able to successfully 'win' every time. It was a great confidence booster.
Food for thought. Hope this helps.
***Would you go with a .22 Shorty for self-defense?***
In the Civil War days, and later with the under powered .44 rimfire derringer, the main thing was not to be shot as you probably would die slowly of infection with all the dirt and bacteria carried into the wound.
BOOKmarkLINKS
The last thing you want to do is shoot someone because there are life-changing repercussions even if totally justified.
Fortunately, in 98% of defensive gun uses (DGUs), a shot is not fired.
Which means that a mouse gun is as good as a cannon 98% of the time.
Fact: Guns prevent an estimated 2.5 million crimes a year or 6,849 every day. Most often, the gun is never fired and no blood (including the criminal’s) is shed.
Source: http://www.gunfacts.info/pdfs/gun-facts/7.1/Gun-Facts-7.1-screen.pdf, page 21.
Fact: A victim may have a strong reluctance to talk to a government agent about a firearm brandishing incident (which are 98% of DGUs) because they may not know the act was 100% legal.
Source: http://www.gunfacts.info/pdfs/gun-facts/7.1/Gun-Facts-7.1-screen.pdf, page 83.
In other words, the 98% number is probably low.
A gun is always better than a knife unless you are highly HIGHLY trained in knife fighting.
I realize a .22 has no immediate stopping power but it is still a gun. It wont stop someone on PCP, but it could easily stop anyone who doesnt want to get shot. Just seeing a gun pointed at them causes most all assailants to flee. It is a small amount who will rush you. A small .22 still makes a loud BANG, and any bang says dangerous to most people. Not many will stick around while you are shooting that .22 their way to analyze the caliber. For most perps it is an Oh Fuuuuuuuu moment and they dont wait around to see if you are shooting blanks or a .44.
Gun all day every day, even a .380 or .25 or .22. It still goes bang.
Internet warriors will tell you you are toast without at least a .44 magnum. I would love to know how many people successfully stopped an assault with a .22, .25, or .380. I would love to know the numbers.
The .22 short was designed to kill you slowly through infection. No antibiotics were available.