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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: Bloody Sam Roberts
Is there such a thing as a .380 revolver?

No idea. I don't do wheel guns. They are a 19th century anachronism.

41 posted on 11/19/2015 10:09:53 AM PST by AlaskaErik (I served and protected my country for 31 years. Progressives spent that time trying to destroy it.)
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To: showme_the_Glory

“Why do you carry a .45?” “Cause they don’t make a 46.””

4, 48, 49 50 !!!! That’s it 50 AE !!!


42 posted on 11/19/2015 10:11:02 AM PST by litehaus (A memory toooo long)
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To: showme_the_Glory

“Why do you carry a .45?” “Cause they don’t make a 46.””

4, 48, 49 50 !!!! That’s it 50 AE !!!


43 posted on 11/19/2015 10:11:02 AM PST by litehaus (A memory toooo long)
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To: Cobra64

“The one or two innocents directly behind the perp will wish you weren’t engaged in the fight.”

It’s rare to almost unheard of for a person to be killed by the through and through bullet fired into an offender. And it pales into insignificance when compared to the danger they face from missed rounds. Missed shots are the danger they face, not through and through.
Accuracy is an enormous issue compared to overpenetration.

Last, the best thing for a bystander is to get the bad guy stopped fast. And for that with a handgun, nothing beats a 357 magnum or 10mm class.
45 and 9 are weaker compromises that give the average shooter better control. But if blast and recoil aren’t a huge issue, 357 mag is Thors hammer.


44 posted on 11/19/2015 10:12:02 AM PST by DesertRhino ("I want those feeble minded asses overthrown,,,")
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To: w1n1

I think 50 Beowulf is the way to go. No use messing around and it doesn’t matter what the bad guys are wearing. Just make sure there is nothing behind the bad guy except another bad guy or three.


45 posted on 11/19/2015 10:15:34 AM PST by pleasenotcalifornia
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To: AlaskaErik
So you like leaving ammo casings with finger prints on them at the scene of the shooting?
46 posted on 11/19/2015 10:15:56 AM PST by Yosemitest (It's SIMPLE ! ... Fight, ... or Die !)
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To: w1n1

Its equal to the 5.7. Both are a 30 gr round at 2300-2350.

Major Hassan wrecked havoc with that round. And the Keltec has a 30 round mag in a standard pistol configuration.

And Ruger and Smith make a lightweight revolver. Horrendous blast but a deadly little gun.


47 posted on 11/19/2015 10:18:08 AM PST by DesertRhino ("I want those feeble minded asses overthrown,,,")
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To: Yosemitest
I carry a 9mm Ruger with +P rounds.

My wife has a S&W Body Guard .380 pistol.
She is very much in love with her S&W .38 special revolver but thinks it's a bit too large for her to carry. Compared to the .380, that is true.

Her comfort zone is with a revolver since there is nothing to do except point and click. No safety, etc. She would never carry a 9mm.
I've been looking for a .32 revolver or something in that size. Maybe even a .25 revolver. Not having much luck but I've just started looking. Thus, my .380 revolver question. I've got plenty of ammo for that.

48 posted on 11/19/2015 10:18:28 AM PST by Bloody Sam Roberts (Democracy is not freedom. Democracy is simply majoritarianism. It is incompatible with real freedom.)
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To: CodeToad
Assuming the more powerful round results in a miss is ignorance of firearms

I'm not worried about the firearms.

It's the shooters that miss, not the guns.

49 posted on 11/19/2015 10:18:57 AM PST by Jim Noble (Diseases desperate grown Are by desperate appliance relieved Or not at al)
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To: WKUHilltopper
But I always thought they were .30 cal. (Not 30-06 like the M1)

The Army, in their infinite wisdom named the M1 Rifle and M1 Carbine with the same designator.

Yes, your dad's M2 Carbine (which is a full auto variant of the M1 carbine) fires the .30 Carbine round, which is a lot less powerful than the M1 Rifle's .30-06 round.

50 posted on 11/19/2015 10:20:26 AM PST by Rinnwald
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To: w1n1

I’m afraid I have to throw in with the anti-.22 mag crowd. I love my Ruger SR22 for target practice, and have even carried it concealed a time or two—mostly when I felt my .45 would be too bulky. But I realize it doesn’t have a lot of stopping power. .22 mag is just too odd a round to be practical.

If I either had it to do over, or had another $600 to burn, I would go with the Kahr Arms PM9. I got a chance to try one at my local range and was astonished at how accurate the little thing was. Very concealable, and the 9MM round has adequate stopping power. I didn’t think I would shoot another handgun that had the accuracy of my 1911, but the Kahr convinced me.

As for rifles, again I like the .22 for inexpensive target practice. For home defense I prefer shotguns, and love practice on clay pigeons.


51 posted on 11/19/2015 10:22:20 AM PST by Wheelman81
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To: AlaskaErik
They are a 19th century anachronism.

Uhh..you do know the semi-auto was also invented in the 19th Century?

52 posted on 11/19/2015 10:25:38 AM PST by Rinnwald
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To: Yosemitest

I tried the Hornady low recoil 38 SD in it. Still too much recoil for my wife’s wrist.

She now carries a Sig P238 with extra mags. More rounds and much easier for her to handle.

I only have the 158 grain +P because it was what I could find during the post Sandy Hook shortage; not much 38 sp there for a while. Too much for a gun that light and small.


53 posted on 11/19/2015 10:30:42 AM PST by ChildOfThe60s (If you can remember the 60s, you weren't really there....)
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To: Bloody Sam Roberts
Is there such a thing as a .380 revolver?Yes, there is such a thing as most anything. Doesn't mean it's mainstream or a good idea.
54 posted on 11/19/2015 10:31:17 AM PST by Rinnwald
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To: w1n1

For many years I kept a Universal Carbine [M1 Carbine copy] on the wall above my bed, it had 2 loaded 30-round mags taped together and I slept good with it there, never mind the several other dozen I had to pick from... :)


55 posted on 11/19/2015 10:33:12 AM PST by W. (I piss fire and acid upon the militant muslims as they pray to their baby-raping god!)
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To: Bloody Sam Roberts
Have her put her hands on an Airweight .38 Special and shoot light loads in it like the 110 grain.


56 posted on 11/19/2015 10:33:37 AM PST by Yosemitest (It's SIMPLE ! ... Fight, ... or Die !)
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To: Bloody Sam Roberts
I've got 26+ years in the USAF, and the Security Police of my time HATED, ABSOLUTELY HATED, the 9mm.
For stopping effect, they wanted either the .40 or the .45, for what they called "Spin Around Effect".
They said that the 9mm would just "punch through the body" and, if the man was on drugs or in good physical shape, they'd just keep coming.
They said the 9mm took too long to get a "Body Response" when in close quarters.
57 posted on 11/19/2015 10:38:52 AM PST by Yosemitest (It's SIMPLE ! ... Fight, ... or Die !)
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To: Rinnwald

what is mainstream AND a good idea?


58 posted on 11/19/2015 10:39:31 AM PST by longtermmemmory (VOTE! http://www.senate.gov and http://www.house.gov)
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To: Rinnwald

When I referenced M1, I meant the Garand. I use .30-06 for deer. I knew they used the M1 carbine in WW2, but thought this was straight up .30 cal too...like the M2.


59 posted on 11/19/2015 10:39:58 AM PST by WKUHilltopper (And yet...we continue to tolerate this crap...)
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To: Bloody Sam Roberts
Sell it.
Trust me, you don't want it.
60 posted on 11/19/2015 10:40:21 AM PST by Yosemitest (It's SIMPLE ! ... Fight, ... or Die !)
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