A .22 is way underrated for defense, it may not have immediate stopping power but it will stop em. (eventually)
Cheap ammo, easy to find and fun to shoot.
TT
Yes the .22 is underrated by those who are not really familiar with it.
Any kid who grew up on a farm or out in the country knows just how deadly a .22LR can be. I can vividly recall my Father killing hogs with a single .22 short from a Remington model 513. Also cattle with the same gun but he would use the LR for them.
I specifically remember being surprised when the hog dropped dead like it was pole axed. I also remember a guy in Western Kansas who ran a small slaughter house. He used a Marlin model 60 for killing the livestock and doing it humanely.
A .22LR would not be my first choice for self defense but I would feel far from helpless with one.
Now if we are talking about dangerous game such as bears and wild boars in the wild where you can’t place your shots exactly, that is a different game altogether.