For the average non military CQ Combat trained shooter, neither is good for home defense.
The .22Lr would feel like a bee sting in just about every part of your body (except the head.)
Using a long rifle in the home is unwieldy.
We use a double barreled shot gun for that. If it comes down to using it in the house for defense, I don’t give a shit about the walls.
#6 shot in a 12ga. perfect for apartments. Noisy but won’t penetrate dry wall.
IF .223 THEN frangible ammo for home defense.
ELSE your rounds can perform a full house penetration.
.22LR can also over penetrate and aint terribly lethal unless you place a lot of rounds in your target.
If you are rightfully concerned about drywall penetration, then consider getting a Remington 870 Tactical shotgun, and load it with NON-magnum 2 3/4” shells and #8 shot.
My two cents.
I would never compare the two. Other than bullet diameter they have nothing in common. I go 9mm + 12ga + 00 buck. That’s naught - naught buck to the media.
Using a rifle or shotgun indoors could be unwieldly. Consider using a larger caliber pistol instead. You should research frangible bullets, such as the GLASER SAFETY SLUG. They are designed not to penetrate sheetrock walls but also provide much better knockdown power than a .22 bullet.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glaser_Safety_Slug
False dilemma.
12 gauge
I agree with the shotgun comments. Love my Pardner and it was cheap.
I remember talking to a Sheriffs Deputy who lost a friend and fellow officer to a felon.
The felon on drugs was shot three times in the chest with three 45ACP rounds, one round even nicked his heart. The felon although mortally wounded was still able to shoot back and kill the police officer.
I wouldn’t depend on a .22lr to stop an attacker quickly.
Instead use a .223(5.56) with a forty grain hollow point bullet. It will still have tremendous knockdown power (traveling 3300 feet per second) at short range and the hollow point design of the bullet should minimize the penetration of the projectile through walls.
The rain has stooped, go outside and go shooting!!! You must be bored to start a drywall penetration thread!!!!
Hmm, sounds like I need to add this to the corollary section of the 5 rules of a gun fight.
1) Gun beats no gun.
Corollary:
- if your gun is to big, heavy, ugly or whatever to carry and you leave it at home, you have no gun.
- if you run out of bullets or can’t clear your jam, you have no gun
[new]
- if you are afraid to shoot for fear of hitting others, you have no gun
So the lesson here is, make sure, that is, MAKE SURE you hit the bad guy, because if you don’t, the bullet is going to end up WAY past where you think it will end up. The question I’m left with, I wonder about birdshot as opposed to 00 Buckshot.
Compared with the larger caliber hand cannons, and setting drywall penetration concerns and needlessly endangering neighbors with your trash problem, less is more.
The .22LR offers less noise, less flash, less weight and less recoil, all of which adds up to faster repeat shots on target, as fast as you can squeeze that trigger. Less money per round, too, assuming you can find any.
Those advantages become even more significant if you're older or smaller or weaker or are dealing with injury or arthritis or are a bit gun shy or are simply out of practice.
As always and with all things, ymmv.
Some people load shotgun shells with rock salt.
Solid (crystal) Drano, on the other hand.......
Ping for later, some of these comments are hysterical.
Both loaded with frangible rounds. They pack a punch but dissipate their energy laterally very quickly. If you hit the target you do damage. If you miss, they won't penetrate the walls.
223 doesn’t tumble. Get a shotgun. Just racking it will often send an intruder packing.