[AnalogReigns]

A 22 cal is really only good for target shooting. Why not get a pistol useful for self defense too, like a 9mm?

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***A 22 cal is really only good for target shooting.***

Wanna bet! I remember back when more people were murdered with a cheap .22 revolver than any other weapon.

[DesertRhino]

22s are only good got target shooting. Just ask millions of hogs and cattle, the mafia, Mossad, Reagan, James Brady, and Bobby Kennedy.

[Noamie]

A 22 cal is really only good for target shooting. Why not get a pistol useful for self defense too, like a 9mm?

---

22 cal kills more people, every year, than any other cal. It is, literally, the most lethal round by body count.

[Flintlock]

First learn to SHOOT.
As in—”hit what you are aiming at”.
500 rounds thru the gun will give proficiency.
5000 rounds will make you a good shot. (YMMV)
.22 is waaaay good enough for learning.

After all that—you will KNOW what gun(s) you will want. And caliber, AND brand, etc.....

My advice? S&W model 17 target revolver.

[CopperTop]

Back in the late 70's I saw a guy go down inna seedy bar that may beg to differ if he still could. Six shots of .22 across a pool table and homer was done.

To the OP-You'll hear a little of everything, some correct, and a lot of it "phallicly influenced". Ya might try renting from a local range to try-before-you-buy if that's available in your area. Firearms are highly personal and there usually is no "best" for a given purpose. A firearm that strikes someone as "sexy" is useless if they can't hit with it. While something more "boring" will get the job done (.38 snubby).
That said, and as others have stated, there's always a place for a l'il .22. Great fun. It'll get ya out to that range and if ya have any social skills at all shooters can be very generous folks(read:bad influence) about letting you try theirs. I'd look at something threaded in case the madness really takes hold of ya. Hehehe. d;^)

The best gun is the one ya have at the time of need.
A hit with a .22 is better than a miss with a .44.
A 9mm might expand. A .45 won't shrink.
Varmint hunter- Ya can't miss'em fast enough to kill'em.
If ya won't carry it, ya won't have it.
Yadda, ,yadda. d:^)

[Bringbackthedraft]

A 22 cal is really only good for target shooting. ........................ use “Stinger” 22 cal. rounds, a couple of those rounds would hurt or kill an attacker.

[Hugin]

“A 22 cal is really only good for target shooting.”

Nonsense. Don’t underestimate the humble 22. A shot through the kneecap will take the fight out of most people. One through the brain is an instant kill, even for a grizzly.

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