Posted on 01/15/2018 6:41:50 AM PST by w1n1
For concealed carrier having a reliable pistol that youre comfortable with is ideal. If youre a newbie and think that you want to start with a reliable pistol.
Why not look into a getting a Ruger LCR-22, compact light handgun weighs 16-ounce, affordable and easy to shoot.
It incorporates several novel features such as a polymer grip and trigger housing, monolithic receiver, and constant force trigger.
Operates in double-action only (DAO) as the hammer is concealed within the frame handle's fire control housing of the gun and cannot be cocked prior to firing, shoots .22 Winchester Rimfire caliber.
Some may argue that the .22 WMR is too small for personal defense. Those that think this way are looking at it from a hunter mindset, that is one shot one kill.
However, for self-defense purpose the primary objective is stop the bad guy from doing bad things.
There are three ways to stop a threat with a pistol:
While my walking around IWB weapon is a 9mm, in the event of needing a weapon there are two snub nosed revolvers elsewhere I might need them. The one more easily picked up by the wife is a LCR 22 WMR. Simple to operate, no kick, easy on older hands, no safety needed, goes bang.
With TNT Green you actually get some expansion and probably isn’t going to go through to a neighbor’s house interior.
If I need to pick up my semi auto “varmint” rifle with 4 power scope, that LCR is in the same caliber so I’m cowboy qualified with one cartridge vest.
The . 22 magnum is not a bad round for personal defense, its better than nothing and has decent ballistics numbers. When I graduated college and was on my own my only weapon was a Colt Frontier Scout my grandpa gave me before he passed. It had the .22LR & the .22 Mag cylinders. I had it loaded with the magnum cylinder and felt well armed as I was accurate with this particular pistol.
I might add that when concealed carry is awkward in our hot weather, the 22WMR weapon of choice is a NAA Sidewinder which in a slim pocket holster is invisible no matter what you are wearing.
HA..! If the bad guy lives, he finds a liberal judge and ends up owning everything you got....
Always use a BIG gun and stomp the remains..!
I keep a scoped 10-22 Takedown packer very discretely in my vehicle. 4 25 round mags. Just for emergencies.
L
Bbbbbut, dont I need super-duper blood-blizzard 50-caliber maxipad rounds before Im safe? I mean, look at how the military hasnt been able to kill anyone since they went to 9 millimeter! Just the other day, my second cousin heared of a guy who was shot point blank in the face with a 9mm and popped right up like a jack-a-lope! Poor guy had to shoot him a dozen times afore he went down. It was downright embarrassin when the cops showed up.
22s have killed more people than any round, but theyre also the most ubiquitous caliber around. Theres ten thousand 22s for every evil black riflenot that youd know that from the press. My old man carried various calibers, but the 22 magnum was the default. You wont take out a bear at 100 yards, but you can stop 90% of thuggery close-up where 90% of thuggery takes place. Caliber snobbery is the height of stupidity when we all know most of the people arguing will never fire a round in a firefight.
Id be happy to never fire any caliber at a human being ever, but if I had to, a 22 mag would be just fine as long as theyre werent more than a couple. Beyond that, Im probably so damned deficient in situational awareness that even The Magic Caliber aint gonna save my sorry self.
Anyone, I found a box of 22lr “Stingers” at a yard sale about 3 yrs ago. Can they be fired in a 22 handgun? Are they some kind of a super power round?
“However, it does not replicate skin, ribs, cartilage or fat and, in fact, very often the way a bullet performs in living tissue is quite different than how it performs in gelatin.”
It does replicate an eye though.
Didn’t I see somewhere that Israeli special ops guys are issued 22 MAG handguns?
(NB: Ballistic characteristics very different from 22 LR devices.)
The only time I’ve pulled a handgun for self defense, it was a 22 LR 6 shot revolver. That was close to 40 years ago. I had taken it out with me for plinking, not self-defense. But I had it, and when some guys decided to surround me...well, it turned out no one wanted to be the first person shot with a 22 LR. IF they even noticed how small the hole in the barrel was.
I’ve considered getting a S&W J-frame 22 LR. 8 rounds of 22 LR in a 12 oz package. Used as a belly gun, firing fast, it would send bullets wandering all around the inside of a person.
If I was really worried, I’d rather have my Model 60 with 357 mag, or better still, my 686+. But for a low threat stroll thru the surrounding desert, in the ‘extremely unlikely for anything to go bad’ scenario, 8 rounds of 22 would be better than the 5 rounds of 22 I currently carry with me in a single action derringer...
5 rules of a gun fight:
1) Gun beats no gun
2) A hit beats a miss
3) Fast beats slow
4) Big holes beat little holes
5) Two holes beat one
I think I paid $125 for the Hi Standard. Took a bit of practice but I can dump all nine rounds into a paper plate at 15 feet darn near as fast as I can pull the trigger.
L
“One thing I have wondered about is if I ever was in a position to have to unexpectedly shoot is how I would deal with the noise of my gun. I have fired a 22LCR without hearing protection and I think that the noise it makes would be a minimal issue compared to a larger caliber pistol.”
I still have tinnitus in my right ear from shooting at a snake with a 22LR in an outhouse 56 years ago. Hearing damage is guaranteed without protection.
Yep. With the wood stock, the Savage A22 in 22WMR looks like a varmint rifle, which it is, but it is able to put a lot down range in a hurry. It uses rotary mags much like your Ruger and is within 3” of flat to 180 yards.
ANY .22 magnum PISTOL is nothing but a gimmick.
.22 Magnum was developed to utilize all the extra barrel length in a rifle configuration as .22 Long Rifle burns all of its powder charge long before the bullet exits the muzzle.
As such, .22 Mag out of a pistol length barrel develops only slightly more velocity than .22 LR. Beyond that it just makes a lot more flash and noise.
If youre going to carry a .22 for self defense, making it a magnum is NOT any real advantage.
A .22 mag would not be my first choice for personal defense but I sure wouldn’t want someone who knows what they are doing shooting at me with one.
Yes they can but they really need a rifle to develop full velocity.
L
Imagine that.
The first requirement for a good self-defense weapon is that you become proficient with it. .22 ammo is very cheap, and .22's are a lot of fun to fire. Some folks, especially some women, don't find it much fun to shoot more powerful handguns.
Better to have a .22 with which you are proficient, and are not scared to shoot, than a gun you don't really enjoy shooting, and with which you lack proficiency. The size also makes it a very good choice, especially for women, who may not wish to carry something more bulky.
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