Posted on 03/23/2018 5:57:54 AM PDT by w1n1
The .22 Short was developed back in 1857 for Smith & Wesson revolver.
Created for the metallic cartridge with a 29-30 grain bullet, pushed by 4 grains of black powder.
This was mainly developed for self-defense, nowadays this cartridge has little penetration and knockdown power.
So how low in caliber should one go before your personal defense firearm is too light?
Youtuber mark3smle did some ballistic gelatin test with this .22 Short.
Overall the .22 penetrated 4 inches through a pair of pants into the gelatin. mark3smle goes onto comparing a knife penetration could do the job as well. Theres going to be different views on this.
A knife fighter with training would probably boast his skillset as superior at close range.
However, with a .22 Short you can still tactically use it without the bad guy knowing it until its too late. What do you all think?, Would you go with a .22 Shorty for self-defense? See the full 22 Shorty or knife review here.
Here's what some are saying on social media:
You live in Iceland now?
I had the pleasure of learning “general rifle” from him for a week.
Prized possession: a Steyr Scout signed by Jeff Cooper and purchased from Massad Ayoob.
Easy to do in training when you know for sure your not going to get shot.
A lot harder when real firearms with live ammo are present.
I wouldn't want Doug Marcaida coming at me with a knife regardless of what handgun I had but I'm guessing if he were staring down a .22SR in the hands of Jerry Miculek, Marcaida wouldn't push the issue.
BBB
Yes, it is made in both .22LR and .22 Magnum, and the overall package is not very much bigger.
At 20 foot or less, I would always put my money on the martial artist with a knife vs a holstered gum. I have played both parts in training and the knife wins.
Gun trumps knife. Every time.
A reference article: The Tueller Drill Myth: Why The 21 Foot Rule Isnt a Rule At All
I have personally observed in many training classes that the critical factor is situational awareness and alertness.
The drill that changed my mind (and removed the "fear" implied by the "21-Foot Rule"):
I was amazed to see that in a class of 10-12 students of all skill levels, almost every student in the center was able to effectively engage the attacker effectively and consistently before being touched. I also observed that most of the more experienced students were able to do it with a relatively large margin of error.
Knowing what was about to happen and mentally rehearsing the response was, I think, the key to even novice shooters being able to 'win' the drill. I took these lessons to heart. In addition, the most effective students where the ones who thought to "git off the x."
FYI, I ran through this drill every time using my normal concealed carry location (AIWB) to give a more realistic scenario. I was still able to successfully 'win' every time. It was a great confidence booster.
Food for thought. Hope this helps.
Why not carry both?
That was my immediate response too. This is noot a chicken or the egg question. What is the circumstances that would prevent the option of both? Are you required to wear nothing but a leotard and only have limited space in the crotch?
“First time I witnessed it I was floored. Its almost 100% effective each time.”
I was lectured on the drill by a female officer whose face had been cut to pieces by a thug. She almost died.
Bear spray or Hornet spray.
More distance & not very pleasant.
I’ve read lots of Jeff Cooper’s works, so the people who did the HANDGUN TESTS and PISTOLERO magazines back in the 1980s (remember them?) went to Mexico and tried out the .25 cal on some hogs. It worked well.
They also tried out a “Tanto knife”, and a crossbow. All worked well.
Why Mexico? Because the animal lovers would have went ballistic with some of the tests if done in the USA.
OK that is a reasonable scenario
***Would you go with a .22 Shorty for self-defense?***
In the Civil War days, and later with the under powered .44 rimfire derringer, the main thing was not to be shot as you probably would die slowly of infection with all the dirt and bacteria carried into the wound.
I would like to see the same demonstration between an expert fast shooter, and a run of the mill man on the street with a knife, just to see if the theory still holds.
There are fast shooters who can empty a pistol and reload measured in fractions of a second.
just might not be the knife that has the power, but the "expert".
Yeah...
Tell me - how many cops are “expert”?
“Remember - these cops are standing and guns still holstered.”
What about knife man? Does he have a folding knife in his pocket at the start of the drill? Is he pumping gas at the beginning of the drill?
And the FBI says that is someone shoots a BG in the heart, the BG will still have at least 10 seconds of useful consciousness in which to shoot back. Much more if you just nick an artery.
You cut someone’s femoral artery, they will die. But if they live long enough to put 10 rounds of 9mm in you, your odds of collecting social security go down too.
Caught by surprise, most CCW folks will need 3-5 seconds to get a gun out. Maybe more. After all, it is concealed and you will probably have carried for 10+ years without ever needing to draw in self-defense. You just won’t be very good at it. The same applies, but even more so, for using a knife in self-defense.
Therefore, the knife is the badness personified.
I simply state that it is the ninja, not the knife, that makes the knife vs gun trials a sure thing for the knife.
If one was to be sure the knife always wins, one would not be against trying out the experiment with a fast shooter and a regular dude with a knife.
If they truly want a random experiment, they would switch the roles of expert in either weapon, to see it if it was truly the weapon, or the training, that makes one more lethal.
You should already know the answer.
The narrative that the knife is superior because knife is false.
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