Walther WMP And .22 Magnum For Personal Defense
BY Herschel Smith
2 years ago
I like the idea of an autoloading .22 magnum more than Tim does, and I also like the idea of a .22 magnum revolver.
I must say that I once owned a KelTec PMR-30 and it was the most unreliable firearm I ever owned. It wouldn’t cycle a full magazine without a failure to feed or failure to eject. I suggested to KelTec that they redesign the magazine out of Aluminum because in my opinion the polymer magazine was causing problems with moving cartridges up the stack and into the chamber. It caused too much unnecessary friction.
They didn’t listen to me. They apparently think the weight is more important than functionality. I ridded myself of that firearm. Maybe the Walther WMP would be a better gun at some point in the future. And by the way, I wouldn’t have any problems carrying the .22 magnum for personal defense against two-legged predators, although it probably wouldn’t be my first choice as I leave the house.
I think the ammo thing is easily fixable. Just don’t run ammo that isn’t reliable.
On November 10, 2022 at 12:47 am, Chris Mallory said:
I have had good luck with a Rock Island Armory XT-22.
https://www.armscor.com/firearm-search-results?state__contains=&purpose__contains=&series__in=&caliber__in=8&capacity__in=&action__in=&finish_select__in=&search_terms=22MAG
On November 10, 2022 at 5:11 am, WiscoDave said:
Carry a High Standard Mk IV in my get home bag. 9 shot, .22 WMR.
On November 10, 2022 at 7:10 am, Chris said:
I’ve been carrying the S&W AirLight revolver. 22magnum, 7 rounds.
With fall upon us it goes on the ankle. Great little shooter.
CIII
On November 10, 2022 at 7:20 am, jrg said:
I also have a lot of faith in the .22 Magnum. A long time user, I noticed animals which were hit had more apparent damage than standard rimfire. So as a defense gun, that would be a good thing.
My hide-out revolver is a Taurus 941 UL (Ultra Lite) snub nose. Discontinued now but i believe a later model is still offered. The only problem I noticed when firing strings was the action seemed to gall a bit as you progressed. The 3rd cylinder was when you noticed the difference – trigger pull was harder than before. Letting it cool off for 10 minutes restored it back to original pull.
I carry it in a Simply Rugged Silver Dollar holster purchased for it. Its a dual use gun, 1st as ranch carry with a round of CCI snake shot for rattlesnake defense with 1st shot. Self defense gun 2nd, and I guess 3rd is when I carry a .22 Magnum rifle when hunting. Nice to have both rifle and handgun using same cartridge. Extremely light and compact. As with all snub noses in my hand, longer range accuracy is a challenge. Even with fully adjustable sights, that short sight radius is unforgiving.
Sorry for rambling, the fingers wouldn’t stop themselves, lol …
On November 10, 2022 at 7:35 am, William Sullivan said:
I love the cartridge. Back around 1968, I shot a fox at 125 yards with a Winchester 275 pump action. Winchester 40 grain JHP. Face on, I hit him in the chest. The bullet went all the way back and broke his right rear hip. I found it perfectly expanded just under the skin.
And then there were all of the woodchucks. Not a target round, but an excellent round for what it was designed for.
On November 10, 2022 at 1:37 pm, jrg said:
“Not a target round, but an excellent round for what it was designed for.” Well put Mr. Sullivan. Not hair splitting accurate and too costly for indiscriminate plinking. This round was design as a light Varmint / Big Small Game round.
On November 10, 2022 at 11:40 pm, X said:
Yes, I think a lot of criminals would decide to victimize someone else if they were shot a couple of times with a .22 Mag.
Problem is, .22 mag ammo ain’t cheap anymore, it approaches or exceeds the cost of some centerfire rounds… 9mm and .38 are much cheaper if you reload and 9mm ball is probably less than a lot of .22 Mag ammo.
Might as well just carry a 9mm then…