22LR for Self Defense?
BY Herschel Smith
13 hours, 24 minutes ago
I’ll have to say that I see 22LR as being fairly weak tea, even against humans, and I’m not a big fan of its use for self defense.
However, I would carry (and have carried) the 22 WMR for self defense, especially in a backup gun.
On January 13, 2025 at 10:53 pm, Wyotana said:
The .22LR has proven quite fine as a man killer for a century and half.
The problem with a .22, IMHO, has never been the bullet. The problem is the priming system. Even the good stuff is far less reliable than mediocre centerfire ammo. I think it’s funny that they worked on the bullet rather than perfecting the priming.
On January 13, 2025 at 11:09 pm, Wyotana said:
Almost a century an a half, I should have said.
On January 13, 2025 at 11:52 pm, Dan said:
Is .22 the best choice? Of course not. Will it work? Probably…if you do your part and hit the target correctly. NO handgun of any caliber is ideal for self defense. We carry them simply because carrying a long gun all the time is not practical.
On January 14, 2025 at 7:59 am, jrg said:
I also have a lot of faith in the .22 Magnum. Though only slightly larger than the older long rifle, the terminal effects are greater, all in the very same size of gun. I have a .22 Magnum snub nose in case I become decrepit enough to not be able to shoot a centerfire handgun. Also makes for a nice back-up for a .22 Magnum rifle.