Is .22LR good enough for HD?

[mif_slim]

my great great grandpa killed full grown deer with 22lr regularly at 50+ yards....

[bombadillo]

As stated, if its what you have, its better than a knife. I would want a .38sp or bigger but use it till you can afford something bigger and hope an intruder doesn't come in that you'd have to use it. My first gun was a .22lr rifle and I used it as a home defense gun till I got my P345 which replaced it and is still there. Do what you have to with the weapons you have.

[sephy]

As I see it (and as people have mentioned) the biggest problems with 22lr are reliability and stopping power, NOT killing power.

Even with the good stuff sometimes a 22 can be finicky and decide it wants to fail. Then you're left tugging at the trigger in a critical moment with nothing happening. I'd much rather have a centerfire gun with ammunition I've shot and proven its reliability.

As far as killing power, I have no doubt that the 22 can do the job. The problem is, when is that going to happen? Is it going to be a fall to the ground immediately, or will your home invader get pissed off, exact his revenge, then go succumb to his wounds somewhere else?

[thunderbolt]

The best HD weapon is deterence and if you lack a 180 lb saint Bernard your next best bet is the ol' 870. Nothing says "get the h* out of my house" like racking a shell.
The .22 is a fine round with a plethora of uses but using one for home defense is like using a table knife to cut plywood. I guess you could but why not use the right tool to begin with. If it's a money issue I completely understand. You use what you have but if you're able, get a proper HD/SHTF weapon and save the .22 for the bunnies.

[InGrAM]

If you only have 1 gun then YES use it has ur HD gun until you can save up for a bigger caliber gun.