Could you defend your life with a 22lr

[Saber2Golf]

It astounds me that the ".22LR bounces around inside the skull" story is continuing to be perpetuated. We are to believe that a .22LR will penetrate nearly 1/4" of bone, then 6 to 8" of brain matter which is 80% water, and still have enough energy for one return trip - let alone 2 or 3!? I have heard of .22LR deflecting off a rib, and of them fragmenting, and I can imagine it "riding around" the curvature of the inside of the skull. But I need more documentation than an anecdote from some mob thug or a cousin of a friend of a friend. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence" ring a bell for anyone?

[Mail Clerk]

I'm just wondering. If it came down to it and lets say someone breaks into my home. Is using my 22 for self defense even worth a try? Or, would I just be better off grabbing a baseball bat?

When put in the right place the 22LR can be just as good as any revolver/pistol caliber. There have been stories where people have protected their lives on the 22 bullet.

Remember aim and put them in the right places and he'll go down just like any.

Mail Clerk

[calnurse]

Better to have a .22 LR firearm than nothing! I am pretty sure that a burglar will crap in his pants if he saw me pointing my GSG-5 at him

[donw]

very controversial subject but the truth is...yes...plain and simple.

[mif_slim]

Saber2Golf, I agree with you too. I don't believe the "bounce around" thing is true. Deflection? yes. Bounce? No.

My best friend use to live out in the country and him and I use to butcher pigs/sheep/cow for ultimate BBQ's and not once in my 20 years there have seen a 22lr bounce inside those animals head/brain. 22lr is what the butcher used to put em down.

[donw]

Maybe if it were an AR with rimfire conversion and 26-round magazines loaded with CCI Mini-Mags.

Wait, those things jam a lot. Never mind.

i have the Spikes Tactical ST-22 and it does NOT jam with CCI mini-mags...it IS my first "Go to" for SD/HD...

[donw]

Pop the femoral artery (inside of the thigh) and they're dead almost as quickly as a heart shot, faster than a lung shot.

a Sgt in my platoon was KIA in Vietnam that exact way by a MG bullet; he was dead in less than a minute...

[Matt P]

I had to ask, those of you who seem to know that it will take a full magazine or more of .22 LR to stop a threat, is that observation based on individuals you have shot say with a rimfire, vs a center fire cartridge?
Or is that based on your hunting with both, and despite exact placement of both applications (near enough is good to), the centerfire handgun cartridge only needed one to two to stop the animal?

Based on what I read from some in this thread, it seems that if I use .22 rimfire in self defense, I better be more accurate with that then another cartridge.

As if, 22 rimfire needs exact shot placement, but heck, anything else, just blaze away and no worries about where you hit the threat.

Any application of any type of cartridge as it relates to a handheld firearm, still will require proper shot placement to be effective.

Accuracy, and your ability to quickly follow up with more well placed shots is what will stop a threat.
I feel we would all agree on the importance of accuracy. That should not need additional claims to establish for anyone.

[pennys dad]

When I lived in Phx, the Phx PD officers I knew would talk about 9mm glazer rounds for summer and spring and regular hollow points for winter. The idea being the additional layers would potentially keep the glazer rond from being effective. I wonder if the same applies to the 22lr bullet. I know I wont be aiming for the head and will be seeking center mass so in the summer that 22lr hitting center mass with a few rounds will stop somone, but will layers cause an issue during colder parts of the year?

[Jason P]

Extremely lethal:

http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=504301&fpart=1

[WDE91]

Could you- YES anything is better than your fists
Should you-Most likely not

this whole idea of using a .22lr for defense does not make much sense

few exceptions I could understand
the elderly who do not want the weight of a centerfire and recoil
or
someone recovering from an injury

WHY ON EARTH TRUST YOU AND YOUR FAMILIES LIFE TO A RIMFIRE???
There is a reason you do not see the military NOR the police using rimfires as their main firearms

They tried rimfire in the 19th century and it was quickly replaced by centerfire

and YES I know about the silenced .22lr's for specialty work in select fields

the reasons against rimfire are reliability and lethality
both of which are inherent in rimfires

rimfires in perfect working are reliable but centerfires in perfect working order are MORE reliable

I know for a FACT that ALOT of people have died from .22lr
we can go all over the net and find links
John Doe dead
Jane Doe dead

.22lr lacks in ALL of the following
muzzle energy
weight
bullet diameter

[Mr. Beretta]

I'm just wondering. If it came down to it and lets say someone breaks into my home. Is using my 22 for self defense even worth a try? Or, would I just be better off grabbing a baseball bat?

Absolutely with the 22.

[mif_slim]

.22lr lacks in ALL of the following
muzzle energy
weight
bullet diameter

And none of those matters when the lead meets the meat.

[762.DEFENSE]

Totally do-able. I keep my AR-22 close by in my room (Obviously not as my first go-to gun, but its very reliable and light weight).

[ZombieTactics]

9 times out of 10 just flashing ANY firearm is going to make the average b&e thief take flight. ...

On what basis of fact do you actually believe this?