.22 for defense

[Legasat]

Certainly not my first choice, but better than a rock or a stick.

Use what you have don't miss!

[BonnieB]

Why would you insist on using a .22 for home defense, when shotguns are cheap and available.

You don't want to stop the bad guy on the 5th round. You want to stop him on the first round.

[covingtonhouse]

I just imagined what a 400gr .22 would look like. Lol

Might need a shoulder thingy that goes up....

[yelohamr]

Way back in the last century, when I went to arrest fugitives, who were hiding in a motel or hotel, besides my service revolver, I carried a 10-22 with a folding stock.
If there was to be shooting on my part, I didn't want any rounds going through a wall.
Once, an officer said, The .22 makes small holes." I replied, "I have a 30 round magazine, it will make a lot of small holes."

[superbarnie]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUM1r_444CY

According to this video, the .22lr is plenty strong to kill people at close-medium range.

[510Kal]

.22lr for Self Defense? Heck ya! Try unloading a full mag of .22's into a bad guys face or neck and see if he gets up.

or just start pointing it at the bad guys man area.

[Safety1st]

I doubt you'd feel undergunned with a KelTec PMR 22WMR. 30rds of 22mag moving at 1800fps is nothing to sneeze at.

[1lostinspace]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUM1r_444CY

According to this video, the .22lr is plenty strong to kill people at close-medium range.

Yes a 22 LR can easily kill a person but lacks the power to stop the threat unless a head shot occurs. What I am trying to say is the bad guy can return fire unless you hit a sweet part.
The advantage a 22 is that you can dumb 3 rounds to his one.

[SilverTauron]

Yes a 22 LR can easily kill a person but lacks the power to stop the threat unless a head shot occurs. What I am trying to say is the bad guy can return fire unless you hit a sweet part.
.

This is true of ALL handgun calibers. The round which ended the 1986 Miami shootout was a .38 special fired out of a snub nose into the bad guys spinal cord. That same guy took multiple 9mm and 12 gauge hits without result.

The Hollywood image of the bad guy dropping dead after three shots is a myth. In real life bad guys won't even notice they've been hit-unless you put the lead into their CNS. A .22LR in the spinal column will stop even a committed PCP addict.

[1lostinspace]

I put 2 deer down that were hit by cars both were with RBCD ammo (snake oil ammo) one with 9mm and 45ACP both deer died as the shell hit the ground!
Internal over pressure from stretch cavity rushing blood back to the heart kills instantly!

[dragon7]

I agree too, while it would'nt be my first choice a .22 pistol or rifle would be very comforting in my hand if SHTF. I bet a lot of households have a .22 for SD. Ask yourself would you rush into a house if you knew someone inside was armed with a .22.

[ECVMatt]

I have shot a few coyotes with stingers and they all died pretty quick. They usually would drop down at the shot, stumble a few yards and die. They were all shot at about 10 yards way. I was shooting them to keep them out of the barn area of the ranch I worked on. I have taught my wife to use the 10/22 for SD. When we shoot it, she knows to shoot in three round burst. She can keep all three in a fist sized pattern at 10 to 15 yards. This is better for her than the shotgun she refused to shoot. I am not going to volunteer to see how lethal this theory is.

[44fred]

Way back in the last century, when I went to arrest fugitives, who were hiding in a motel or hotel, besides my service revolver, I carried a 10-22 with a folding stock.
If there was to be shooting on my part, I didn't want any rounds going through a wall.
Once, an officer said, The .22 makes small holes." I replied, "I have a 30 round magazine, it will make a lot of small holes."

So how quick did you end the fight when you shot a suspect with your 10-22.
Please give details. Shot placement, rounds fired, number of hits etc. would be helpful for those of us that think going after a bad guy with a 10-22 is a really bad idea, regardless of the penetration issues.
Would also be nice to know which department gave you their blessing to use a 10-22 for the scenario you explained.

[themood]

I work 24 hour shifts so I am gone at night a lot. Thanks to my wonderful mother in law, my 40 year old wife is still a little uncomfortable with guns. I have taught her to shoot and have plenty of "better" home defense choices on hand. Unfortunately, most are just too much gun for her comfort level. The compromise we have come to is that if someone breaks in, she locks the door, gets the .22 pistol from the gunvault bolted to the wall behind the nightstand, calls 911 and while she is on hold for 5 minutes she yells that she has a gun and is on the phone with 911. Then fires a round into a couple of pillows on the floor. It's not going to richochet off the carpet (in the upstairs bedroom), and I believe it will be enough to scare anyone away. I think it's HIGHLY unlikely that anyone will willingly come up the stairs knowing there's someone at the top with a gun that isn't afraid to use it. Is this the perfect solution? Hell no. Will it be effective? I think so. After she fires the first round she sits in the corner with the pistol pointed at the door and 911 on the phone. Anyone that comes through the door gets one to the chest (or as many as she can get off). It might not stop the coked-out-homicidal-schizophrenic axe murderer bent on a serial killing spree, but frankly I'm not too worried about that. The most likely scenario (which is still extremely unlikely in my opinion) is a quick smash and grab intruder. The best defense I have against them is a couple of big dogs. If they still come in and I am home, then I go to the 12 gauge.

[roushstage2]

Then fires a round into a couple of pillows on the floor. It's not going to richochet off the carpet (in the upstairs bedroom), and I believe it will be enough to scare anyone away. I think it's HIGHLY unlikely that anyone will willingly come up the stairs knowing there's someone at the top with a gun that isn't afraid to use it.

Firing warning shots is a no-no.