22 for self defense?

[grim83]

I am comfortable with firearms an would prefer to carry a 45 im just seeing the 22 as a more viable option at the moment. End of the day im not sure i want to entrust my life to such a small caliber but i cant deny the pluses offered by the 22 and in a defense situation were talking short ranges so is the stopping power at say 10 yards really gonna be that low not to mention im comfortable with the fact that i can put a small grouping very fast with that caliber versus the 45

[Neckbeard]

Get a Hipoint, cheap, reliable, and i love mine in .40

[n8ball2013]

and when its empty you can use it to hammer nails and throw at people.

[Bigsix]

Any gun is better than no gun. Having said that, a bigger gun is better than a smaller one.

Personally, would I depend on a .22lr to protect my life? No I wouldn't. I have read a new story years back that happened locally, a drug addict tried to mug and old woman, she put up a hell of a fight, mugger jammed a little semi auto .22 in the ladys mouth and popped off a round and ran away. The lady survived. Her dentures stopped the .22lr dead in its tracks. She wasnt injured from the shot in anyway.

I feel that there are only a couple instances where carrying a .22lr as your primary defensive weapon are ok, such as and older person that has hand/nerve damage and cannot withstand any recoil ( like my grandma).

Will a .22lr kill you, sure it "can", but will it is another story. I have personally shot many a ground hog with a .22 ( from a rifle mind you, more accurate, higher muzzle velocity as well) and I have seen plenty of ground hogs shrug off a not perfectly placed .22lr round and continue on as if nothing happened, last time I checked, people are bigger n tougher than a ground hog, so take that for what it is worth.

To briefly touch on something else OP mentioned " stopping power", what a mis-used term in regards to handguns. True "stopping power" as in a hit that is so strong it has a greatly negetive effect on your target, stopping it instantly regardless of being a headshot/ vitals or not, does not really exist with common caliber carried side arms. Period. Stopping power is a term that should be held more in regards to rifles, weapons capable of giving a tremendous hydrostatic shock/ temporary/ and permanent wound cavity. Handguns just dont have enough ass for this. A handgun shot, does not have enough velocity/ power behind it to create a huge temporary and large permanet wound cavity in a body, handgun wounds that are not dlivered to the vitals immediately ending ones life, are just holes that allow you to bleed out, some calibers allow this to happen faster, some shot placements allow this to happen faster, some don't. Hand gun rounds go in, bounce around and tear up what they contact for the most part, where as a high powered rifle round hits so fast and hard that the temporary cavity caused from this is much much larger, crushing and destroying internals, incapacitating your target much quicker than a wound that merely allows your target to bleed out.

That last paragraph doesnt do much for answering OP's question, but knowledge is power right?

So in short, a .22 "can" do the job, maybe. But how fast will it incapacitate an attacker if you dont have lethal shot placement? 1 minute? 2 minutes? maybe 10 minutes or more? Bigger holes bleed faster. Go buy a small 9mm and be much more well prepared. Just grabbed my ol lady a new carry piece the other day, Taurus 709 slim, its a tiny little package, super light and super thin, single stack 9mm, and it is as small, if not smaller than nearly all popular semi autos on the market today.

Something else to keep in mind with being in a life or death defensive situation, especially with a small caliber such as the .22lr, shot placement in key. Shooting someone in the face with a .22 a couple times will most likely end the confrontation, but by the same token, are you truly capable of connecting with such a small target, that is moving, and trying to hurt you? The real answer is, theres a good chance you are not. Once you factor in things the the adrenaline rush that accompanies you once you are hit with fight or flight, your coordination and motor skills instantly become much less than they were a minute prior. Center Mass shots with a .22 are going to do very little to a determined or drugged out attack for at least the few first seconds, which in this scenario, will/can get you killed. If you have a boner and are dead set on a 22, get an NAA 22 mag revolver, they are tiny, but then your ammo cost is nearly the same as a 9mm, which, IMO is a better choice.

[Lbox88]

What are your feelings on Taurus? I see a looooot of them traded into Gander and such. Like, 75% or more of their used stock is all Taurus.

[BEEMDUB]

I am comfortable with firearms an would prefer to carry a 45 im just seeing the 22 as a more viable option at the moment. End of the day im not sure i want to entrust my life to such a small caliber but i cant deny the pluses offered by the 22 and in a defense situation were talking short ranges so is the stopping power at say 10 yards really gonna be that low not to mention im comfortable with the fact that i can put a small grouping very fast with that caliber versus the 45

I would at least look for a 9 man....a 22 will be better for wounding and scaring off a threat rather than actually providing stopping power (which im sure you've already heard 100 times jusst from this thread lol) Basically a 22 is comparable to a loud high powered pellet rifle

[grim83]

ive shot 22s since i was 3yrs old i understand the lackof power issue very well lol. my main issue at the moment is money i plan to buy something bigger later so the 22 is just a here to there deal plus i want one anyway i liked nates suggestion on the 22wmr round though i need to look into it more. im not a fan of taurus and id rather be without than carry a hi point

[T.A.G. Audio]

I have a walther p22 that I carry sometimes. It is a very comfortable and smooth gun. You can't find it for the price you are looking at though. But I like my Kimber ultra carry. It is very small for a 45 and packs a punch as well.

[Bigsix]

What are your feelings on Taurus? I see a looooot of them traded into Gander and such. Like, 75% or more of their used stock is all Taurus.

Well since I just bought the old lady one to carry, I'm gonna say my confidence is them is plenty. I own/ have owned multiple firearms made by taurus, and not ever has a single one given me an issue, some have had thousands of rounds through them as well. IMO taurus did really used to make some shit weapons and have had their share of duds that shouldnt have made it off the assembly line, but they have excellent customer service, and their current production guns are on par with anything that is within the similar price point, Of course a 600 dollar Taurus 1911 is not comparable to 900-1000+ Kimber, but Ill be ya anything it'll run fine and shoot well regardless. Taurus, to me, is a great option. I own a PT1911 in 9mm, that I have absolutely shot the shit out of, and it runs like a top, it is combat accurate ( not a bullseye gun like a Les Baer) and has never once had a FTF, FTE or anything other than a smooth reliable pistol.

[Bigsix]

ive shot 22s since i was 3yrs old i understand the lackof power issue very well lol. my main issue at the moment is money i plan to buy something bigger later so the 22 is just a here to there deal plus i want one anyway i liked nates suggestion on the 22wmr round though i need to look into it more. im not a fan of taurus and id rather be without than carry a hi point

So you'd rather carry an inadequate round, and spend money on a here to there gun, then spend the same on say a used Taurus and have a much better choice for self defense in terms of caliber? When things like a life are on the line, that kind of logic doesn't make sense to me. I have more exp. with Taurus than anyone that has posted in this thread, I can almost guarantee it. They work great. they are solid reliable guns. taurus also has a good habit of quickly making things right if you should actually have an issue. I have shot, owned more guns just under the taurus brand than most gun guys have in their entire collection, plus I build custom weapons on the side, and shoot thousands upon thousands of rounds per year, so its a safe bet that I have good grasp of what I am talking about.

OP why dont you like Taurus? What is your exp. with the brand? Owned any? or have you just shot one once and read what nut huggers online say? Do you have any actualy first hand end user data that backs up or justifies the claim of "I dont like taurus"?

Is Taurus the best? absolutely not.

Is Taurus complete junk, deserving to be lumped with things like Hi-point etc? absolutely not.

Taurus is a more than adequate maker of middle of the road quality weapons that will give you years of great service and reliability IMO. Typically what I see on Taurus, is the final fit n finish is sometime lacking compared to other makers, then again you are also paying less for what you are getting, than had you went with a different maker. Plus the whole lifetime warranty thing isnt to shabby either.