.22 home defense.

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  • Forest

    The AR guy
    Jul 13, 2011
    985
    I'm comming into this a bit late but my $.02 on the subject.

    Personally I think the .22LR is the worst possible firearm you can select for the task. Sure it MAY work, but if the criminal get's angry or is on drugs it may not work quick enough.

    HOWEVER, a .22 in the hand beats a sharp work hurled at the intruder ANY DAY OF THE WEEK and twice on Sunday. ;)

    I recently was helping a friend of a friend select a firearm. They had a recent break in (which his wife walked in on) and decided they needed somethign more than words.

    I brought them out to the AGC and had them try a variety of firearms from .22 up to .223. The gentleman handled everything without a problem, but his (frail looking) wife had problems with everything but the P22. Even the .22 rifle seemed 'too heavy'.

    With that in mind I had to suggest they go with a .22 - sure it's less than optimal, but it beats what they had. The husband was also planning on going 9mm after he was comfortable with the .22.

    Better to make do with less than have nothing.

    But as I told them if you're going to use a .22 you need to make sure you have a reliable .22 AND you need ammo that is reliable feeding and ignition while still making the FBI 12" of minium penetration.

    For that select the CCI MiniMag CPRN (copper plated round nose) or the Federal 'Tactical' CPRN. Don't use bargain basement 'value packs' or HP rounds with .22.
     

    Biggfoot44

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 2, 2009
    32,774
    Even with physical challenges there are more options. For a while I had my late Mother equiped with a Berretta M84 .380acp . While the recoil was minimal , she got to the point of not being able to manipulate the slide.

    So I got here a duplicate of my FIL's set up - an alloy frame .22WMR SA 5.5in .those with arthritis or Carpal can pull a hammer with their thumb a lot easier than a DA trigger pull. And a lot bigger surface and leverage on a SA hammer than a DA/SA . And a 40gr JHP @ a measured 1400fps is a whole 'nuther realm of bullet performance over .22lrs running in the 900's .
     

    Bohlieve410

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 21, 2011
    1,575
    Unfortunetly all I have at the moment is a Browning SA22 loaded for home defense. It'll put out 11 in seconds though. If I had the $$ though for .22 anything it'd be M&P 15-22, 25 round magazine loaded up with CCI Stingers.
     

    joppaj

    Sheepdog
    Staff member
    Moderator
    Apr 11, 2008
    46,379
    MD
    If I had the $$ though for .22 anything it'd be M&P 15-22, 25 round magazine loaded up with CCI Stingers.

    Now that's a different animal. My wife is an inexperienced shooter, but she's comfortable with my 10-22. With good ammo, my 10-22 is dead nuts reliable. If I had to arm her with that rifle, it wouldn't be the worst choice I could make.
     

    Boom Boom

    Hold my beer. Watch this.
    Jul 16, 2010
    16,834
    Carroll
    Now that's a different animal. My wife is an inexperienced shooter, but she's comfortable with my 10-22. With good ammo, my 10-22 is dead nuts reliable. If I had to arm her with that rifle, it wouldn't be the worst choice I could make.

    Agreed. Up close and personal, a 16" rifle shooting hot HP 22LR loads like Mini-Mags and Velocitors can inflict a whole lotta hurt. The key is that the rifle and heavier HP ammo create an explosive wound channel. It's an interesting and compact option for the OP if his fiancée can warm up to a 10/22 carbine with a BX-25 mag (or the M&P15-22).
     

    smokey

    2A TEACHER
    Jan 31, 2008
    31,369
    Agreed. Up close and personal, a 16" rifle shooting hot HP 22LR loads like Mini-Mags and Velocitors can inflict a whole lotta hurt. The key is that the rifle and heavier HP ammo create an explosive wound channel. It's an interesting and compact option for the OP if his fiancée can warm up to a 10/22 carbine with a BX-25 mag (or the M&P15-22).

    Dunno if i'd call it an "explosive" wound channel. Typically you need a projectile above 2,000 fps for temporary cavitation to really do much...often because it's paired with some form of fragmentation that helps tear the tissue as it's stretched. .22 out of a rifle does start to become fairly useful though. 10" and .4" expansion is somewhat decent.


    looks like the stinger didn't do so hot...only 7"...booo
     

    teratos

    My hair is amazing
    MDS Supporter
    Patriot Picket
    Jan 22, 2009
    59,751
    Bel Air
    You get pressure waves subsonic. You get shock waves supersonic. It's all about energy transfer which overwhelms the central nervous system that drops the attacker. The temporary cavity is a reflection of energy transfer into the tissue. It is all a function of projectile mass, velocity, and surface area slamming into tissue. Too much CNS stimulation, everything goes haywire and recipient of said projectile drops. Kinda like a stun gun. This is the very reason why folks on PCP can keep coming. It anesthetizes the CNS. For HD, you want incapacitation. Death should not be a consideration.
     

    Boom Boom

    Hold my beer. Watch this.
    Jul 16, 2010
    16,834
    Carroll
    Dunno if i'd call it an "explosive" wound channel. Typically you need a projectile above 2,000 fps for temporary cavitation to really do much...often because it's paired with some form of fragmentation that helps tear the tissue as it's stretched. .22 out of a rifle does start to become fairly useful though. 10" and .4" expansion is somewhat decent.

    I've seen his video a bunch of times. From a rifle barrel, a close-range headshot or vital organ strike (5-15 feet, not 25 yards) with heavier HV HP tends to be near-instantly fatal. The human body is more like shooting into a spiny watermelon with firm gelatin inside. The spiny watermelon rind (skin and bone) is what causes HP expansion and leads to subsequent devastating organ damage from the expanded bullet and skin and bone blowing inwards. Shooting into plain gelatin doesn't get the point across very well.
     

    smokey

    2A TEACHER
    Jan 31, 2008
    31,369
    I've seen his video a bunch of times. From a rifle barrel, a close-range headshot or vital organ strike (5-15 feet, not 25 yards) with heavier HV HP tends to be near-instantly fatal. The human body is more like shooting into a spiny watermelon with firm gelatin inside. The spiny watermelon rind (skin and bone) is what causes HP expansion and leads to subsequent devastating organ damage from the expanded bullet and skin and bone blowing inwards. Shooting into plain gelatin doesn't get the point across very well.

    hahaha what?
     

    teratos

    My hair is amazing
    MDS Supporter
    Patriot Picket
    Jan 22, 2009
    59,751
    Bel Air
    I've seen his video a bunch of times. From a rifle barrel, a close-range headshot or vital organ strike (5-15 feet, not 25 yards) with heavier HV HP tends to be near-instantly fatal. The human body is more like shooting into a spiny watermelon with firm gelatin inside. The spiny watermelon rind (skin and bone) is what causes HP expansion and leads to subsequent devastating organ damage from the expanded bullet and skin and bone blowing inwards. Shooting into plain gelatin doesn't get the point across very well.

    Only heart and head shots would be instantly fatal based on the tissue damage alone
     

    smokey

    2A TEACHER
    Jan 31, 2008
    31,369
    I'll let you know next time I see gelatin people walking around. Maybe I'll tell Alex Jones first so you don't scoop him.

    again...huh? I was chuckling at "spiny watermelon". I did a google search and couldn't come up with jack on it. U make that thing up or what? :lol2:. Also, skin and bone causing expansion in hp's? Typically bone prevents expansion in hp's by clogging the cavity like clothing would. It's the hydrolic pressure from the elastic tissue that presses the hp cavity out and apart typically. It's worth mentioning bones and foreign media blown into the wound channel would be part of that "fragmentation" I was talking about above. I'm not disagreeing with you, just commenting on the use of "explosive" when referring to .22 energies and velocities.
     

    Minuteman

    Member
    BANNED!!!
    Even with physical challenges there are more options. For a while I had my late Mother equiped with a Berretta M84 .380acp . While the recoil was minimal , she got to the point of not being able to manipulate the slide.

    So I got here a duplicate of my FIL's set up - an alloy frame .22WMR SA 5.5in .those with arthritis or Carpal can pull a hammer with their thumb a lot easier than a DA trigger pull. And a lot bigger surface and leverage on a SA hammer than a DA/SA . And a 40gr JHP @ a measured 1400fps is a whole 'nuther realm of bullet performance over .22lrs running in the 900's .

    Agreed. A .22WMR or even LR can be a viable option for some law abiding citizens. I shot 4 different guns today, and the .22LR revolver was the easiest to shoot, most reliable and lowest recoil.
     

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