.22 as a CCW?

[guns are dumb]

I've considered carrying a little Beretta 22 and can see many reasons to carry a 22 as a BUG. However, right now, my primary carry is a .380 or .45.

Having said that, the people that owned our house before us were/are friends of the family. The old guy liked to tell a story about when he went through medical school, his cadaver in anatomy died of a single .22 caliber bullet to the upper right quadrant.

 

[Martialartsblackbelt]

i seen a guy shot in the chest with a 25 cal, hit his heart and stopped it so fast no blood came from the wound

 

[Mr.357Sig]

I would never carry a .22 as my main CCW. Not even as a BUG. As a gun of last resort, yes.

My first problem with the .22 as a CC round is FTE issues. My Ruger MkII has FTE's every once in a while. It's annoying at the range. But, it could be deadly in a gun fight.

My other problem with .22s is how far the rounds can travel. If you miss your target, that round can go a very, very long way and cause some serious problems.

I'm not saying you can't kill the BG with a .22, I just don't trust it as a viable defensive CC round to ensure my safety or the safety of my family.

 

[slimjlm]

I'd be concerned with possible misfires or feed/eject problems of the rimfire ammo. It's just not as good as centerfire, unrimmed cartridges. Would be devastating when it works!

 

[Commander Keen]

I would never concider it, not even as a BUG. In a ccw, you want to be able to put down a BG asap. To do this, you generally need to cause enough blood loss for the BG to be unable to continue his attack, or to hit the CNS.
A .22 just doesn't create enough of a wound channel to cause the necessary blood loss, and may not penetrate deeply enough to damage the CNS.
Personal opinion (and that of most trainers as I understand): the .380 is the bare minimum calliber to carry for defense, with the 9mm being more preferable. Also, many (including Mas Ayoob) recommend carrying the largest calliber weapon you can, while still being able to control the recoil enough to fire accurately and quickly.

 

[ldp4570]

My other problem with .22s is how far the rounds can travel. If you miss your target, that round can go a very, very long way and cause some serious problems.

That pretty much applies to all projectiles, not just .22's.

 

[257wby]

Absolute final last ditch attempt. I wouldn't trust my life to a 22. While the 22 might kill the BG it will not stop him in his tracks. If the BG is taking a run at you, you want to stop him asap to eliminate the threat. IMHO

 

[skippy]

JMO but if someone was shooting at me i wouldnt stop to see what caliber it was i would go the other way a gun is a gun if it makes a bang it may make the BG think twice.

 

[LightningCrash]

Absolute final last ditch attempt. I wouldn't trust my life to a 22. While the 22 might kill the BG it will not stop him in his tracks. If the BG is taking a run at you, you want to stop him asap to eliminate the threat. IMHO

Even buckshot isn't guaranteed to stop someone in their tracks.

 

[dennishoddy]

Absolute final last ditch attempt. I wouldn't trust my life to a 22. While the 22 might kill the BG it will not stop him in his tracks. If the BG is taking a run at you, you want to stop him asap to eliminate the threat. IMHO

My original intent was using the .22 mag, but we had a pretty good discussion on here about animals and humans with their heart shot into pieces with HP's still able to function for 5-10 seconds. The only stopper would be into the central nervous system.