Is the .22 Rimfire a viable self defense round?

[rebel-son]

I have heard of people dying from single shots to the torso, but I have heard of people living with multiple headshots.

The reality is the 22lr with a suppressor is one of the most popular assassination weapons supposedly, but that is just a couple things I have read.

I would not carry it except as maybe a third gun as a backup like a derringer, but not a main gun. Now if you have something like a 10 shot revolver I am pretty sure with good shot placement you will take an intruder down.

 

[okiebindernut]

A guy I work with was saying how a .22 was worthless for anything other than killing squirrels and rabbits. He said anything smaller than a .38 would have a hard time stopping a human. I asked him if, according his logic, he wouldn't mind being shot with a .22. He said he didn't think it would be that bad, so now I ask him on a regular basis when I can shoot him.

 

[FreeSpiritBalloon]

I think 22lr is the only carry my wife will consider, so until I can get her into a 38, hopefully as soon as she gets comfortable with carrying, what is the best and highest capacity 22 revolver you have used an would recommend?

 

[Glocktogo]

i say:

You start shooting someone in the face with a 22....they are gunna stop doing what they are doing. : )

This. Man or beast, if you shoot it in the face, it'll probably leave you alone.

 

[Old Fart]

Graveyard is full of people killed by 22lr.

 

[SMS]

Graveyard is full of people killed by 22lr.

They are full of people killed by kitchen knives and hammers too, that doesn't make them viable self-defense weapons that I would choose to carry daily as a primary means of defense.

Problem here is quantifying a subjective standard...which varies for everyone based on opinion.

To me, a viable self defense round is one that I would choose to carry every day. One that is capable of penetrating a reasonable amount of clothing and tissue and causing severe and near instantaneous damage to critical organs and blood loss, providing I do my part under stress and deliver well aimed shots to center of mass on a moving target that is shooting back at me, hopped up on drugs, and/or enraged and trying to curb stomp me.

Sure, dumping a mag from my .22/45 into an attacker's face is going to stop him. Now go try to consistently deliver face shots, under stress, at a variety of ranges, on a moving target that is shooting back at you.

I haven't seen any ballistic testing of .22LR, fired from a pistol, that shows significant penetration or tissue damage on the scale required to disrupt the CNS and/or cause rapid, massive blood loss in an armed, determined, and aggressive attacker. Executions don't count...because attackers rarely hold still and let you put 5 into the back of their head at close range.

 

[ttown]

A viable self defense round. I guess it depends on if you come out alive. A .22 may end up killing the BG but you may be dead too before he expires. This isn't a viable SD round IMO but a last resort round.

 

[Old Fart]

Never said it would be a first choice, just saying people can get killed by 22lr.

 

[okiebindernut]

I think 22lr is the only carry my wife will consider, so until I can get her into a 38, hopefully as soon as she gets comfortable with carrying, what is the best and highest capacity 22 revolver you have used an would recommend?

My wife has one the little Tauraus 9 shot .22 revolvers. It is the stainless snubnose version. Very nice little pistol for the money. The double action trigger pull was a little stout so I shortened the hammer spring a little, made all the difference in the world. I would have no problems buying another one.

 

[BamaAlum97]

Any caliber round can be viable in the right situation. The best round is the one that you will carry.