.22, .25 or .32 caliber - pocket pistol question

[bearpugh]

in the calibers 32 and lower i like fmj's. penetration is the issue. and almost none of the hp's expand reliably.

 

[Cigar Dave]

I would steer clear of the .25 but that's just my opinion

 

[mtgldr]

Well I found these figures: It takes 300 FPS in velocity to penetrate 6" of flesh & muscle, 1 layer of clothing will typically slow a projectile by 300 FPS.
It takes 51 Lbs of direct force to fracture a femur bone. 10 lbs of direct force will embed a bullet into your femur bone.
It takes 1200 PSI to fracture your skull. Can't convert PSI to Ft lbs ....

 

[Outsydlooknin]

What about what kind of force it takes to deform a lead bullet such as the 22 versus a fmj in a 32?

 

[Luke]

One thing that you are not taking into consideration is the barrel length of the weapon of choice. Most Ballistic Tables give the barrel length of the weapon used to produce the results, and in the revolver it is usually a 4 inch barrel. You are going to lose much speed and energy with the shorter barrel of the pocket gun. The calibers that you mention produce less than desirable stats in the full size weapons, they are going to suffer greatly in a pocket gun. As for the NAA Mini Revolver, in my opinion you will be just as well off with the .22LR version as the .22 Mag. With the mag, all the energy is going to burn up outside the barrel.

I once carried a NAA Mini in .22 mag, bought me and my dad both one at the same time and carried it for years. The down side to it is the small grip and the Single Action design. If you are with the 3 foot area that you are talking about, you may very well be fighting over that gun after you discharge the first round. You may loose control of your weapon fumbling around trying to cock it the second time. About twelve years ago, a guy I know was fumbling with his and shot me in the side of the leg just above the knee, I guarantee you that I could have taken it from him before he could fire another shot. Thank God, the penetration sucked. I didn't even go to the doctor.

I am with Protective Measures, look into a small pistol of at least .380 preferably 9mm.

Luke

 

[mtgldr]

One thing that you are not taking into consideration is the barrel length of the weapon of choice. Most Ballistic Tables give the barrel length of the weapon used to produce the results, and in the revolver it is usually a 4 inch barrel. You are going to lose much speed and energy with the shorter barrel of the pocket gun. The calibers that you mention produce less than desirable stats in the full size weapons, they are going to suffer greatly in a pocket gun. As for the NAA Mini Revolver, in my opinion you will be just as well off with the .22LR version as the .22 Mag. With the mag, all the energy is going to burn up outside the barrel.

I once carried a NAA Mini in .22 mag, bought me and my dad both one at the same time and carried it for years. The down side to it is the small grip and the Single Action design. If you are with the 3 foot area that you are talking about, you may very well be fighting over that gun after you discharge the first round. You may loose control of your weapon fumbling around trying to cock it the second time. About twelve years ago, a guy I know was fumbling with his and shot me in the side of the leg just above the knee, I guarantee you that I could have taken it from him before he could fire another shot. Thank God, the penetration sucked. I didn't even go to the doctor.

I am with Protective Measures, look into a small pistol of at least .380 preferably 9mm.

Luke

Glad you were not seriously injured. I had an NAA mini in 22mag and I thought that little thing was a pocket rocket in magnum.
Didn't even go to the Dr? I guess all the force & blast felt in those tiny grips is where it stays, in the grips... LOL

 

[Sagan]

My choice, without considering the size of the weapon, would be the .32. Centerfire and a bigger round. Having said that, I have a NAA Black Widow with a folding grip that is freaking awesome for pocket carry. 4 rounds of well placed .22 mag is a nice deterrent as well.

 

[Luke]

When I first got it, I killed an Opossum with it and I thought it was alright. Would probably still be carrying it, if I hadn't been shot by one. I told my dad the next day after having been shot with one, that I would not depend on one ever again for all the reasons mention before. If you hit a vital with it, that is one thing. Maybe you can stick it in an ear or eye. For me, I'll just carry my .40 or .45.

 

[EMC45]

I would go with the .32 ACP with FMJs. Preferrably the Sellier & Bellot or Fiocchi ammo. You want penetration with the smaller calibers. When I had my KT P3AT I carried ball ammo all the time in it. I knew it would feed, function and fire well. I also had penetration as well.

 

[boomer]

22 mag