Does the 22LR beat a .45 for SD? Talk amoung yourselves

[rOmiLaYu]

I haven't looked over the results in depth but one has to wonder if the .380 scored so high because of the abundance of people carrying it. Makes sense that a 45 would score lower since not as many people carry it.

End of the day, carry the biggest caliber you can handle....even if it only .22LR. For me and my household? 230GR all day, every day.

 

[Triathloncoach]

A friend of mine told me when he was a farmer he used to kill pigs with a 22 to the head. He said they dropped like a bag of rocks every time.

He carries a GLOCK 22.

 

[eflat]

A friend of mine told me when he was a farmer he used to kill pigs with a 22 to the head. He said they dropped like a bag of rocks every time.

He carries a GLOCK 22.

Yeah. I have to wonder about some of these skulls that can bounce a .22lr. I have seen thousands of hogs taken down very quickly with one shot of .22lr to the head. If you have ever seen a hog skull then you know its no joke. If this not penetrating skulls is really happening, something tells me it is with 40 year old ammo that has been in the gun for most of its life. A stinger, mini mag, or yellow jacket to the head would make for the worst day of most peoples lives. Not sayin that it is my preferred choice to carry but just sayin.

 

[chopper duke]

I'd carry a .22 if I was afraid of GI Joes and Barbies mugging me.

 

[howwie]

I've seen a rabbit headshot by a .22 run and jump, obviously nerves but still took me by surprise. While I've also seen a dog shot once in the head and it never so much as moved. For me, the .22 has the POTENTIAL to be a good SD round...but the .45 is gonna work no question. Odds are the .22 may save your life, but the possibility of it not doing so is enough for me to steer clear.

 

[RamRoddoc]

It's a penetration issue. I carry a back up NAA .22LR that keyholes rounds at 7 yards. Under 5 yards it's ok. Stick it in an ear or eye socket and pull the trigger, it's lights out.

 

[fistfullaholla]

Oddly enough, I've seen more people killed by .22's than any other cartridge. Mostly accidents or suicides.
By no means am I advocating it as a SD round! I just always fond it weird how many 9mm, .45, and 7.62 wounds I would patch up and how many 22's got bagged up.

 

[offbeat404]

interesting.

 

[protective measures]

While the .22 is responsible for the deaths of many people the problem is that it doesn't stop them RIGHT NOW.
There are many accounts of criminals shot w/ a .22 that continue their assault & then when finished seek medical help.
Sometimes they die after being shot.... sometimes they don't.
The goal of using a pistol for self-defense should be to stop the attack as quickly as possible.
Larger caliber rounds are consistently more effective at doing this more quickly.

In addition, rimfire cartridges misfire more often than centerfire ones do.
A "dud" on the range is an inconvenience whereas in a fight for your life could be a catastrophe.

If all I had available for self-defense was a .22 I would load it w/ CCI velocitor rounds or other high performance CCI load & practice dumping the entire mag into the target as there have been several cases where the cumulative effect of all of those nasty bullets creating individual wound paths have been quite effective.
I had a lady & her husband at the range Fri. & her arthritis was such that in a few more years even the lightened trigger of her 642 is going to be more than she can handle. She didn't have enough hand strength to pull the trigger on an LCR & her hand was hurting after just a few cylinders of .38. She had no problem manipulating the S&W M&P .22.

I don't like .22's for use in self defense but it sure would beat a sharp stick.

 

[ugagrad04]

While the .22 is responsible for the deaths of many people the problem is that it doesn't stop them RIGHT NOW.
There are many accounts of criminals shot w/ a .22 that continue their assault & then when finished seek medical help.
Sometimes they die after being shot.... sometimes they don't.
The goal of using a pistol for self-defense should be to stop the attack as quickly as possible.
Larger caliber rounds are consistently more effective at doing this more quickly.

In addition, rimfire cartridges misfire more often than centerfire ones do.
A "dud" on the range is an inconvenience whereas in a fight for your life could be a catastrophe.

If all I had available for self-defense was a .22 I would load it w/ CCI velocitor rounds or other high performance CCI load & practice dumping the entire mag into the target as there have been several cases where the cumulative effect of all of those nasty bullets creating individual wound paths have been quite effective.
I had a lady & her husband at the range Fri. & her arthritis was such that in a few more years even the lightened trigger of her 642 is going to be more than she can handle. She didn't have enough hand strength to pull the trigger on an LCR & her hand was hurting after just a few cylinders of .38. She had no problem manipulating the S&W M&P .22.

I don't like .22's for use in self defense but it sure would beat a sharp stick.

Same with multiple other calibers. Including .45