plunker22

It's been interesting reading this thread! (and enjoyable) Some will NEVER feel a 22 will do it, but I feel if that it will in MANY cases. No, I do not carry a 22 (LC9 for that), but would feel OK with one. And I am a big fan of the 22 Mag. I have a AMT Automag II that I feel would make a good home defense gun. With the noise and flame, no-one is going to stick around. Have 3 revolvers with 22 mag cylinders, that make people look when shooting them too!

officer1969

i just found a revolver 8 shot .410 now that would be great for ccw shotgun no problem taking anyone or anything down LOL.

SrBanjo

A .22 with you is better than the .45 you left at home.

Jack D

Or vice versa?

2296mag

go on shoot ya 9mm or 45 in a indoor range with yer wrong hand and yer ear protection taken off & tell me you dont loose capacity to better that second shot.
Home CCW will be nasty fast unplanned brutal with far to much to care for close by to be letting high calibure rounds fly away. 22 & better, 22mag gets it done, can be used by all strength of hands and may save your family kin in next rooms.

officer1969

i agree with you when it coms down to it and the shit hits the fan you will use anything to protect your home and family.

jlh820

Way back in LEO days I talked to other officers that had to fire their gun. I never did and I'm glad I didn't. But without exception, they all said basically the same thing. That is when you have to fire your sidearm on duty, it feels and sounds like a pop gun. No big recoil, no big bang. But a very real fact is all that adrenaline pumping through your body can cause the best of shooters to be off their mark. So remember that in an SD situation. I used to dream about it even though I've been off the force for decades. Some times I still do. It's not a pleasant dream.

KJS

This discussion makes me wonder how many people buy a LCR in .22 as a defensive gun.

Typically just seeing a gun is quite enough to make bad guys run away. How many bad guys seeing an LCR will take the time to notice if your snubbie is a .22 or a .38/.357?

The .22 LCR seems to have one advantage over the SR22 in that revolvers aren't nearly as likely to jam as semi-auto .22s. A FTF in a revolver is solved by simply pulling the trigger again (though you'd presumably spring for Mini Mags or such, something better than bulk pack ammo, so that FTFs are minimized).

8 rounds of .22 in a small, light package that's easily controlled due to minimal recoil certainly doesn't sound like the worst choice.

I also wonder how the .22 LCR works as a trainer for the .38 & .357 LCRs. How does the tiny recoil of a .22 prepare anybody for launching a .357 Mag from a 17 ounce gun? I'm used to firing .357s, though from a 6" GP100 that's 44 ounces.

Jack D

Count me as one. Although it (the LCR) is in the hospital for a face lift now and my SR 22 and PT 22 are serving as stand-ins.

officer1969

as a retired police officer i have been in gun battles(mostly domestics) it's not pretty and i'm so glad i had a semi-auto and not a revolver. semi-auto's load much faster. if it were ever to happen to any of you,witch i hope it never ever does, in my opinion and from experiance i much prefer the semi-auto.

jlh820

Thanks for you input and your service. My BIL has been in two shooting incidents on his PD. My brother, to my knowledge, has not. But I doubt he would tell me if he did. He was a firearms instructor for quite a while both on the PD and in the Army. All use Glocks.

LimaCharlie

Since I feel a .38 or a 9mm are marginal handguns for self defense, no on the .22 for CCW. My primary carry handguns are .45ACP, 10mm, .357 magnum, .44 magnum, and 460 S&W magnum depending on the weather, the location, and the potential threat.

A .22, .38, or a 9mm may expand; but a .45 will never contract. A Winchester 230 grain PDX1 Defender in a 5" 1911 is the smallest I am comfortable with for CCW.

WheelyGuy

Hard question to answer.

Having a gun if you need it is THE single most important factor. Shot placement (if needed) is second. Caliber comes in third IMO.

Go to youtube and find a video of the Reagan assassination attempt. 3 or 4 fit men hit with a 22, none still standing 2 seconds later.

But a big guy hopped up on drugs might not be so easy to incapacitate.

There is no easy answer for caliber.

Storm40

It works well. My wife is a pretty good shot but eventually starts shooting low. She will not listen to me about dry firing. Not as satisfying, I guess. I got her the SR22 pistol and she really likes it. That pistol immediately showed her her mistakes and greatly improved her skills. She carries her FNP 9 but that SR22 sure made a good trainer.

As I mentioned before, my preference is my SP101 .357 but the SR22 loaded with Velocitors is not to be underestimated.

Rob

I have an NAA Black Widow with both the lr and magnum cylinders. It is cheap fun to shoot at the range with the lr cylinder and pretty impressive in bark and flame with the magnums. This is my dress pants pocket ccw and I don't feel unprotected. I prefer my 3 inch sp101 but the black widow gives me an option to never be without a gun.