How Lethal Is A .22 ???

[RunningOnMT]

People often ask this question and also if the .22 LR is a viable defense round. Well it certainly wouldn't be my first choice but, I just found this video I thought was interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAkOzr6cDx0

[3/2 STA SS]

I have seen plenty of persons fall to the .22lr...oversaes and in the US. It really is an underestimated round.

[NoNoBadDoggie]

Great video MT, thanks for the link. I just finished a 10-22 for a friend and then talked him into giving it to me for my birthday! hehehe I like it just fine too. Take care guys..

[JLA]

Ive killed enough living creatures with one to know I sure as hell wouldnt want to be shot with one..

The .22LR has a nasty tendency to hit and follow bones. Say you were shot in the upper arm, the bullet would likely hit your bone and follow it either exiting the top of your shoulder or your elbow or hand if youre lucky, or worst case taking an arm shot, the bulet could follow the bone upward to your collarbone where it could be deflected along that bone and directed up thru your neck into your brain..

The same holds true for center mass shots.. The bullet could strike a rib breaking it and end up following it around to your spine where the damage could paralyze you for life..

Dont believe the .22 has the penetration capability to do it?? Try shooting a frozen butterball turkey at 200 yds. a std velocity 40 gr solid still has enough power to penetrate clean thru it.. Ive done it..

[76Highboy]

The thing about using a .22 for self defense is because it has such little recoil the follow up shots are quick. A good shooter can place 3 quick shots with nice groupings pretty quick. That would ruin someones day.

[twobit]

Have used one to kill a 1000 pound steer we butchered. One shot to the brain. It was dead before it hit the ground. Shot was point blank from a pistol of course.

[JLA]

Exactly. Shot placement is key. A couple 40 grain solids in the breadbasket will buy you some time to get away, and thats only if the guy getting his breadbasket filled with lead doesnt fall dead.

Its not my 1st choice for a CCW caliber, but its certainly not to be underestimated or overlooked. And it is certainly better than a knife or a can of pepperspray.

[76Highboy]

Originally Posted by JLA

Exactly. Shot placement is key. A couple 40 grain solids in the breadbasket will buy you some time to get away, and thats only if the guy getting his breadbasket filled with lead doesnt fall dead.

Its not my 1st choice for a CCW caliber, but its certainly not to be underestimated or overlooked. And it is certainly better than a knife or a can of pepperspray.

Could you imagine hitting the bad guy in the forehead and it bounced off. You would knock the crud out of him and ring his bell. That would be a reminder to him for the rest of his life every time he looked in the mirror.

[Deacon_Man]

Ask Robert Kennedy if a .22 will kill you !!

[skullfr]

The .22 is a proven assasin weapon used to fire into the base of the skull.I have killed large wild hogs and deer with a single .22 round.It wouldnt be a first choice but any gun is better than none

[mr.t7024]

Very, You could ruin someones day with one... Cliff

[Danwin22]

.22 is my favorite caliber. I have larger guns such as 9mm and 40 but if all I had was a .22 I would go with the one I can depend on.

That would be a Ruger MK-11 or a Single-Six.

[RunningOnMT]

Um, the question in the title to the thread was rhetorical. You all sound like you're trying to convince me. I just thought that video was interesting. I wouldn't have expected that much penetration @ 300 yds.

[todd51]

I think JLA did some interesting testing of different .22 lr loadings with idea of self defense in mind. I see if I can dig it up.

[aa1911]

Only issue with .22 as a self defense round is feeding reliability in a semi auto. But with a revolver or a good rifle, very effective (with good shot placement).

Wouldn't want to get hit with one that's for sure!

I carry my little NAA .22mag revolver as a last ditch BUG, I'm a believer! People in my neck of the woods used to (I'm sure they still do) poach deer quite often with .22 rifles, quiet and a head shot will usually put them down quick.

thanks for the video MT!

[cpttango30]

Now what I am going to say may piss someone off. I will set the story for you. I was 19 years old fresh back home after basic and AIT for the CANG. I came home to parents saying "Can't stay here" So I ended up crashing at an old girlfriends house. Her dad was a bit of a lush and so was the women he was with. When I say a bit of a lush on payday he would go buy $400 in booze and $25 in food. He had two kids and thank god lived on his parents property so they could go to his parents house and get a decent meal at night. I would buy food for myself and they would eat it all. So when I ran out of money trying to find an apartment and a job at the same time was very hard. I took it upon myself to feed my and his children. So I went hunting with my Remington 511-x and my trusty Chevy S10. I brought home 2 deer with that in 2 days. It was out of season and wrong but we had no food no money and well you gotta eat.

So you can take deer with a 22 I had two one shot kills shooting Remington Yellow jackets on deer and I even took a coyote out with it as well.

[jack404]

hey , anyone doubt it , from 30 yards , i'll shout GO! and count to 5 , you run as far as fast away from me as you can

.22 magnum its scary the damage it does to stuff



dang , movie wont play ..

we really need a THROW MAJOR TANTRUM emoticon bang head dont cover it sometimes

ok a big marino sheeps head and a bottle of water behind the sheeps head from 20 good paces ( about 26 yards or 25 meters )

through the sheeps head and explodes the bottle

( first hit too eh ! )

no one shooting back admittedly , but yeah .22 magnum will stuff your day get hit in the head with one

[Zane71464]

I can personally tell you what a well placed .22lr head shot does on raccons in the corn patch from 15-60yards....lights out every single time.
Shot placement is the key and I sure as heck wouldnt wanna be fired at with a .22lr round!
Good thread/post Running!

[gdmoody]

I know it will kill a human. My Grandfather committed suicide using a .22 LR with one shot to the heart.

[Iron Eagle]

I have a book that shows a rile the Israelis used to nail palestinians. It was a Ruger 10-22 with an integral silencer. Bad!

[3/2 STA SS]

Originally Posted by Iron Eagle

I have a book that shows a rile the Israelis used to nail palestinians. It was a Ruger 10-22 with an integral silencer. Bad!

I was just looking at the same gun book today...They don't mess around overseas...they would shoot protesters with it for throwing rocks.

[Twicepop]

Originally Posted by Deacon_Man

Ask Robert Kennedy if a .22 will kill you !!

They still haven't explained how some nobody with a seven shot cheepo revolver was able to put nine rounds into him. Nor how, from a frontal attack two of these shots were in the back of his head, quite strange....eh.


those who beat their guns into plowshares, will plow for those who didn't

[3/2 STA SS]

Originally Posted by Twicepop

They still haven't explained how some nobody with a seven shot cheepo revolver was able to put nine rounds into him. Nor how, from a frontal attack two of these shots were in the back of his head, quite strange....eh.


those who beat their guns into plowshares, will plow for those who didn't

If you want to look into strange deaths look at Bill Clinton and how those persons died in Arkansas....really....you were able to cut off your own head with a circular saw?

[Twicepop]

Originally Posted by 3/2 STA SS

If you want to look into strange deaths look at Bill Clinton and how those persons died in Arkansas....really....you were able to cut off your own head with a circular saw?

That is only three of the 45 mysterious deaths of people that got in their way.


those who beat their guns into plowshares, will plow for those who didn't

[CJ_56]

Every time someone asks this question I point them to this video where a man empties two .22 revolvers point blank shooting at his lawyer. The lawyer lived. Is that the caliber of gun you want for self defense? Not me.

I saw a lot of people saying a .22 is a viable defense round in this thread before I stopped reading the comments. They're wrong. A .22 can certainly kill "if" you hit someone in the right spot. But hitting someone in the right spot is not nearly as easy as all that unless you're shooting at someone that isn't expecting to be shot. Most home invaders, criminal types, etc. are ready for a confrontation and won't be a sitting duck type target. That leaves you trying to hit a concealed and covered target and / or a moving target. The video tells you exactly what you need to know. The lawyer was shot in the neck and lived. I have a hard time believing that would have turned out the same if the guy had a .45. Yes you might still kill them or stop them with one shot of .22 LR. But a larger round has a MUCH better chance of doing the job you want done. That lawyer was shot FIVE times in the face and the upper body. That's exactly where you would try to shoot him. He walked away from it. No way he does that if the gun is a .45. Not a chance.

Every expert in the world will tell you this. They don't just say it for fun. It's true. I know people who were shot in the head with a .22 and the bullet followed the bone alright - right around their skull and out the other side with nothing more than a cut on his head and it wasn't even that bad. He never had the slightest problem with being shot in the head. Think about what I'm saying here. He was shot in what is considered to be the most lethal spot and he barely noticed it. It's not like his life was saved by heroic efforts at the hospital either. None of his wounds were life threatening. None.

A .22 will NOT do the damage of a larger caliber weapon like a .45 or a 9mm or a .40 caliber. It certainly won't do the damage of a centerfire rifle caliber from a .223 on up. It's not even close.

And the idea of shooting multiple shots means you need to make multiple hits. The odds of that happening are slim. Remember Black Hawk Down? Those bad guys were being shot with .223 rounds and they kept on fighting because they were so stoned they didn't know they were hurt bad. Most people in a gun battle will quit when they see they are seriously hurt. They don't want to die. But drunks in a stupor, PCP blasted dopers, crack heads, etc. are often going to be just like those khat heads in Somalia. They won't even realize they're shot until you hit something vital that puts them down.

If you want to be a hit man then yes a .22 can work well for you. If you want something to defend yourself and your family get a centerfire weapon with as much power as you can handle.

There's a reason you don't see armies using .22's. Yes I know about how Israel used them to take out guards quietly. But that's one very limited example. If they were actually good for SD you'd see at least one country using them in their army. But no country does.

I guess the question is "why" would you choose a .22 for self defense when clearly other calibers are far, far superior? It makes no sense to me at all.