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The 22 long and lethality ...

8K views 54 replies 18 participants last post by  soundguy 
#1 · (Edited)
Ive often said i have total respect for the 22 long rifle as a hunting and self defense round. Yes there are so many arguments but Im not posting this to start one of those . I have a Remington 597 rifle and a S&W 2213 pistol along with other calibers.

I finally found a picture I took in the 80's of a Raccoon I shot with my Marlin rifle at the time with a CCI stinger. A little background this guy had a real bad demeanor and was destroying my trash cans at night, the big old silver ones. I even tried bungee cords but he was still getting in the cans and waking me up in the middle of the night at all hours. I even went as far to confront him and He was a mean SOB snarling and hissing so I said that's how is gonna be huh?

So one fateful night I set my trusty marlin rifle with a cheap scope by the door. Sure enough he woke me up about 2:00am and I opened the door and put the scope right on his body as he was atop of my can about 20 yards. I fired he did a huge flip and scampered away in the Dark .

The next morning I found him about 10 yards from the can, Deceased with a HUGE exit hole from the CCI Stinger . This was a big raccoon with a big exit hole my thumb would fit in . The moral of this story is I would not want to be shot by a 22 Stinger and became a huge fan . Later in life Ive had time to do much more range testing on various items, range time, and the Stinger continues to impress....

If SHTF I would have no problem if I only had my 22 rifle and pistol ...:)

 
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#2 · (Edited)
a .22 or even a .17 is a bullet, fired at high velocity. If anyone thinks it won't kill because it's so small they are sadly mistaken. Put either one between the eyes of most creatures at a close enough range and they will die.

Wouldn't plan on trying to kill an elephant or a hippo with either one though ;)

Hope you skinned that raccoon and tanned the hide - that fur is useful.
 
#3 ·
a .22 or even a .17 is a bullet, fired at high velocity. If anyone thinks it won't kill because it's so small they are sadly mistaken. Put either one between the eyes of most creatures at a close enough range and they will die.

Wouldn't plan on trying to kill an elephant or a hippo with either one though ;)
Well said....hippos are some of the most dangerous animals in the world ! That's when feet don't fail me now ......lol. Size does matter :) sometimes
 
#4 ·
The CCI Stinger is NOT a 22 Long. It's a Long Rifle. Totally different cartridge.

Just FYI.
 
#6 ·
I've told this on numerous foums probably to include this one:

I grew up on a farm in North Dakota, we also had beef and hogs.

The local butcher used nothing but .22 shorts when putting an animal down. I never seen him need more than 1 shot to put down a 1500 pound steer or a 200 pound hog. All dropped like a sack of potatoes.

In my younger days, I also seen numerous deer taken with a .22lr.
 
#8 ·
Here's a ballistics test with that round. Pretty impressive.

I'm a big fan of tnoutdoor9 :) he does a great job on lots of ammo . You can't beat the stinger and the newer velocitor . My S&W 2213 pistol really prefers the high end 22's . I never have an issue with FTE with CCI . Now my Remington 597 will eat almost anything . It leven likes the Remington bulk golden bulletts.
 
#9 ·
You post an opinion and you think no one is going to refute it??? Sorry friend but that's not really how things work on forums. Did it occur to you that people may die if they take your advice here? It's not likely of course but if someone actually counts on a .22 with Stingers as a SD round they could find themselves seriously outgunned. I would not shoot someone with a .22 unless I had no other choice. I suppose that applies to any other cartridge in a way but with a .22 there's the added question of whether I will stop a bad guy or just make them really, really mad.

If you have to use a .22 for SD that's one thing. But to plan on it is a really bad idea. I hope the newbies understand that because you don't want to be the guy with the pea shooter when the other guy has a howitzer (like a .357, .44 mag., .45 ACP, .40 ACP, 9mm, etc.). You may have to shoot someone several times with a .22 while someone with a .44 magnum is very likely only going to need one shot.

If you want to know what a likely scenario is when you start shooting someone with a .22 check out this video. The shooter emptied two guns shooting point blank at his lawyer. He hit the guy several times but none of the wounds were life threatening. The victim walked away from the shooting and made a full recovery. That's how things can go when you use a .22 to shoot a human. This was point blank range mind you. Tell me the results wouldn't have been different if the shooter used a .357.

 
#10 ·
I guess you didn't read the first sentence...I didn't post this for that purpose. Just a personal experience and an old picture of a animal and the lethality . It also went on to say if its all I had it would do in a SHTF, and I would have no problem with it and the Stinger is a real decent round for the 22,nothing else.
I did not mention any other caliber, or this Vs that.

I might not be able to get to my Shotgun, My 9MM, Etc .Some people may not have anything else but again read the first sentence. Its not advise but my own personal experience, take what you want from it.

Its factual, the picture is real. Please this is not a debate. I didn't mean it that way at all.This stuff happens all the time on these boards and I should know better.
 
#11 ·
You post an opinion and you think no one is going to refute it??? Sorry friend but that's not really how things work on forums. Did it occur to you that people may die if they take your advice here? It's not likely of course but if someone actually counts on a .22 with Stingers as a SD round they could find themselves seriously outgunned. I would not shoot someone with a .22 unless I had no other choice. I suppose that applies to any other cartridge in a way but with a .22 there's the added question of whether I will stop a bad guy or just make them really, really mad.

If you have to use a .22 for SD that's one thing. But to plan on it is a really bad idea. I hope the newbies understand that because you don't want to be the guy with the pea shooter when the other guy has a howitzer (like a .357, .44 mag., .45 ACP, .40 ACP, 9mm, etc.). You may have to shoot someone several times with a .22 while someone with a .44 magnum is very likely only going to need one shot.

If you want to know what a likely scenario is when you start shooting someone with a .22 check out this video. The shooter emptied two guns shooting point blank at his lawyer. He hit the guy several times but none of the wounds were life threatening. The victim walked away from the shooting and made a full recovery. That's how things can go when you use a .22 to shoot a human. This was point blank range mind you. Tell me the results wouldn't have been different if the shooter used a .357.

You're right of course, that a larger caliber has more hit to it. I think his point was that the lowly .22lr is more damaging than many people think, not that it's a preferred SD round. At least that's my take.

I have a variety of calibers as I assume most here do, from .177bb and 22lr and .22wmr, to 12 gage double, and several in between in both rifle and handguns, including bp. And that doesn't count baseball bats, knives, and swords. It's good to have options. :D

PS: They are all loaded 24/7 (except the bp, which is my backyard havefungun), and both the wife and I are proficient with everything in the inventory. :)
 
#13 ·
.22's can certainly be lethal. More people die from that caliber than any other from what I understand. I just like to make sure the new people understand that a .22 is not the best choice for SD. It's really not a good choice for that role at all.

BTW it's certainly true that Stingers will tear up a squirrel. We always shot squirrels in the head to avoid losing meat although some people do eat the brains. I'm not one of those people. ;)
 
#14 ·
I have a very good friend that is high up in the FBI and was a Swat Team member for many years. He said that any bullet is deadly, even the .22, it is all shot placement... I know he knows what he is talking about being in so many gunfights over the years.

He said that the most important thing is having a high-round capacity pistol. The more rounds in a firefight give you a distinct advantage.

Unfortunately, that is what they will ban soon... So I think that practicing with a revolver would be a good skill to work on. Anything with a clip will be gone soon.

We need to start legislation immediately protecting hunting and Target shooting. Sportsmen ownership of revolvers, bolt-action rifles and double barrel shotguns or they will ban all guns. They could outlaw the sale of ammunition and we would have nothing but a club with a trigger.

Kids were killed and they will go for the throat, you can bet something will be done to appease those parents and his liberal voting block. The UN and other countries are also putting pressure on the US to ban firearms. We should move to at least retain our sportsman arms like revolvers, bolt-actions and double barrel shotguns.
 
#15 ·
I have a very good friend that is high up in the FBI and was a Swat Team member for many years. He said that any bullet is deadly, even the .22, it is all shot placement... I know he knows what he is talking about being in so many gunfights over the years.

He said that the most important thing is having a high-round capacity pistol. The more rounds in a firefight give you a distinct advantage.

Unfortunately, that is what they will ban soon... So I think that practicing with a revolver would be a good skill to work on. Anything with a clip will be gone soon.

We need to start legislation immediately protecting hunting and Target shooting. Sportsmen ownership of revolvers, bolt-action rifles and double barrel shotguns or they will ban all guns. They could outlaw the sale of ammunition and we would have nothing but a club with a trigger.

Kids were killed and they will go for the throat, you can bet something will be done to appease those parents and his liberal voting block. The UN and other countries are also putting pressure on the US to ban firearms. We should move to at least retain our sportsman arms like revolvers, bolt-actions and double barrel shotguns.
Lots of good input here. Being from a LE background I agree . I also think the 22 will become even more important . This caliber usually goes under the radar.

Spent most of my years carrying a model 66 , And I just got use to semi autos since the late 80's ...back to the circle .
 
#16 ·
You post an opinion and you think no one is going to refute it??? Sorry friend but that's not really how things work on forums. Did it occur to you that people may die if they take your advice here? It's not likely of course but if someone actually counts on a .22 with Stingers as a SD round they could find themselves seriously outgunned. I would not shoot someone with a .22 unless I had no other choice. I suppose that applies to any other cartridge in a way but with a .22 there's the added question of whether I will stop a bad guy or just make them really, really mad.

If you have to use a .22 for SD that's one thing. But to plan on it is a really bad idea. I hope the newbies understand that because you don't want to be the guy with the pea shooter when the other guy has a howitzer (like a .357, .44 mag., .45 ACP, .40 ACP, 9mm, etc.). You may have to shoot someone several times with a .22 while someone with a .44 magnum is very likely only going to need one shot.

If you want to know what a likely scenario is when you start shooting someone with a .22 check out this video. The shooter emptied two guns shooting point blank at his lawyer. He hit the guy several times but none of the wounds were life threatening. The victim walked away from the shooting and made a full recovery. That's how things can go when you use a .22 to shoot a human. This was point blank range mind you. Tell me the results wouldn't have been different if the shooter used a .357.

MORAL OF THE STORY, TO SHOOT YOUR LAWYER, USE ENOUGH GUN!
 
#17 ·
FWIW I've seen hundreds of ***** shot with a .22. Very few of them died with one shot. I **** hunted for 35 years. I know that most of them don't die when shot with a .22. We would often have to shoot them several times just to get them to jump out of the tree so the dogs could kill them. That's how **** hunting works BTW or at least that's how you have to train a dog. You can kill a **** with a .22 by shooting it in the head but shooting a **** in a tree at night and hitting it in the head is VERY rough. It's not the same as shooting one during the day. Your eyes work different at night amd aiming the same way at night as you do during the day does not work. It has to do with the position of your rods and cones in your retina. It's like holding your rifle in a different spot essentially because your eyes are essentially playing tricks on you.
 
#20 ·
i'd rather shoot a 22lr than a 25acp in self defense.
It depends on the .22 being used I guess. I would rather use a .25 over a .22 Colibri round. Those would probably bounce off a person unless you happen to hit them right in the nose hole or something. :) But like you said, a good eye ball shot will work even if it just ticks 'em off big time. I got my eye bruised by a rock thrown by a weedeater once. Once was plenty enough for me. Still is. :eek:
 
#21 ·
I use CCI mini mags in my 10/22 and Mk III, and have been quite pleased with their performance. Just curious, Ruger tells you specifically not to use Stinger ammunition. I wonder what Marlin has to say about them? Anyone know?
 
#22 ·
In a bug out situation it sure would be a lot easier to tote 10K rounds of 22 LR than even 1000 rounds of 9mm or bigger or 223, 308 Etc... Light weight and a lot of fire power. Im with you on the lethality of a .22 LR.
 
#23 ·
In a bug out situation it sure would be a lot easier to tote 10K rounds of 22 LR than even 1000 rounds of 9mm or bigger or 223, 308 Etc... Light weight and a lot of fire power. Im with you on the lethality of a .22 LR.
You read my mind. I have this plastic tractor canister tube, 12" x 3.25, plastic,water tight,screw on lid and it holds over 800 rounds . Fits in a back-pack ....:) Try that with 223, 9MM, 308 ...its the size and weight in a gotta go situation . Not that I dont have others mind you.. just saying ....;)

 
#24 ·
It depends on the .22 being used I guess. I would rather use a .25 over a .22 Colibri round. Those would probably bounce off a person unless you happen to hit them right in the nose hole or something. :) But like you said, a good eye ball shot will work even if it just ticks 'em off big time. I got my eye bruised by a rock thrown by a weedeater once. Once was plenty enough for me. Still is. :eek:
yeah, I was specifically talking 22 LR not shorts or cb / bb caps or anything.. etc.
 
#26 ·
yeah, I was specifically talking 22 LR not shorts or cb / bb caps or anything.. etc.
The thing is those Aguila Colibris are LR's. But they have zero powder in them. They travel at 375 fps and they have a 20 gr. bullet. There's a world of difference in that cartridge and the Aguila Interceptors which are 40 gr. and travel 1440 fps. One is a lot more deadly than a .25. The other would be lucky to kill a fly. First off you can't hit shinola with those Colibris. Then if they do manage to hit their target they likely won't do anything more than make you say "ow".

I saw a reality tv show about an undercover detective the other day. He was working under cover with a mafia crew and they found him out. A guy came into the room where he was and shot him 3 times to the back of the head with a .22. He got up and asked the guy what he was trying to do and proceeded to beat the crap out of him. All 3 bullets traveled around the skin on his head and came to rest around his face. .22's are just not the best choice for SD. They aren't a good choice by any means - not when a person can buy a 9mm or even a .357 both of which pretty much anyone can fire and control.
 
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