22 mag for sd

It will kill. And it is a round most folks underestimate.
If you practice and can empty the cylinder in a B-32 target center mass from point blank to say 10yrds. Threat stopped and probably a dead bad guy.I
Not my 1st choice for defense, but I would not hesitate to use it.

I actually really like the .22 mag. Its not my go to for SD, but its a potent little pill. I'm actually not much if a .22 lr fan. I dont enjoy plinking with it much. If i have a wheel gun chambered for .22, make mine a .22 magnum.

About the only thing I see against a .22 magnum for SD (ignoring all the numbers about bigger calibers stopping threats better, which may or may not make a difference?) is the inherent ignition issues of rim fire cartridges.

.22Magnum gets quite a boost with extra inches in a longer barrel. 6” velocity is pretty good

http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/22mag.html

One of the reasons I got the Heritage 9 shot in the 6.5" barrel is for .22 Mag for defense as I'm certain 9 shots of .22 Mag will stop a threat and if it doesn't, it'll either weaken the aggressor to the point I can win a physical fight or be able to run away. That and I wanted to see the velocities .22 Mag gets from a relatively long revolver barrel.

I do wish Heritage would make the 3 inch birds head grip in 9 shot and .22 Mag. Would make a very good CCW gun.

As for what it can do, with Speer Gold Dot or Hornady Critical Defense .22 Mag ammo it will open up to the size of a .38, maybe a .40 caliber. The heavier Hornady Critical Defense doesn't do well from shorter barrels, but from longer barrels it's good.

One thing to be aware of with .22 Mag (especially the short barrel defense ammo) is during panics and ammo shortages, it disappears and stays disappeared for long after .22 LR. If you go with a .22 Mag, stock up on the defense ammo.

It’s worth getting if you have a good reason.

What is yours?

22 LR is better than nothing. 22 Mag is better than 22 LR and probably .25 and .32 ACP.

Most of the time a .38 revolver will cost the same and be easier to acquire and have more ammo selection and availability. Like the DOC trade in model 64s.

I bought a High Standard Mark four revolver for my later years. It's a nine shot .22 mag snub. Trigger is horrendous in DA. Not bad in SA. But judging by the condition of the firearm, I don't believe it was shot or carried much..

I have found that it shoots CCI Mini Mags and Hornady Critical Defense decently at self defense ranges. I always shoot at ten to twelve yards. Hornady developed that round around the NAA Black Widow. It allegedly hits 1000fps out of the muzzle of a two inch barrel. Have a chrony but haven't had the time to check it. After years of construction, not accustomed to having a full time job.

So out of the barrel length you're talking about, you should be good to go. Though I have to throw in the obligatory " It's not my first choice".

Btw, I've never had a misfire with CCI .22mag rounds. Don't know about the Hornady Critical Defense. Haven't shot enough to know their rep. Kinda pricey to just blow off rounds at the range.

Best of luck in your choice.

I never thought much about a 22.cal for any defense weapon, that is until I started training with a Ruger LCR22 for shooting the other Snubbies
. For one thing it has proven to be exceptionally reliable and gives you 8 shots. And I have learned to be very good at fast point and shoot skills. One day Shooting Hyper velocity ammo into a head shot got me to thinking, of how that would be a mess to someone's face and neck especially at close range with rapid fire. So is it a viable weapon? I would say yes, is a 22.mag? I would say yes as well. Maybe for some folks that are recoil sensitive and like to shoot often, then maybe the best choice.

TTv2 said:

One thing to be aware of with .22 Mag (especially the short barrel defense ammo) is during panics and ammo shortages, it disappears and stays disappeared for long after .22 LR. If you go with a .22 Mag, stock up on the defense ammo.

Click to expand...

That must be a regional thing. During the banic where everyone horded the .22 lr, .22 mag was plentiful around here. My thought is that most of the shooters around here must view the .22 mag as just an expensive .22 lr. I could find $12 50 count SD ammo all day.

Im actually thinking of picking up a new .22 mag this week.

I have two .22WMR handguns. One with a 1-7/8" barrel and the other with a 3" barrel. I would not hesitate to carry either one for SD purposes. I keep a couple of guns loaded and accessible in my home at all times...one of them is a .22WMR.

If recoil is a problem, 32 S&W long has almost no recoil and would be much better for SD.

Just sayin.

Years ago I carried this .22 magnum. It wasn't the best choice I had but it felt good to have it with me.

i’m guessing that hog huntin harry is looking at a 22 single action revolver and wondering if getting one with the 22wmr cylinder serves a valid defensive purpose. as his intended barrel is 4” or more i vote yes. while 22wmr handgun defensive ammo would be best here, i’ve had jawdropping (for me) accuracy and reliability with all 22wmr ammo out of a well loved 5.5” ruger single six, and a 4” heritage roughrider has been ok too. i got rid of a 1.8” ruger lcr and naa mini in 22wmr because of way too flash bang for too little apparent result (but happily ccw a 1.8” ruger lcr and naa mini in 22lr). as a home, car trunk and get home bag piece for protection i’m very happy with 22wmr out of longer barreled single action revolver.

I guess it depends on what your are defending against and where for me. In general, I think a 6.5" barreled revolver is too big for self defense against humans other than at home. I also think that unless you go with a long barrel, the additional flash and bang of the 22 WMR in a handgun is not worth it for self defense over 22LR. If I am going 22 for self defense, I have an LCR for that purpose that I carry from time to time and it's fun to shoot too. I generally feel the 22 WMR is more reliable from an ignition point of view as compared to 22LR. But I would still buy "good ammo" if I chose 22 mag.

I feel that 22 mag is a great caliber for potential survival situations from a rifle if you can shoot it fairly well and you aren't dealing with potential big bear encounters.

I'm a big fan of my 22 mag from a 6 in. Barrel. Not my first choice for S D, but the wife and grand kids are deadly with it.

For a while I carried a S&W 650 as a back up. (3” J frame).

At the time, I worked the far, undeveloped, south end of our city. I found meth lab dump sites, stolen cars and unsavory characters regularly. Back up was a ways off.

I carried 50 extra rounds in a box in my cargo pants pocket.

Very few guns allowed me to carry that many extra rounds that easily.

I figured that would buy me some time until the cavalry showed up.

Not a fan of .22 for defense, HOWEVER in the mag version it should work, would not be my first pick at all but if it's what I had use it. I would not go and just buy one for defensive use. There are other calibers more suited to that.

It isn’t anyone’s first choice for SD, but it will work if other firearms are too much for a shooter to handle.

The critical defense 45 gr FTX would probably be my first choice in SD loads, as the FMJ, JHP and other hunting/plinking loads are more appropriate for rifles and will probably not be very good from a shorter revolver barrel.

Stay safe.

Fiv3r said:

That must be a regional thing. During the banic where everyone horded the .22 lr, .22 mag was plentiful around here. My thought is that most of the shooters around here must view the .22 mag as just an expensive .22 lr. I could find $12 50 count SD ammo all day.

Im actually thinking of picking up a new .22 mag this week.

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Like I said, it's self defense ammo, which is two factory loads I mentioned. Even normal .22 Mag ammo is spotty, so if you have a factory ammo that works best in your guns, it may not be available for months to years if it's not a common make like CCI or Federal.

Absolutely. Is it the best choice? Maybe not, depending on the potential user and circumstances. But it's far better in competent hands than "well, at least it's a gun."

I have a really handsome older stainless Taurus 941 with a three-inch barrel I'd readily depend on if I had no other options, or couldn't handle the ones I did have well.

Gonna be loud, though.

sgt127 said:

For a while I carried a S&W 650 as a back up. (3” J frame).

At the time, I worked the far, undeveloped, south end of our city. I found meth lab dump sites, stolen cars and unsavory characters regularly. Back up was a ways off.

I carried 50 extra rounds in a box in my cargo pants pocket.

Very few guns allowed me to carry that many extra rounds that easily.

I figured that would buy me some time until the cavalry showed up.

Click to expand...

I ran across a S&W 650 a couple years ago in the consignment cabinet at a LGS.

Price was right, so I picked it up.

I like it, but haven't carried it.

But if I was to carry 22 Mag it would be the gun I'd use.

I like the 3 inch barrel length. And no unneeded (for a carry gun) adjustable sights to snag on clothing.

Yup.., my 4” Taurus 941 .22 mag seems as loud to me as my 4” 686 with .357 magnum ammo. Nice fireball, too.

Stay safe.

yup, any gun is better than no gun for self defense. I don't know that I'd want to carry a barrel that long, but - like for something to have at the home, as opposed to a kitchen knife, it would do pretty good IMHO // if they make speed loaders for that, a couple of those and you are pretty well set up IMHO.