Hornady Critical Defense 22 WMR Self Defense

Zendude said:

Has anyone tested the velocity difference between 22 mag and 22 LR in a 2 inch snub? I wonder how much additional velocity the 22 mag has and if it’s worth the additional price of ammo for a snub.

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Velocities are very similar in 2" barrels. Energy is not since 22Mag will fire a larger bullet, naturally.

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

herrwalther said:

Velocities are very similar in 2" barrels. Energy is not since 22Mag will fire a larger bullet, naturally.

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

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"A larger bullet" ? Isn't the standard lead round nosed bullet in .22 LR a 40 grain bullet? Aren't most of the high velocity rounds a 36 or 38 grain bullet? The only difference of which I am aware between the LR and the Mag is the Winchester Dynapoint bullets that are a 45 gr. bullet for the Magnum. Otherwise, they are the same size bullet. It is the brass holding the powder that is larger.

bought my wife a ruger lcr recently in 22 mag. makes a lot of noise and goes through things way better that a 22 long rifle out of a 6 inch barrel. my wife loves it. it does not lack power in a lcr.

JTHunter said:

"A larger bullet" ? Isn't the standard lead round nosed bullet in .22 LR a 40 grain bullet? Aren't most of the high velocity rounds a 36 or 38 grain bullet? The only difference of which I am aware between the LR and the Mag is the Winchester Dynapoint bullets that are a 45 gr. bullet for the Magnum. Otherwise, they are the same size bullet. It is the brass holding the powder that is larger.

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The .22mag is also a true jacketed bullet rather than a coated lead heeled bullet....Gives a bit more wiggle room for bullet makers to modify the function of the bullet on impact.

So from my testing with the same 6" roughrider the 22mag gets 200-300fps better velocity than the normal 1200fps high velocity .22lr
I didnt have any hypers to try, but from what ive seen previously with them id expect that advantage to be very close to nil....except that again the mag is shooting a few grain heavier and jacketed bullet.

Personally ive killed enought stuff with both i wouldnt want to be shot at with either....I also wouldnt want to be shooting at anyone with either given another larger choice.....well except maybe a pocket .25, those seem pretty anemic, the .22mag might actually do better just because of the extra velocity.

jeepnik said:

Going to have to pick up a box and try it in my NAA mini.

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That's what I carry in my 2 NAA Minis. They are my dog walking/slip in pocket pistols.

This is what a regular CCI 30gr soft point made for the savage A22 did to a water melon when fired from a bolt action 22''.


If that wasn't lethal it would definitely suck a lot.

https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/11/us/11child.html

A 22 is nothing to sneer at. I currently keep a 10/22 with 25 round mag next to the bed.

This is all great info!

I've just started delving into the world of .22 Mag. I have a Heritage Rough Rider with the .22 Mag cylinder. I bought two different kinds of .22 Mag ammo, but I haven't been able to do any testing besides shooting a cylinder full at the range. I've got the 6.5 inch barrel on my RR, so I've gotta be getting a lot more velocity than the NAA mini revolvers...

I always said, if I could only have one handgun it would either be a Ruger 22m/22lr or a Ruger Blackhawk 357/9.

george29 said:

A 22 is nothing to sneer at. I currently keep a 10/22 with 25 round mag next to the bed.

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I have considered setting up the our 10/22 for the wife. No recoil, high capacity with the 25 round mag, and lightweight for her arthritis. She prefers the AR but she cannot handle it nearly as well.

i sometimes use my cz 512 22 mag as the standby.... only have 2 ten round mags but darn its handy and of course there is backup.....

herrwalther said:

I have considered setting up the our 10/22 for the wife. No recoil, high capacity with the 25 round mag, and lightweight for her arthritis. She prefers the AR but she cannot handle it nearly as well.

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I was thinking the same thing for someone with arthritis. Or for someone that would be intimidated with the muzzle blast of a more powerful weapon. With it being a rifle they'd have the 3 points of contact for accurate shooting

rugerman07 said:

For home defense where your shots are going to be very short range, very close up, a 10/22 with a 25 round mag wouldn't be a bad choice in my opinion, especially if there's more than one intruder.

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That's why my 10/22 has either a 30 or 50 rd. Ramline magazine in it. With 4 magazines of each size (2 ea. unused spares) one of each size has LRN and the other has HPs.

rugerman07 said:

This 22 WMR ammo is made specifically for handguns and works really good, it will go deep and expand. What do you think? Good for self defense?]

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I guess it depends on defense against what. If it was life threatening, to me or family, I could think of lots of better choices and a few worse ones.