22LR EDC self-defense handgun?

[Buckeye63]

Just saw this….wow!

my choice

 

[12Bravo20]

That's right. I forgot about the Taurus 942. I'd probably go with the Charter Arms though. It's close to a quarter pound lighter, and while Taurus revolvers seem to be decently regarded, all the horror stories I've seen about their customer service really give me pause. With inexpensive guns, good CS is an important consideration for me. I've seen quite a few accounts of Taurus customers waiting months to get their guns back. OTOH, I have experience with Charter Arms customer service, and they're really good and pretty fast.

'

And to each their own

There are plenty of horror stories just on this forum alone about the issues with Charter Arms revolvers made in the last couple of years.

 

[Rex in OTZ]

The Taurus 942 is available in 22LR AND 22WMR. Both hold 8 rounds. And they are available with either 2" or 3" barrels. I have a 2" 942 in 22lr that has been good to go.

As far a new production revolvers go, I'll take the Taurus 942 over the Charter Arms Pathfinder.

I picked up the 8 shot 4" Taurus 942 in .22 mag and for most part really like it.
The only downer is the smallish grips.
Which can be replaced with a better hand filling grip for larger hands.
My kids (girls) love it, 'as is', they get huffy about Dad wanting to mess up the Taurus.
I purchased it as a newer backup to the old 9 shot 3" fix sight high standard sentinel Mk-iv.

I heard terror stories about how bad Taurus hand guns can be.
The 942 is a sweet little revolver and for last 19 years has yet to live up to Taurus' bad reputation.

 

[Rex in OTZ]

my choice

In 2019 I picked up a Taurus Tx-22 for like $219+ shipping and FFL transfer.
It's a decent semi.
They dont like cheap dirty burning ammo, I discovered it gunks up the mag followers and can cause jams.

It has a full size feel to it but deceptfully light weight for its size.
Its high capacity magazine isnt much fun loading bare hand if your out burning your way thru a brick of .22lr ammo.
I suggest buying a mag loader for the TX-22

 

[hso]

Sig P322

 

[lincen]

Definitely be a revolver and probably one of the Smith and Wessons below. Or
my Taurus model 94 nine shot lightweight with a 2” barrel.

 

[chicharrones]

My first "carry" gun was/is my old Beretta Bobcat in .22LR. I sure don't intend to go back to that gun for that use, ever.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I'd carry a Colt Anaconda in .44 Mag and divide by two.

 

[d2wing]

Many years ago, I carried a concealed pocket 22 semi-auto. I think it was a Phoenix. I had a few small caliber SA pistols for that purpose but when work rules changed, I got rid of them all. A while back I bought a DB9 and a DB380. I liked the DB 380 as it was pretty accurate and tiny. The DB 9 was harder to shoot. I don't know what I would buy now if I needed one. I have always liked the Beretta's.

 

[Autodidactic]

My first "carry" gun was/is my old Beretta Bobcat in .22LR. I sure don't intend to go back to that gun for that use, ever.

And here I just got a Bobcat.

 

[mljdeckard]

My Ciener conversion on my Kimber frame, 15 round magazines, put as many center of mass as fast as possible.

 

[chicharrones]

And here I just got a Bobcat.

It’s still can be a fun shooter.

 

[Autodidactic]

It’s still can be a fun shooter.

Yeah, it’s not a carry gun. I have a .380 and .38 for that.

 

[someguy2800]

I would probably try out a taurus TX22 if I were dead set on a 22lr, but I would try a beretta model 81 in 32 acp first.

I have an LCP 22 that I occasionally carry. More so as an outdoors gun than a self defense gun though. Mine is dependable with minimags but its unreliability with other ammo is not confidence inspiring. I've shot a few hundred minimags without any failures that I can recall, but it chokes on most other ammo. Light primer strikes mostly but occasional failures to eject or feed.

 

[Bazoo]

I’d go with a single six. Maybe I’d go single ten so I had more ammo. But I have a single six already and am intimately familiar with it.

 

[MedWheeler]

Either my FEG AP-22, an all-steel version of the PA-63, or my Taurus PT22. Both of these have run without fail whenever I've shot them. Both are more reliable than my other two "considerables", a Bersa Thunder 22 and a Beretta Bobcat.

I guess the FEG would be first up since I have two magazines for it, but only one for the Taurus. Also, the Taurus cannot be "rack-cleared" in the event of a malfunction (neither can the Beretta.)

 

[Carl N. Brown]

OK.
OP.
If all I were allowed to carry was a.22lr for everyday carry for self defense ... my choice would probably have to be from what I already have in .22 pistols.


The choice would depend on what I was defending against. My defense scenarios are mostly "broke down on a trip to the mountain" in a cell phone dead zone and waiting overnight for someone to notice I'm not home.

Hunger? The AR-7 is practical for still hunting edible game at a waterhole on the mountain (but not for much else.) Trouble is, I usually put a sixpack of bottled water and a couple of MREs in the truck anyway.

Coyotes or rabid animals? I have holster carried the Ruger MkII riding ATV and have great confidence in that gun.

I am gaining confidence in the Heritage Rough Rider revolver, especially with the .22 Magnum cylinder.

I have had that J22 for decades as a curiosity first. It has proven reliable with CCI Stinger and MiniMags. With Aguila 60gr SSS penetration is better than with a similar size .25 ACP (except the last empty case fails to escape the ejection port). But safe carry mode is striker down on empty chamber, safety off, loaded magazine. Barely better than a pointy stick, but better.

Limited to EDC with one of my .22 handguns, I'd pick the Ruger MkII, inside the waist band holster at 11:30 which is how I usually carry my Rossi .38 snub EDC when I carry.

 

[2ndtimer]

For practicality, my S&W M&P .22 Compact (third from the top). Lightweight, 100% reliable with high speed hollow points or solids (CCI MiniMags) and 10 round magazines. For intimidation, the Colt Diamondback .22 right above the S&W, the “mini Python” should get their attention! I didn’t even bother to include the Beretta Minx in the photo. All a .22 short could do for you is get you arrested for carrying concealed if you didn’t have a permit in a communist state.

 

[Sarge7402]

For me it would be either one of my feg SMC.22 or My Walther ppk/s. Both are reliable for three magazines in a row

 

[Rex in OTZ]

OK.
OP.
If all I were allowed to carry was a.22lr for everyday carry for self defense ... my choice would probably have to be from what I already have in .22 pistols.

View attachment 1126942
The choice would depend on what I was defending against. My defense scenarios are mostly "broke down on a trip to the mountain" in a cell phone dead zone and waiting overnight for someone to notice I'm not home.

Hunger? The AR-7 is practical for still hunting edible game at a waterhole on the mountain (but not for much else.) Trouble is, I usually put a sixpack of bottled water and a couple of MREs in the truck anyway.

Coyotes or rabid animals? I have holster carried the Ruger MkII riding ATV and have great confidence in that gun.

I am gaining confidence in the Heritage Rough Rider revolver, especially with the .22 Magnum cylinder.

I have had that J22 for decades as a curiosity first. It has proven reliable with CCI Stinger and MiniMags. With Aguila 60gr SSS penetration is better than with a similar size .25 ACP (except the last empty case fails to escape the ejection port). But safe carry mode is striker down on empty chamber, safety off, loaded magazine. Barely better than a pointy stick, but better.

Limited to EDC with one of my .22 handguns, I'd pick the Ruger MkII, inside the waist band holster at 11:30 which is how I usually carry my Rossi .38 snub EDC when I carry.

Of the 4 handguns shown.
The revolver is the only one that probibility of a stoppage is almost nill.
Three of handguns could pose a challange to extract a failure to feed jam from the actions breech area.



I learned a few things when hunting raccoon at night.
If a gun is going to jam, it will happen at the worst time, most likely in the dark in the heat of the action in an environment less than ideal for dissembly.
So its your open carry in a rough cold dark and sometimes wet environment.
I found any firearm you couldnt clear quickly better be a really good first shot, single shot.
Firearms with a milled ejection port dont always play along when It comes to clearing a jam, especially a double feed jam.
Especially if a bushytail is dusting it to the next township.
In rifles the two main flavors for hunting raccoon was the Marlin model 60 vs. the Ruger 10/22 rifle, the Ruger was hands down the best for clearing because you could drop mag and you had an open access point the size of the grand canyon to to clear any offending jammage.
The ruger MkII tube receiver will shoot fine as long as its clean, but if you get a feed jam in the Ruger Mk series, youd hope you dont need something to pick out a stuck round.
It seems night always makes it worse, pluse drop mag, hold tge bolt back to get the misfed offenders the heck out of party town.

Even modern handguns.
Look at the breeches and tell me which handgun would easy clear in a hurry?
The ejection port Taurus Tx-22 or the opentop S&W?

The MHO best clearing .22 handgun is the toggle release high standard sport king, if it got so bad you could slide the barrel fwd n off in like 3 seconds.


The flip side is the revolver system is pretty reliable and slow to reloa, esp if its a 6 shot with a ejector rod.
The great thing is the revolver can sit all day loaded for weeks and you wont have to worry about the full capacity magazine NOT feeding.
With transfer bar safety on DA's you can carry a revolver ready to rock and roll without cycling a slide/bolt or bolt mechanism
I kinda like revolvers with swing out cylinders.

Most new .22 semi-autos come with a spare magazine, it seems like the gun shoots best with one of them.
Now the question is how you carry that topped off spare.
If its loose in a jacket pocket they tend to pick up pocket lint and crumbies, then you got the potential of wopper jawing the top rounds.
All it takes is the top round to scootch a tad out of place.
Then you change mags in a heated moment, and you go to chamber that top round that may or may not chamber.
The revolver reloads can be a cludge in dark with loose rounds.
They do make speed loaders for da rimfire revolvers.

 

[GEM]

For what it is worth, my two Taurus 22s were not good. On the 94 revolver the cylinder froze and sights fell off. The PT-22 was a horrific jammer. My Buckmarks are fine as was a Ruger Bearcat.

 

[tangara]

I recently purchased a Kel-Tec P17 and found a pancake holster that I think is for a Glock G43 at a gun show for $10. I bought the holster thinking it would fit another pistol, it did not. The P17 fits perfect and it sits nice and high and can conceal it with just a tee shirt. I have carried this a number of times. It is so light weight and you can hardly tell you are carrying. My other .22 that I carry is a Beretta 950 in .22 short on a leather pocket holster I think is made for a Seecamp it fits well enough to do the job. This Beretta is really great for pocket carry. I know the .22 short is even more poo pooed for carrying than .22 LR, but I have personally dispatched a deer from a couple of feet away it and it went though the hide, shattered a rib then both lungs the other side rib and stopped at the opposite side hide. I did have pictures of this but was lost in the whole Photobucket fiasco years ago.

 

[Boarhunter]

I have been known to carry one or both of my Elsie Pea 22s. Both are reliable with Stingers.

As to revolvers, my LCR and 43c work equally well.

Although I do not usually carry only 22s, I do not feel vulnerable when I do.

BOARHUNTER

 

[Tcruse]

Have Ruger SR-22 and MkIV, both very reliable but neither suitable for carry.
Sig P322 with red dot sight is the only .22LR that I would consider.
Glock 44 would be the runner up
TX-22 some seem to like, just not appealed to me.
Another advantage with the Sig is that is feels much like the P-365XL and the P-320, so excellent for training.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

Of the 4 handguns shown. ....

None are optimal. They are just what I have available. I have experienced every one of those jams. Every point raised by Rex is valid.

Anyone contemplating having to use a .22 LR for Every Day Carry for self defense needs to know: you can't just buy the best recommended model and forget it. Practice is essential.

I have access to two tracts of family property in mountains, the local gun club range, and a gun shop with an indoor range. I shoot each gun at least once a year, have checked the ammos that feed, fire, eject reliablely.

If I had to buy a .22LR handgun for self defense, I would look for a High Standard. The High Standard HDM was adopted by OSS in WWII and by all accounts the originals are still in inventory.