.22 caliber for self defence

A posts related to self defence/ home defence. Please post anything related to legal aspects in the 'Legal Eagle' section.
Post Reply
User avatar
timmy
Old Timer
Old Timer
Posts: 2922
Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2008 7:03 am
Location: home on the range

.22 caliber for self defence

Post by timmy » Thu Mar 19, 2020 2:01 am

I found this ballistics test of various .22 caliber ammo recently. This article has tests in ballistic gel, not in BS! Remember that the US FBI requires at least 12" / 305 mm of penetration before a loading can be considered effective. You will see that the author notes the 12" / 305 mm requirement in his tables. I have copied the article, but the pictures of ballistic gel penetration don't come over to this posting. It's best to check out the link.

https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/202 ... f3oG0PMFfE

The Rimfire Report: What is the Best Defensive 22LR Ammo?
Posted February 17, 2020 in Ammunition, Concealed Carry, Editorial, Pistols, Revolver, Rimfire, Semi-Auto by Luke C. with 77 Comments
Tags: 22LR, Concealed Carry 22LR, Defensive 22LR, LuckyGunner, Snub-Nosed Revolvers, The Rimfire Report

Defensive 22LR
Whether or not 22LR is a suitable self-defense round is a hotly debated subject in the firearms community. Many will immediately discount it as too weak or ineffective to be used as a self-defense caliber. Others will say that it is entirely capable of taking down a target with the right shot placement. Today on The Rimfire Report we’re not going to discuss specifically if 22LR is a good self-defense caliber but instead, we are going to examine which of the available ammunition out there is the best for defensive 22LR carry.

The Rimfire Report: What is the Best Defensive 22LR Ammo?
Lucky Gunner recently produced a very insightful testing video using a variety of target and defensive 22LR ammunition out of two types of guns. One was a longer 4″ barreled Ruger MK IV pistol while the other was a 2″ snub nose revolver – something akin to what you’d use for concealed carry. As with all of Lucky Gunner’s tests, they’ve published the full set of test results online for all to see. Today we’ll take a look at these test results and determine what might be the best defensive 22LR Ammunition.

PENETRATION AND EXPANSION 2″ SNUB NOSE

Defensive 22LR

A good metric for determining whether or not your ammunition is having any meaningful impact on your intended target is by examining the penetration and expansion of the projectile after it has entered the target.

The FBI Standard is to have the projectile penetrate between 12 and 18-inches into the target. According to Lucky Gunner’s tests, all of the ammunitions tested out of the 2″ snub nose revolver had at least one round fail to break even the 11″ mark with some brands of ammunition such as Remington 36 gr Viper TC and CCI Standard failing to break the 12″ minimum with any of the rounds fired out of the 2″ barrel.

Defensive 22LR

Neither of the two rounds had any significant expansion after entering the target – likely due to the short barrel length and the resultant reduction in velocity in combination with the lack of a hollow point configuration. Both of these rounds seem much better suited to target shooting or plinking.

BEST DEFENSIVE 22LR OUT OF A 2″ SNUB-NOSE?

The best two performing rounds out of the 2″ snub-nosed revolver were Winchester 37 gr Varmint HE and CCI 40 gr Velocitor CPHP. Both brands of ammunition managed to have 3 of the 5 rounds fired break into the FBI Standard penetration zone of 12-18.” CCI 32gr Stinger CPHP made a close bid for 3rd place as far as penetration but ultimately fell one round short and with zero expansion despite the hollow pointed bullet.

Defensive 22LR

The interesting note here is that between the Velocitors and the Winchester Varmit HE rounds only the 37 gr Varmit HE had any expansion with the rounds expanding out to an average of 1/4-inch. It is also interesting to note that out of all the ammunition tested through the snub-nosed revolver that the Winchester Varmit HE had the highest average velocity of 1,003 fps.

Defensive 22LR

So if you’re planning on carrying 22LR into a concealed carry situation it would seem that 37gr Winchester Varmit HE might be your best bet. Not only is this round capable of penetrating to the minimum FBI standard depth out of a 2″ revolver, but it is also the only round that showed any expansion whatsoever. A close second would be the CCI Velocitors as those had similar penetration but no expansion.

PENETRATION AND EXPANSION 4″ RUGER MK IV

The same ammunition used with the revolver test was also used to test the performance of the rounds out of a longer 4″ barrel Ruger Mk IV pistol. In my mind, this pistol is better suited to target shooting and small game hunting but perhaps there are those of us out there who may find a home defense use for the gun.

Defensive 22LR

Even with a relatively short jump in barrel length the test results produced yielded an average 124 fps increase in projectile velocity. This time, all of the ammunition tested had at least one bullet penetrated the 12″ depth marker, however, The CCI 32gr Stinger CPHP only had one bullet penetrate this depth with the remaining 4 rounds only showing marginal increase in penetration depth despite an average increase of 190 fps over its 2″ barrel test results.

Defensive 22LR
CCI Stingers fired out of a 4″ Barreled Ruger Mk IV

Image

Although the CCI Stingers did not consistently penetrate deep enough to meet the FBI Standard, they did show the greatest overall expansion out of all the ammunition tested with the average expansion being .32-inches which is the largest out of these test results.

Defensive 22LR

BEST DEFENSIVE 22LR OUT OF A 4″ RUGER MK IV?

The best penetrating out of the group for the 4″ barrel was once again the Winchester 37 gr Varmint HE and the CCI Velocitors. This time around the rounds consistently penetrated at an average of 14.9-inches and 15.6-inches respectively. Both rounds are able to make good use of the extra 2-inches of barrel length to deliver consistent penetration depth.

Defensive 22LR

Defensive 22LR

So in the event, I was forced to carry a 22LR caliber pistol I think it is safe to say that I’d use either the Winchester Varmit HE or the CCI Velocitors. A close runner up might be Federal 40 gr Champion which did well in the 4-inch test but didn’t do so well in the 2-inch test.

Find .22LR Ammunition
Defensive 22LR

What do you all think of these test results? What ammunition would you choose if you were to carry a 22LR snub nose? What about a longer barreled pistol like a Walther P22? Let us know down in the comments and thanks for stopping by for another edition of The Rimfire Report.

Credit for all photos and information used for this article goes to LuckyGunner.com/labs.

We are committed to finding, researching, and recommending the best products. We earn commissions from purchases you make using the retail links in our product reviews. Learn more about how this works.

Luke C.
• Reloader
• SCSA Competitor
• Certified Pilot
• Currently able to pass himself off as the second cousin twice removed of Joe Flanigan.
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ballisticaviation/

Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
“There is nothing new in the world except the history you do not know”

Harry S. Truman

For Advertising mail webmaster
User avatar
Vikram
We post a lot
We post a lot
Posts: 5059
Joined: Fri Jun 02, 2006 6:14 am
Location: Tbilisi,Georgia

Re: .22 caliber for self defence

Post by Vikram » Wed Mar 25, 2020 12:28 am

Thank you for the link, Tim. Looks like .22LR is not really as bad a choice it is thought to be. With care in choosing the right bullet and handgun, and some luck, one could be having a weapon capable of defending oneself with.
It ain’t over ’til it’s over! "Rocky,Rocky,Rocky....."

captrakshitsharma
Shooting true
Shooting true
Posts: 727
Joined: Fri Aug 07, 2009 12:36 am
Location: Dehradun, Delhi ,Gurgaon
Contact:

Re: .22 caliber for self defence

Post by captrakshitsharma » Thu Nov 19, 2020 9:21 pm

.22 LR cartridge has killed as many as any other caliber
I dont dial 911... I dial .357

casual shooter
Almost at nirvana
Almost at nirvana
Posts: 222
Joined: Sun Dec 09, 2007 2:31 pm
Location: nasik maharashtra

Re: .22 caliber for self defence

Post by casual shooter » Thu Nov 19, 2020 11:20 pm

.22 fmj ??

User avatar
Rakshith
Learning the ropes
Learning the ropes
Posts: 19
Joined: Mon Oct 05, 2020 9:59 pm

Re: .22 caliber for self defence

Post by Rakshith » Fri Nov 20, 2020 11:01 pm

.22 have a rap sheet for being one the most deadly rounds around.

marksman
Shooting true
Shooting true
Posts: 746
Joined: Tue Mar 13, 2007 8:28 pm
Location: India

Re: .22 caliber for self defence

Post by marksman » Sat Nov 21, 2020 10:47 am

According to statistics, .22 lr has killed more people in the US then all calibers put together.

Marksman

Nathan Tochhawng
Fresh on the boat
Fresh on the boat
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Nov 24, 2020 9:55 pm

Re: .22 caliber for self defence

Post by Nathan Tochhawng » Tue Nov 24, 2020 10:05 pm

Dear Sir,
I have all India .22 Maniature rifle licence.
I want to purchase for gun.
Kindly send me product details and price

Post Reply