How effective is a .22 magnum?

[Nickle]

Guys, just so you know, the .22 Mag is the preferred caliber for jacking (poaching at night) deer up my way. Yes, they use rifles, but, they also say it's much more effective than a .22 LR.

I just wonder how well it will work in a short barreled pistol.

 

[Scrivener]

Guys, just so you know, the .22 Mag is the preferred caliber for jacking (poaching at night) deer up my way. Yes, they use rifles, but, they also say it's much more effective than a .22 LR.

What isn't?

I just wonder how well it will work in a short barreled pistol.

FAR less effectively.

Then again, you will be shooting at a much shorter distance.

 

[jar]

What isn't?

25 ACP?

 

[Fsorrent]

view this thread:

http://northeastshooters.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=28677&highlight=carry+range+bag

 

[Nickle]

25 ACP?

And .22 short, .22 BB and CB, plus a couple other oddball wildcats. I think the .14 caliber (not a misprint) wilcats will be less powerful.

Scrivener, I figured much less.

The real question is, given the choice of using a larger caliber, would you stake your life on the .22 Magnum?

I wouldn't. I wouldn't use my Nagant revolver for protection, either. I doubt many will answer that with a yes.

I stake my life on the .223, 9mm, .308 and .50 BMG. Only one I don't current have of my own is the .50 BMG, and I generally "borrow" one from "my employer" when I need it.

 

[Scrivener]

25 ACP?

Not a rifle cartridge and thus outside the scope of the question.

Unless you expect us to believe poachers are using pocket pistols now....

 

[Coyote33]

If size is the issue, chances are for the size of something in .22 mag that you could actually fire in stress situation (not have to cock bitty hammer and pull mini trigger) that you could "step up" to a .380, .32 or even .38 spl.

.22 mag is better than nothing though......

IMHO the .22 WMR is underrated.

It's not a glorified .22LR - they fire real jacketed bullets (albeit light ones) at 1200 fps out of a snubby with easily controllable recoil.

I'd carry a S&W 351PD before any .25 ACP, .32 ACP, or even one of the small .380s. You get seven rounds that are sure to penetrate.
...

Speaking of the .380, if it is so weak, why would Ruger come out with this?
The LCP™ Pistol

... CCI's own numbers on it don't make me real confident it'll perform all that much better out of a snubbie:

"Over 1600 ft/sec from 6-inch revolver"​

In a 2" snub? Well, testing is more important than guessing.

Maybe the "Box o Truth" site has something on this. Anyone?

... than a .22 mag revolver, but if Kel-Tec came out with a flat, reliable, s/a .22WMR pistol with 3.5" barrel that held 20 rounds, I'd be very interested.

No, but if Kahr came out with maybe a 10 round one that was REAL slim, and MA compliant, that would be pretty cool too.

 

[Moderator]

Speaking of the .380, if it is so weak, why would Ruger come out with this?
The LCP™ Pistol

Just a guess, but maybe to take a piece of the market from Kel-Tec's P3AT, which seems to have cornered the .380 pocket pistol market.

 

[EddieCoyle]

Speaking of the .380, if it is so weak, why would Ruger come out with this?
The LCP™ Pistol

So they could make an ugly small pistol to go with their ugly big ones?

Since when does the effectiveness of a cartridge have anything to do with what a gun company makes?

 

[Scrivener]

Since when does the effectiveness of a cartridge have anything to do with what a gun company makes?

Why whatever (cough - .45 GAP - cough) do you mean?

 

[jar]

So they could make an ugly small pistol to go with their ugly big ones?

+1. I think the ruger centerfire autopistols are some of the ugliest guns out there.

 

[drgrant]

+1. I think the ruger centerfire autopistols are some of the ugliest guns out there.

I call em Ruger "ROBOPISTOLS" for a reason.

-Mike

 

[Scrivener]

LOVE Ruger revolvers and it's .22 autoloader is a classic.

Ruger centerfire autopistols look like something designed by the People's Central Ministry for Heavy Machinery and Woolen Socks.

 

[Nickle]

LOVE Ruger revolvers and it's .22 autoloader is a classic.

Ruger centerfire autopistols look like something designed by the People's Central Ministry for Heavy Machinery and Woolen Socks.

I have to agree with that.

I'm not real fond of Ruger DA revolvers (I prefer Smith and Colt), but the SA revolvers set the standard.

The .22 auto is also good.

 

[Patriot]

So they could make an ugly small pistol to go with their ugly big ones?

Since when does the effectiveness of a cartridge have anything to do with what a gun company makes?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. You can't possibly be talking about all Ruger guns as
some of them are like eye candy, specifically their single action revolvers.

 

[EddieCoyle]

You can't possibly be talking about all Ruger guns as
some of them are like eye candy, specifically their single action revolvers.

I used "pistols" for a reason.

Their pistols (with the exception of the MK series) are all ugly; the revolvers are fine.

 

[Coyote33]

I don't see how this looks worse than any Glock, Sig, H&K, etc.

 

[jar]

I think the grip looks like it came from a water pistol.

 

[dwarven1]

Guys, just so you know, the .22 Mag is the preferred caliber for jacking (poaching at night) deer up my way. Yes, they use rifles, but, they also say it's much more effective than a .22 LR.

I just wonder how well it will work in a short barreled pistol.

Well, if you have a .22mag rifle and a chronograph, I can bring my Davis .22mag derringer and we can do some chronographing to see how much speed a given load loses. IIRC, I've got some CCI MaxiMag we could try out.

+1. I think the ruger centerfire autopistols are some of the ugliest guns out there.

Truth to that. Reliable as hell, though... and isn't that more important?

 

[Patriot]

I used "pistols" for a reason.

Their pistols (with the exception of the MK series) are all ugly; the revolvers are fine.

Gotcha...

 

[drgrant]

I don't see how this looks worse than any Glock, Sig, H&K, etc.

MY EYES! The goggles do nothing!!!

 

[Nickle]

I don't see how this looks worse than any Glock, Sig, H&K, etc.

What was that, "pimp my pistol"?

 

[Nickle]

Well, if you have a .22mag rifle and a chronograph, I can bring my Davis .22mag derringer and we can do some chronographing to see how much speed a given load loses. IIRC, I've got some CCI MaxiMag we could try out.

I don't, and won't have a .22 Mag rifle. Ammo is too expensive for such little return, and besides, I'm not a deer jacker.

Although, maybe I could mount my AN/PVS-2 onto a .22 mag rifle.........

 

[strangenh]

Well, if you have a .22mag rifle and a chronograph, I can bring my Davis .22mag derringer and we can do some chronographing to see how much speed a given load loses. IIRC, I've got some CCI MaxiMag we could try out.

Just came across this from about a year ago:
http://community.livejournal.com/guns/1281260.html

From a 1 7/8" barrel (SW 351PD) the poster ran several series of rounds through and got:
CCI Maxi-Mag TNT 30gr: 1,265 fps
CCI Maxi-Mag HP 40gr: 1,118 fps

Full data at the above link.

 

[dennis228]

I have a 351PD 22 mag. and I carry it loaded with CCI Maxi-Mag 40 grain JHP's while walking the local trails and woods. Certainly not intended as a self defense weapon for social situations but with practice you can place 7 shots quickly at short range and with enough power to put down a feral dog or coyote if the need arises. The chrono data looks to be what is typical of this little lightweight handgun. For PD its an SP101 for me but in the woods the little 351PD is so easy to carry in my pants pocket and the 22 mag. snubbie is surprisingly effective in accuracy and penetration. One thing, though, it is very loud. For target practice best wear hearing protection. I didn't need this gun but I wanted it so I bought it. My wife just shakes her head. You guys know how that is sometimes.

 

[Timbob1]

I think it's an excellent round for personal defense if you want your intended target to die of infection. Long, slow, infection.

 

[Raoul Duke]

Given the choice, I'd spend the money on running sneakers. Seriously though, if you feel ok packing a .22 then there's no doubt you can find a similarly sized 9mm which you can, at least, buy some reasonable self-defense loads for.

 

[dennis228]

I'm not disputing the point that a 22 mag. snubbie is not a very good choice for personal protection against two legged vermin. We know that to be true. I carry my ultra light little 351PD while walking trails and woods paths in pretty friendly regions. Its 7 rounds are enough to dispatch a vicious dog or coyote. Of that I'm certain. I would not underestimate its effect on a human given its penetration reputation (see brassfetcher.com) but I live in MA so the reality is that I would do all I could to remove myself from any situation where gun vs. man would arise lest I desire to find myself under arrest by some anti-gun DA. I carry mace just in case. Really I have no desire to shoot any human under any conditions. My in home personal defense tool is an SP101 loaded with 38+P and I pray that I will never have to drop the hammer on another man. None the less, this kind of give and take always occurs whenever anyone mentions that he carries a 22 of any kind for other than target shooting. We 22 fans get it, we really do. 38/357 or some such center fire is for personal defense, and mouse guns are for fun. Either one can kill a man in an instant. Always carry any firearm legally, safe and secure and pray you will always use it wisely.

 

[Raoul Duke]

Well, at least no one can say you're not eyes-wide open about this. It sounds to me like you've made your decision and while I'm not sure I agree with you, I can see that you're thinking clearly about this and you're aware of the limitation of your firearm and that OC is an excellent option-that's more than many people. Go forth and have fun.

 

[Mike-Mike]

I think it's an excellent round for personal defense if you want your intended target to die of infection. Long, slow, infection.

Tell that to Bobby Kennedy