22lr carry for defense??

[boomer92266]

I recently bought a Keltec P17 and love the little gun, very accurate and so far flawless in shooting. I carry a G3c 9mm and my wife has also been practicing with my other G3c and she is thinking of carrying soon as well. After shooting the Keltec, she has fell in love with it and now wants to carry it and not the G3c. She does have some trouble with the G3c as she is recoil sensitive and doesn't like shooting it very long at a time. The Keltec, she shoots 50 rounds and wants more. What do y'all think about the Keltec P17 as a defensive handgun? Thanks for any help.

 

[blume357]

My answer is no... but here is what I would do. I would suggest she practice 90% of the time with the 22lr and just stay comfortable with shooting the G3c a magazine or two at the most.
No matter what you see on TV or in the movies ... On the very rare chance you or she will ever need to use a defensive pistol it is going to be 3 or 5 shots at the most.

 

[beentheredone]

My take on this question is simply that a hit with a .22 is better than a miss with anything bigger. Certainly no one would suggest that .22 LR is the ideal cartridge for self defense, but it seems to me absolutely essential that you must be 100% comfortable with your self-defense gun in order to use it effectively in what is going to be a stressful situation, at best, should you need it. If that is the P17 at this stage of her growth as a shooter, I'd say so be it.

Gunfighting Rule #1: Have a gun.

 

[Cholo]

It beats harsh language. A 22LR is better than nothing.

Generally a lighter bullet means less recoil. Check these out:

9mm Luger 100 gr FTX® Critical Defense® Lite - Hornady Manufacturing, Inc

Since their inception, conventional hollow point pistol bullets have performed well, but have never delivered 100% reliability, especially in self-defense situations. The patented Flex Tip®technology used in Critical Defense® ammunition eliminates the...

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[Pál_K]

Although .22 is not ideal, here are my thoughts:

- Nobody wants to get shot, even with a .22

- A lot of people have been killed with a .22

- Read about the assassination attempt on President Reagan - he was hit by a .22 ricochet; James Brady was hit in the head by a .22 round. Serious stuff.

- A gun your wife wants to shoot is much much better than one she doesn't want to shoot

 

[Mobuck]

It goes both ways. I used to follow the idea that "Nobody wants to get shot, even with a .22" but I'm becoming much less sure of that. There ARE some vermin who don' really care if they get shot (especially with a 22). And some already have been shot so I tend to lean toward more terminal performance than the 22 can provide.
I have and will continue to carry a 22 at times simply because the little 22's are easy to carry and shoot. My little SR22 has a laser mounted that activates as it's drawn giving it an extra bit of intimidation.
Just be aware that the 22 is not normally a 'ONE AND DONE' fight stopper so keep on shooting.

 

[Fox Mike]

If she is sensitive to the 9mm recoil them perhaps introducing her to a 380 would help 'up the ante' so to speak. The Ruger Security 380 is easy to shoot, low recoil, and concealable.

 

[vito]

If she is sensitive to the 9mm recoil them perhaps introducing her to a 380 would help 'up the ante' so to speak. The Ruger Security 380 is easy to shoot, low recoil, and concealable.

The only 380 I have owned was the LCP which I hated to shoot. "Snappy" barely describes it for me, and I was anything but accurate with that little gun. I find the recoil of my 9mm LC9s is far less, and far more manageable than the recoil and feel of that LCP.

As to 22LR, I agree with many here that it is certainly better than not carrying at all. It could be the vehicle in which his wife gets used to carrying and shooting, and then at a later date, decides to change to a more potent caliber weapon.

 

[bowzette]

Is this a pistol your wife will carry either often or frome time to time? The Keltec is light but the heights is 5.3 inches which may be inconvenient for concealed carry. If this is a home defense or "in the car" pistol it doesn't matter. She might also consider the Taurus TX22 Compact. I have the Competition SCR version and the upper for the Standard size. It is very reliable and accurate. And as stated above she will need more than one shot. It will take 3-4 to produce the energy of a good 9mm self defense round. I would stay with CCI such as the 40gr MM (hollow point is a wasted effort) or the Velocitor if it works. But it looks to me the newest trend is the compact size and subcompact size .380. A weakened 9mm but there has been major progress in developing workable self defense rounds in .380. I pocket carry a Glock 42 with Underwood Extreme Defenders, a 68gr round. It doesn't rely on velocity for hollow point performance. Check out some YT channels on this round's performance. For carry I would suggest she try the Glock 42 and Sig 365 .380. I choose the G42 but Sig has it's advantages as well. My 42 is small and light enough for pocket carry but is very easy to shoot and control recoil for multiple shots. If she wants something a bit larger and not as easy to conceal, look at the Ruger Security .380 and S&W EZ .380. I think the Ruger Security .380 is the real sleeper of the group for a "shooter", but it is too large and heavy for me to pocket carry. YMMV. I think the new "trend" is the .380 with significant bullet performance and increased size from the traditional "mouse size" .380 pistols. Having said all this if she will and wants to shoot only a .22lr find a reliable one, (my Taurus has been), shoot as reliable .22 ammo as you can find, probably CCI 40gr MM, and shoot the heck out of it-often. The advantage of the .22 is you can actually afford to shoot lots of it.=getting really, really good with that pistol. I spoke with a lady in my church yesterday and found out she carries a .25 Browning. She said she had to pull it twice and disengage the safety once! I was impressed. Never thought she would be carrying. What is significant is she had a gun, knew how to use it and was prepared to do so. Fortunately she didn't have to fire, just having it was sufficient. I wouldn't hesitate to use my Taurus if I needed to. I can put a lot of rounds in a 6" target at 25 yards shooting as quickly as I regain a good sight picture. Death by a thousand bee stings!

 

[bowzette]

The only 380 I have owned was the LCP which I hated to shoot. "Snappy" barely describes it for me, and I was anything but accurate with that little gun. I find the recoil of my 9mm LC9s is far less, and far more manageable than the recoil and feel of that LCP.

As to 22LR, I agree with many here that it is certainly better than not carrying at all. It could be the vehicle in which his wife gets used to carrying and shooting, and then at a later date, decides to change to a more potent caliber weapon.

I'm one of the few that actually liked shooting the LCP. I have the original LCP in the Custom design, and one Anniversary model. But old age and arthritis caught up with me and I moved on to the Glock 42 which is a joy to shoot and carry. The key to a good performing .380 is ammo selection. I'm carrying the Underwood Xtreme Defender.

 

[kmoore]

First off, I give your wife a ton of credit for wanting to practice. Sounds like she likes and wants to practice and become better at shooting. Many don't. The .22lr is the best tool to learn with as a caliber. Also really good just to practice with. As a good caliber to stop an attacker not so good.
I have heard this many times and again on Saturday about guns for a CCW. I bought up a small firearm collection from an 86-year-old neighbor who is moving from his home to a retirement apartment. One handgun he had for YEARS was a Ruger LC9s 9mm. He proudly said he carried that gun for years over thousands of miles while traveling on a motorcycle touring all of the western US. He has never once fired the gun. He remembers that part right. The gun has never been shot. He carried it to defend his wife and himself. It's too late to inform him of his ignorance to not shoot the gun to test it and become good with it before he needed it to save his life. Besides members on this forum that's the story of many guns bought for self defense.

 

[Gopher]

CCI has come out with a new self-defense ammo in .22 called The Uppercut. 22Plinkster says it works best in a four-inch barrel. It's an interesting concept anyway.

 

[Hvymax]

Get her a matching 22/380-9mm Carry gun so she can train with the 22 and carry the real one.

 

[PRichardson87]

I just couldn't imagine trusting a semi auto rim-fire to save my life. The ammunition is just so dirty and inconsistent. Seems like every 3rd thread on this site involves one jamming up. Good luck with that. You can literally find .380 that shoots the same without the unreliability. A Sig P365 runs well with .380 and has very minimal recoil, from experience. JMO

 

[Fox Mike]

The only 380 I have owned was the LCP which I hated to shoot. "Snappy" barely describes it for me, and I was anything but accurate with that little gun. I find the recoil of my 9mm LC9s is far less, and far more manageable than the recoil and feel of that LCP.

I own a LCP II and the Security 380. Apples and oranges as to the recoil. I totally agree that the LCP is "snappy" and definitely is not a target pistol. I can empty a magazine into a 'body' shaped target but just don't feel totally comfortable with it. Someone that hasn't shot a lot would find it uncomfortable at least. The Security 380 is much easier to handle, hold and shoot. Less felt recoil and a bit larger grip.

 

[Joe Chartreuse]

Of course a .22 LR is OK for self-defense ( especially if you actually use defense specific rounds like the CCI Uppercut or Stinger CPHP, Federal "Punch", or even Aguila Interceptor ) and probably better then some larger. I would certainly prefer it to a .380 or a .25, and maybe a .32. My handgun for .22 LR use is a Ruger LPC II. Light, very accurate for it's size. One advantage of having almost no recoil is that you stay on target without re-aiming for the next shot. People seem to forget that it's a 10 round magazine, and the mag is small so it's easy to carry a second one at the ready. If you can't defend / stop with 10 rounds of .22 LR, having a bigger weapon won't help. Might try a crossbow or something.

One note. Everyone says "Aim for center mass". Good advice, but with a .22 LR, practice side-center mass. If you can get that angle you avoid the breastbone and probably do more damage.

 

[larry8]

I recently bought a Keltec P17 and love the little gun, very accurate and so far flawless in shooting. I carry a G3c 9mm and my wife has also been practicing with my other G3c and she is thinking of carrying soon as well. After shooting the Keltec, she has fell in love with it and now wants to carry it and not the G3c. She does have some trouble with the G3c as she is recoil sensitive and doesn't like shooting it very long at a time. The Keltec, she shoots 50 rounds and wants more. What do y'all think about the Keltec P17 as a defensive handgun? Thanks for any help.

Try the KelTec 15 I am really surprised that it functions so well. Or even the KelTec PMR30 which holds 30 rounds of 22 Mag. Its another gun that works well.

 

[Mobuck]

Well guys, I probably shouldn't say this but I shoot lots of critters with a 22lr on the trapline. Lately fur prices aren't great but the market for raccoon and coyote skulls is not terrible so I stopped shooting trapped critters in the head. I use hollow point subsonics with a flat/wide meplat that have proved to expand at least a little and do offer more terminal effect than round nose solid or HP.
The results are enlightening and not in a good way. Bobcats and even raccoons are generally PO'd for considerable time until succumbing(even when shot multiple times with a 10-22).
One really can't expect an aggressive human to fold up immediately from this effect.
Fifty years ago, a teenaged boy I knew got all upset over a girl and shot himself in the upper chest with a 22 rifle. His Dad drove him to the hospital 20 miles away and the Doctor removed the bullet that was lodged just under his shoulder blade(complete penetration of the chest cavity), put a bandage on front and back, AND SENT THE BOY HOME.

 

[Jeepnik]

Depending on the situation I'll carry anything from an NAA mini to a .45 Colt. But regardless or what else I am carrying I have the mini along. Usually that gives my two, but sometimes I have another centerfire along.

I won't write anything in stone on something as complicated as firearms selection. Well there is one thing, I will never rely on an M16 or its offspring.

 

[blume357]

I'm sticking with what I first wrote... practice mostly with the 22 and carry the 9.

I like Hvymax's suggestion of trying to find 'matching' guns... one in 22lr and the other in center fire.... 380 or better.

reminds me ... I have a 22lr slide and mags for a Sig P226... I know that P226 is more than most 'ladies' would want to carry but I bet there is the same out there in smaller pistols...
Sig p365 & Sig P322?