.22lr vs 12 gage

[GunnyGene]

I've seen a number of posts on other forums inquiring about the effectiveness of .22lr in HD situations.

Would you rather confront somebody like this with a small caliber pistol or a big gun? I know which I'd rather have - 12 gage solid slug. 3000+ftlbs of kick ass.

 

[old mossy]

i'm with you gunny,,,00 buck or slugs. .22 is good if you have ,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[MikeD]

Never underestimate the effectiveness of a .22. Any round that hits is mark is more effective than a handfull that don't

I guess my answer would depend on the 22 in question

Sent from my Mossberg 930 using Tapatalk2

 

[Itsricmo]

I bet if you slapped that guy in the chest with a 40grn Mini-Mag from CCI he wouldn't want to keep coming at you... just my $0.02

 

[old mossy]

true Mike,,,,,but i sure like me odds against that bad guy with the nine in his hand kicking in my front door and me with 12ga and 00 buck. JMO

 

[RAL]

Just looking at 22lr vs 12 gauge no question but there is more to it than shear power. Who would you fear more... someone who is unskilled and perhaps afraid of their 12 gauge or someone who is skilled and competent with their 10/22 with a 25rnd mag? Most here would likely grap a 12 gauge when things go bump in the night (this is a Mossberg forum)but a shotgun is not for everyone and there are a whole lotta choices between 12 and 22.

RAL

 

[carbinemike]

I have heard tales of .22 doing amazing things and also one where a woman's hair weave stopped a round fired close up. I can say for me though, the only gun I have with a tritium night site is my 590A1. In an emergency though I wouldn't hesitate to grab either the 10/22 of the .22 lever gun...whatever is nearest.

 

[old mossy]

Just looking at 22lr vs 12 gauge no question but there is more to it than shear power. Who would you fear more... someone who is unskilled and perhaps afraid of their 12 gauge or someone who is skilled and competent with their 10/22 with a 25rnd mag? Most here would likely grap a 12 gauge when things go bump in the night (this is a Mossberg forum)but a shotgun is not for everyone and there are a whole lotta choices between 12 and 22.

RAL

first out anyone who is afraid of their 12ga should not have it in their house for hd. JMO

 

[WolfPak]

Re: Your kid and your pregnant wife are targets!

Keep in mind most home invasions or robberies occur by individuals looking to score things they can sell for money so they can get more drugs. Chances are they are on drugs and will be severely desensitized to pain so hitting a vital organ is key.

The military channel had a great show on the taking of Fallujah and how the fighters that were on opium could take 3-4 hits from a tank mounted .50 cal before dropping.

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[Water Monkey]

My 12 Gauge tells me I'm a sexy beast everytime I open up the safe. When I take her out on a date she punches me in the shoulder to remind me who's boss.

It's an interesting relationship.

 

[John A.]

Not all 22's are created equal either.


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fIGIKZ6B9Q[/youtube]

 

[RAL]

first out anyone who is afraid of their 12ga should not have it in their house for hd. JMO[/quote]

I could not agree more. Sadly there are folks who have shotguns because they were told its the ONLY "real choice"when they would be better served by something else.
RAL

 

[Rossignol]

This is actually a really interesting topic.

There are so many variables from scenario to scenario, which is why we hear wildly varying stories how a .22 stopped a guy dead with one shot to another guy continuing after multiple shots.

There was a recent story of a woman who fended off an attacker with a .38, the guy took five shots to the face and then left and drove away. He didn't make it far, he ran off the road and got out, walked a little ways and collapsed. He was taken to the hospital alive.

Here's how I feel about it. We know attackers can push through bein shot. Some loads will make them take notice a little quicker by causing incapacitation sooner. A .22 in skilled hands can absolutely be lethal, and in untrained may also be lethal. "May" is the operative word. A larger projectile has a much higher chance of disrupting vitals, and 9 at once, even better.

There was an FBI thing I had read a couple years ago about this sort of topic. It covered calibers used, kills, one shot kills and rounds fired. There were nearly as many if not more as I recal, kills from a .22 as any other caliber. However not nearly as many one shot kills.

Personally, I prefer a shotgun. I also prefer to give my children the option of a rifle as its easier for them to handle.

I have it on good account from a credible source with first hand experience that a slug will in fact make a threat stop and sit down whether they know they were hit or not. He also said it seems to take about 4 seconds for that change in vital function to take over.

 

[oli700]

When I was 19 my best friend died from a 22lr, one shot…..negligent discharge

Another negligent discharge when I was in high school, kid showing his friend his dad’s 22lr went through a guitar and lodged in a kids spine, almost died.

Another buddy had got a sucking chest wound from a 22lr dropped from a horses scabbard, he was hurting bad but made it fine.

Another friend got shot intentionally in the gut from about 10 feet , 5 rounds and drove himself 50 miles to the nearest Dr.

Another friend got shot in the knee with a 9mm fmj , it glanced off, he shot back with a 7mm Remington magnum , hit the guy in the hip and killed him at hallway distance

Another friend got shot in the ass with an old 50 cal muzzle loader that might have been loaded for 50 years, a drunk guy put a cap on it and pulled the trigger, came through an outside wall, went through a bunch of cabinets and blew his hip joint into a bunch of pieces, he lived but I seriously gimped up..

Those are my first hand experiences with shootings and different calibers….all over the board. Sound like a lot when it’s all written down like that but I was raised in a community between 400 and 500 residences so you knew everyone. Other than two negligent discharges, alcohol was the common factor in all those situations….and an obvious complacency with firearms

 

[Itsricmo]

Another friend got shot intentionally...

I am hoping this is a mis-spelling... Driving 50 miles after being shot is bad news none the less if someone meant to do harm..

 

[Tim4k5]

This is a topic that has been kicked around a lot here in Illinois with Concealed Carry poised to take effect. You see a lot of people who are unfamiliar with firearms asking "What is the best carry gun?"......my favorite answer to give is "whichever one works best for you".

Bring the biggest gun to a gunfight that you can use effectively. If it's a 12ga, great......if the only gun you are profficient with is a .22lr then use it. A handful of .22 hollowpoints to center mass puts more hurt on a baddy than a couple rounds of 00 that go into the ceiling because you flinch pulling the trigger, anticipating the recoil.

 

[Boza]

Wow you know a lot of people that have gotten shot. I really don't have any first hand experience (luckily) but if I didn't have anything else I'd take a 22 if I had my choice why risk it I'd take the 12 gauge. I just wouldn't trust my accuracy to stop a BG with a 22 under a high stress HD situation.

 

[LAZY EYED SNIPER]

Great points fellas.

You CAN chop down a tree with a butter knife, but it's a helluva lot easier with an axe. I remember reading that FBI report as wel Rossil. Whether or not a smaller caliber round has, can, or may work for neutralizing a threat in a defensive scenario it just seems like an unnecessary risk if you have a choice. By increasing the odds of survivability for an assailant, you're effectively decreasing your own...

 

[oli700]

Wow you know a lot of people that have gotten shot.

I grew up in a place that was known as a logging camp till 1911, never more than 500 people in town limits and probably another 1000 in the surrounding 100 square miles. I had friends with dirt floors, alcoholism is rampant and now it’s that pharmaceuticals and Meth…..thank god for marijuana as it has probably prevented shootings here……in the PNW including Alaska there are population centers but the rest of the areas are still very much the wild west , everyone has a firearm, if you don’t have a firearm it’s like not having a hand and things still get settled the old fashioned way a lot when people get drunk

Another friend got shot intentionally...

I am hoping this is a mis-spelling... Driving 50 miles after being shot is bad news none the less if someone meant to do harm..

oh no, he was sleeping with the shooters woman. He was in the next town over and it is 50 miles from the nearest help for a gun shot, no cell phones then and even if there was there are huge spots with no service here

 

[mingaa]

This is not a great question when presented as an either/or question. Life is plastic and either/or rarely exists in real life. People do add structure to their lives and this may involve a choice in access to firearms in a controlled situation. How many emergencies happen in controlled situations?! Walking the earth I seldom have my 22LR with me - ccw 9mm or 40 S&W pistols yes, a good bit of the time. At home I have a priority of firearm access. That includes pistols, shotguns and rifles. The 22 is NOT among those loaded and in the priority lineup. I believe that the 22 is a formidable weapon. If I dump a 10 round mag from my 22 into a vital organ mass I expect that will be effective from a self defense standpoint. With no recoil or muzzle flip to speak of the chances of disabling a threat are probably pretty high. Freeze frame (think Matrix) and let me pick from my SD guns and I'll drop the 22 and pick the 40 S&W Glock loaded hot with an extended mag giving me 18 rounds of HOT 'sit down and shut up' OR the Mossberg 930 with 8 rounds of 00 buck in it and 11 more on it.