Had a weird shopping experience at Fleet Farm. We were shopping for a Glock 44 and the kid at the counter kept pushing us to buy something bigger. I asked him why and he said “A .22 isn’t big enough to stop anyone”

So I asked him if he wanted to go out back and show me how many he could take.

He pretended not to hear this and after a pause mumbled “well let me know if you need anything else…”

It’s funny how uncomfortable “gun guys” get when they have to imagine themselves on the other end of the barrel. I think anyone considering owning a gun should have this experience.

@requiem And not everything is about self defense! Jeeze, can't a guy just plink cans for cheap without getting weird looks?!

@unlofl I though about saying “one 22 was enough to bring Regan to his knees…” but then I realized he probably wouldn’t get the reference…

@requiem

Pick them up off the ground and stop them? No.

Put them in a world of hurt and make them do anything else? Yes.

Also, a .22 is usually going to have a lot less travel through when hitting targets. Downrange is always something to consider if you ever need to use it around other people. Glad you gave that kid something to think about.

@kazriko this is kinda my point but I’ve been struggling to explain why concisely 😁

But what I will say is that training reduces the need for luck, and someone is more likely to practice with a gun they are comfortable with than one they are not. That not only makes them more effective against the attacker but also less dangerous to themselves and others, which is far more likely to be important given that most gun-related injuries and deaths are from “accidents” than attacks.

@requiem true, and considering how many of those you can put in a target fast... The only real argument I've heard against 22 for self defense is that rim fire is the most likely to jam

@unlofl that is a legit concern. It can be mitigated by using a high-quality firearm with well-matched ammunition (hence the Glock) but it’s still going to be less reliable compared to an equivalent centerfire cartridge.

@kazriko if you can manage a 2” grouping with 10 rounds at 10 yards using a larger gauge firearm by all means, use it (I do exactly this with 9mm).

But a lot of people can’t, because they lack the strength, dexterity, stamina, etc. to train with a larger weapon and wield it in an emergency situation.

Almost anyone can achieve this with sufficient training and practice using a .22 pistol. Quality .22 ammunition will penetrate 12” at 10 yards with a 4” barrel, and a 2” group of ten in the body will find at least a couple that make it to vital organs or between ribs and through lungs. If you’ve ever seen someone try to keep moving with a pneumothorax you know how effective this is.

That said I’m getting bored with this “ballistics bench racing”.

@requiem @kazriko that data on .22 penetration is awesome, useful, and I’m going to teach it to people who need to hear it.
My wife keeps feeling like she “has to” train and carry a 9mm because her family say so..

Can you point me towards a source, or is it your experience?

@pjsliney this is a decent article on the subject by someone who knows all about shooting people (a cop).

https://gundigest.com/article/defensive-22-lr-good-bad-or-stupid

@kazriko

@requiem @kazriko hah the top comment is a dude who’s been shot with .22lr. Great resource, thanks!

@pjsliney oh man I didn’t even know there were comments on that page, wow!

@kazriko

@requiem @kazriko I was lucky that the ads didn’t load.

@pjsliney fun follow-up fact for this thread: the salesman I talked to got fired. We went back about a week or so later and someone else helped us purchase the G44 and they told us that guy got walked out. @kazriko

@requiem @kazriko happy endings still happen!!