I’m sure everybody has their own take or opinion on 22LR caliber ammunition and firearms, but I’ll still ask, whats your opinion on 22LR for home defense, personal defense? I’ve read that 22LR is a good ammo to stockpike in case of SHTF situation, but im interested in opinions from people who are well versed with 22LR. Thanks all!
6 Likes
For defense it’s a better tool than any non-firearm for when lethal force is necessary and justified.
But, unless the user is physically incapable of handling a centerfire option, it’s not the best choice.
“SHTF situation” could mean so many different things, you’d have be more specific on what precise uses you would be stocking up for, what exact round (reliability varies considerably), for what firearms, and quantities/price$ in order to evaluate stocking .22lr vs stocking centerfire.
If by “SHTF” you mean an extended supply shortage/insane price increase to ammo, such that it is not affordable (or possible) to buy training ammo, and you have .22lr conversions or similar-enough firearms in .22lr that you can continue to practice/train using the .22lr that cost a lot less money, then, it’s great.
If by “SHTF” you mean anything other than that…I think a more reliable more potent centerfire in a much smaller quantity (doubt you’ll need/use much quantity) is the way to go, IMO.
8 Likes
.22 LR has a place in SD and SHTF, I think.
My wife has very small hands, and couldn’t make follow up shots with a .38 revolver, nor could she rack the slide on most semi-autos. She settled on a beautiful little 8 shot S&W .22 revolver with this ammo:
It’s tested to get 13" of gel penetration keeping full bullet weight with a 2" barrel. Is it as good as a standard SD round? No. Will it stop a bad guy? Probably yes, and I’m glad she has it. No sane person would want to get shot by it, and getting accurate shots with a small, fast bullet sure beats missing with a .38 or 9mm.
Regarding SHTF, a good .22 rifle can serve to put food on the table and stop bad guys. Again, its not ideal for stopping bad guys, and no good on larger game, but I think it’s a great caliber to have around, and you can never have too much .22 ammo.
5 Likes
As you mentioned, everyone gets own opinion… and you will probably see a lot of them here.
The most important factor for defense situation is reliability. If you trust .22LR ammo… it’s your decision.
There are a lot of discussions about “stopping power”… but I would skip it. If you are trained to stop the threat with proper shot placement and rounds amount this caliber will do the job well.
You can find defense 22RL ammo these days.
My personal thoughts about this? I would use .22LR as my backup for home defense only. Short distance and closed/indoor environment - so 22LR fits this scenario perfectly. Hot enough and silent.
However - 9 mm is my priority, confirmed to be working fine in every environment and conditions. So far never failed me.
I cannot tell this about .22LR, even I tested it and chose the best rounds and most reliable tools. It will fail in the least expected moment, when it’s the most needed. And nobody is able to deny it. It is just 22LR’s nature.
6 Likes
I agree, except for “food on the table”. Even Lewis and Clark literally ran out of game they could hunt within their walking/hiking distance of their winter camp out west. There is no way, with our current population of people and animals, people are going to be hunting to sustain themselves in a movie-style SHTF/TEOTWAWKI.
7 Likes
The 22 LR, yes and no. People have lived through being shot multiple times with a 9mm. I heard of a person being killed by a single shot of a 22LR, it is all about shot placement. I know for myself that I would not enjoy or even want to be shot by a 22LR but I do not carry a 22LR for self-defense, I carry a .45acp.
I did a test back in 1985. We took the L.A. phonebook and shot it with different sizes of rounds.
The only round that went through the phonebook was the 22LR. Even a 44 Magnum had a big sudden Impact upon the book but did not go through. So the 22LR has the potential to go right through the targeted object giving a person the potential of hitting things that are behind the targeted subject.
5 Likes
I 100% agree that in most parts of the country wildlife suitable for food will run out very quickly in a total society breakdown, SHTF disaster situation. I’m only saying that, as small game rifles go, .22 is a very good option, and, if you’re in a area where you could find game to harvest, it’s a useful caliber.
4 Likes
For home/self defense, my minimum caliber is 9mm.
For when SHTF, I see the value of .22LR for small game.
In normal times (huh?), I only use it for training purposes.
4 Likes
It wouldn’t be my first choice for home defense but it’d be better than nothing and would have to do if you don’t have anything “bigger”. However, you may have to adhere to the old adage “if you have to use a gun, don’t stop using it 'til the job is done.” 22 LR can not be relied upon for “1 shot” stopping power. Excellent squirrel gun, though. In case the SHTF and you get hungry.
6 Likes
Ruger 10-22 and CCI Stingers and Veloster’s. 
10 Likes
Most reliable .22lr ammo there is
7 Likes
As already stated 22lr is not preferred for SD situations unless physical limitations are the deciding factor.
And regarding SHTF it would best be useful on small game and or bartering.
6 Likes
some folks carry 22lr. guessing no one wishes to be shot with any bullet. granted I think 380 would be the lowest I would go.
7 Likes
@Harold75 I have a Kel-Tec P17 22lr, it comes with three 16 round mags, threaded barrel, fiber optic front site, pic front rail, ambidextrous mag release and safety. I use it for home and for EDC. I have ran over 4000 rounds through it now with no problems, my wife loves it, I had to get her one, or she said she would take mine 
. The gun runs all kinds of ammo without a hiccup. My backup is a Beretta 21A Bobcat in 22L if that tells you how much I believe in the 22LR. My favorite carry ammo is Winchester Silvertip Segmenting HP 37g ammo it’s great stuff. Take a look at the YouTube video below on the ammo & gun it’s the best self defense ammo I’ve ever seen for a 22lr. Any way check it out it’s an all round good gun. 
6 Likes
Nope, nobody wishes to be shot with any bullet.
I don’t want to be shot with a red ryder bb gun.
I also don’t want to bet my life on a bb gun stopping an attacker.
Think in terms of “% of people not incapacitated” when making comparisons and you start to see the separation between cartridges
9 Likes
interesting info. I find the info on how many folks were not stopped. nice read
6 Likes
I personally LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my lil S&W M&P Rifle (in .22 LR of course)
If it was a Home defense situation THAT rifle would be in my Sisters hands
after she unloaded her Revolver (.38) and has no time to reload.
She trains often and can drop a mag faster than reload the .38 by hand…forget
speed loaders in a firefight (my opinion only) and loading singly you may get dead.
She’s gotten over dropping a .22 mag on the ground in practice we have a Mat I made of layers
of old carpet. In Real Life she’s ready to reload as fast as she can dropping the empty on the Tile.
Another thing unmentioned a .22 in the house is easier on the ears, we won’t have time to locate and put on Cans, My rifle will be loud enough, that’s why I ordered a Suppressor for her.
Don’t know what kind of fight we may or may not face but (30) .22 rounds beat (6).
7 Likes
@Harold75 @Nathan57 first off I’m not trying to get into the stopping power argument just trying to get some more information out there. Nathan57 put out a very good link for information on An Alternate Look at Hand Gun Stopping Power . Here’s another link to the same web site with a summary of the data that may help also.
4 Likes
22lr is fun and relatively cheap to shoot. It can be used to hunt small game. It can be used for cheap training if you have a .22 firearm that is similar enough to your regular self defense weapons. For those that have issues with heavier calibers it can be used for self defense. But it wouldn’t be my first choice.
There was a a brief period of time when I first started getting into firearms that a Ruger 10/22 with a couple of 25 round mags full of CCI Velocitors was my go to self defense long arm. I’ve had really good luck with all the CCI .22lr ammo options. Can’t remember ever having a FTF with them. Can’t say that about any of the other .22lr ammo options I have tried. I’m glad I have much better self defense long gun options now that fire more effective rounds but I wouldn’t feel defenseless if I had to reach for the 10/22 again.
7 Likes
A 22LR firearm adds two uncertainties: (1) the probability of a firearm or ammo malfunction; and, (2) the probability of not stopping the threat you might be confronted with. Rent any 22LR handgun at any range and fire 100 rounds through it.
My go-to suggestion for any new or small build shooter or someone who just wants something that will reliably go bang and stop a bad guy is a 38 special revolver.
4 Likes