.22 ccw?

[spud]

About to order a P22 for plinking and dont really know much about the balistics of a .22. Is it a bad idea for a backup gun or something for the car due to over penetration?

Ideas, comments?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[jamz]

It's fine to carry that gun, if you don't have anything better. I carried the p22 for a bit till I got something more compact and powerful.

[glocksmygun]

IMO I think the .22 is not a bad gun for a bug to a bug. I have carried a PT22 as a bug before. They are small and lightweight but you can get a .32 or a .380 in the same size and weight. As long as you have good shot placement and can handle the gun then I don't see were it would be a bad choice. It all depends on what you like and how much money you want to spend.

[spud]

Cool, my main is a P99 40. The g/f just turrned 21 so we will get her the CHL and to get her better wither a weapon I wanted to get her good on a P22. After she gets cood with that will get a P99c 9mm for her.

Thanks for the input

[Rock and Glock]

A 22 is fine for plinking and practice, it is generally thought that 22 makes it a very marginal carry gun. It has low power and is a small caliber, so I'd recommend something quite a way up the "food chain" for self-defense.

It would be great to have for fun and practice though!

In Texas, the "Qualifying Shoot" must be in a 32 caliber or larger as follows:

Sec. 411.188. HANDGUN PROFICIENCY REQUIREMENT. (a) The director by rule shall establish minimum standards for handgun proficiency and shall develop a course to teach handgun proficiency and examinations to measure handgun proficiency. The course to teach handgun proficiency must contain training sessions divided into two parts. One part of the course must be classroom instruction and the other part must be range instruction and an actual demonstration by the applicant of the applicant's ability to safely and proficiently use the category of handgun for which the applicant seeks certification. An applicant may not be certified unless the applicant demonstrates, at a minimum, the degree of proficiency that is required to effectively operate a handgun of .32 caliber or above. The department shall distribute the standards, course requirements, and examinations on request to any qualified handgun instructor.

A lot of more experienced folks here can give you much more experienced guidance than I, so good luck!

[P95Carry]

A .22 can be useful but IMO only BUG category - I have an NAA Mini in .22 mag for just that.

My main concern however is unreliability of rimfire. Just when you might need it most - you might have a round that won't fire - that is biggest downfall IMO compared with centerfire. I would not worry about over penetration issues!

[David III]

P95 - good point. I have a Walther TPH, stunning little gun, but it's relatively common for it to not fire on the first hit - and 22s tend to get dirty pretty fast making cycling poor (not that it's necessarily a big worry in a self-defense situation that I'd be firing a lot of rounds out of a 22). I had a 25 ACP Beretta that was much more reliable.
A 22 makes a great gun to have, and I'd carry it if nothing else was available, but I'd also try to move up the food chain [thanks, R&D, good comment] ASAP.

[rocky]

As P95 and David III said, .22 pistols can be finicky in cycling. I would not rely on a .22 semi for defense. Also several folks have had operational problems with the P22. safeties egaging while firing , ect.

[spud]

Guess I stated my comment wrong, sorry. I was just seeing if it was even worth it to leave in the truck or toolbox at work for self defence. Not a full time carry.

[rocky]

well, it would beat having a hammer. I carry a long gun for a truck gun myself.

[swiftyjuan]

First rule of a gun fight; have a gun. A .22 is far better than nothing, and if you use Quickshock ammo, which is Eley primed, you will have few misfires. The wound channel for Quickshock looks like a .38; the bullet splits into 3 parts and goes its merry way.

[spud]

Good call, Will have many mags. Can leave one full of those in the console.

I agree on the better than nothing comment.

Thanks for the replys

[Doc Holliday]

A .22 in the hand is better than a 12 gauge locked in the safe. All of the .22 pistols I have shot seemed very particular about the ammo it fed. Find good quality ammo and keep the pistol clean to prevent jams. I always have had good luck with CCI rounds.

[MIKEE]

I carry a NAA .22 magnum with JHP in an ankle holster 100% of the time (including at work when that is all I carry). A .22 mag JHP has the same force as a 38, good enuf for me!

MIKEE

[Beprepared]

I have a Beretta 950 in .25cal. It never jams and has the reliability of a centerfire. It is so small that it can easily be slipped in any pocket. I particularly like the "tilt up" barrel. A mag is loaded in the usual manner, then you flip a level and the barrel (which is hinged in the front) pops up and you can load a round in the breech. Being single action, you then must cock the hammer to fire the first round.

It's a great little gun but they don't make it anymore.

They do make the Bobcat, which comes in .22LR and .25ACP but if I were to get something in that catagory now, I would definitely consider the Beretta Tomcat .32... it is fairly wide for its size but the power upgrade is probably worth it... depending on where you would keep it and how much size would be a factor.