Rimfires for Self-Defense Does it Make Sense?

Self-defense rimfires might be met with a chorus of clucking lips, but when lives are at stake,’small’ is better that ‘big’. Scott Reidy spent 21 years as a Nashua, New Hampshire police officer, where winters can be cold and clothing is heavy. He has spent the majority of the past 10 years as a firearms instructor. He said that last year, 14,000 people enrolled in our concealed carry program. “We emphasize acceptable caliber and recommend no lower that a.380. However, there are some important caveats. Can you safely handle the gun? How can you manage the recoil? How small should the gun be to conceal? “In other words, there are situations where rimfires can be used for self-defense. A low-recoil.22 WMR/.22 LR might be suitable for older arthritic hand that isn’t able to handle the snap of a micro.380 or 9mm. A low-recoil.22 WMR or.22 LR might be suitable for disabled or injured shooters. It all boils down into the idea that a smaller gun can be shot accurately, reliably, and quickly than a larger caliber. Missing is better than hitting. One gun is better that none. Speed is the key to penetration from a.22 caliber bullet. CCI’s Velocitor and Stinger rounds are designed with velocity. My Georgia friend carries a concealed Sig P365 on the hip whenever he leaves the house. He also carries a Ruger LCR in.22WMR in an ankle holster while out and about with his wife. He said, “If something bad happens, and we are in a shopping center, say, then I can get her safely to a safe area, arm her with the little gun she loves at the range, which will make our situation better.” “Two guns is better than one. “Limited as it might be, rimfires have a particular use case in the self-defense world..22 Magnum For Self-DefenseConsidering rimfires for self-defense, we’re really lumping together the two .22s–the .22 WMR and the .22 LR. This is unfair, as Gun Digest readers will know, they are very different ballistically. Many will not argue the superiority of the.22WMR for self-defense. Others will say that it is more powerful than the old-school pocket guns like the.25 Auto or.32 Auto. This was tested by Federal Ammunition at their Federal Factory in Anoka. Federal’s product manager for shotshell and rimfire, Dan Compton, said that the Gold Dot.22 Magnum load, which Federal has had in the lineup for years will compete with any.32 or.25 auto any day of week. “Our primary goal was penetration, even if it meant that we had to sacrifice expansion. We were able to penetrate with the flat profile bullet. Federal found that the 40-grain, 1,500 fps.22 WMR penetrated 2.5 inches more than a slower 60-grain load. The.32 Auto load ran just 725 fps. The viability of the.22LR for self-defense is a more controversial topic. Although there are no.22LR self-defense loads currently available, I wouldn’t be surprised if they do. Engineers and gun writers have extensively tested both loads for self-defense applications. Reidy has seen cases where.22 LR round have failed to penetrate heavy leather jackets. As a daily newspaper reporter, one of my most memorable police stories was a man who was running down the street when he was shot in the back of his head with a.22 LR. The shooter was approximately 50-100 yards away when his 40 grain soft point struck the back of the runner’s skull. The bullet struck the skin but not the skull and stayed there like a bent tin can. The graphic cell phone photo of the bullet lodged inside his head by his girlfriend was rejected by the newspaper. For what it’s value, the runner thought he was being stung by a giant hornet. He was seen, patched and pushed out from the emergency room within a few hours. A bulk-pack load at 100 meters is not as damaging as a hyper-velocity at 10 steps. The right.22 LR can be very potent at long distances. David Petzal wrote, “They’ve killed African Lions and Alaskan Grizzlies, and who knows how many other unfortunate human beings.” With a growing interest in.22 LR guns and the recent release of new.22 LR pistols by Glock, Ruger and Taurus, it is clear that the firearm industry is embracing this round. Download your Storm Tactical printable target pack 62 printable MOA targets with DOT drills – Rifle range in YARDS. This impressive target pack comes from Storm Tactical and contains 62 printable targets. Target grids and bullseye sizes can be found in MOA. Perfect for long-range shooting! Get free targets