Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires Usefulness of a .22 revolver?

My Aunt is in the process of selling of some things of my Grandparents estate. One is a Colt Frontier Scout .22 revolver which I've put my name in for. My wife was curious why I want it so bad (besides the fact it was my Grandpas) and I said it's one of the most useful guns you can have. She asked for what? I said you know for hiking and all around carrying. She said "can it protect us from bears"? I said not really. She said "can it protect us from people"? I said not really. She then asked "well how is it so useful for hiking and carrying"? I said it just is.

CBs, CB long, short, rat shot among others.

I disagree about it not protecting you from people. Pretty sure a HP in the torso will discourage most attackers. It also will feed you if you get stuck out in the wild. A .22 on your belt is much more useful than a .357 left at home because it's too heavy.

Let her shoot it a bit at some fun targets and she might make you buy it.

I always have a 22 pistol somewhere close--not just paranoria---but it's a nice caliber for so many reasons
Just imagine an EMP or CME event occuring when your away from home--it is possible and having a 22 would be your best friend--you could carry enough ammo to get home and 22 ammo is something tradeable--just saying

Good points. I've always thought of a .22 revolver as being useful.I could see me keeping it pretty handy. I decided even if I don't get this one (my uncle gets first crack at it, then me if he doesn't want it) I'm going to buy probably a Ruger Bearcat.

Recreational shooting, pest control, foraging, defensive use in a pinch.

What's not to like?

.22 LR revolvers are useful and fun, but .22 Magnum revolvers are more useful if survival is in the cards, but more expensive to shoot and that certainly cuts into the fun factor.

Family members usually carried a .22 rf while hunting rabbits for the chance head shot on a sitting rabbit, so there wouldn't be any pellets to pick out. One uncle carried the same Colt when deer hunting. He would shoot grouse that he flushed into the trees while still hunting or while walking to his stand.

That seems a bit of a stretch for buying a 22 that your wife probably won't bite on. Just tell her that 22s are about the cheapest thing to shoot and that being a Colt it will probably be worth much more than you paid for it in a few short years. There is a value in an argument based on value.

Not necessarily pertaining to a 22 pistol but a 22 in general. Years ago I asked my dad if he was in a survival situation and could only take one gun, what would he take. He said a 22 then explained you can kill anything with it if you take your time and pick your shot, a pocketful of 22 shells is a lot of ammo, you can go into almost any store and find 22 ammo and you can shoot a bird or small animals and still have enough left for dinner. I am still convinced a 22 is probably the most useful all around firearm.

I'm in full agreement on the usefulness of 22s. I also fully agree with a buddy of mine who says the only firearms worth buying are probably 22s and shotguns, though the others can be fun too. What I am saying is that the wife will likely respond to such an arguement by telling you to just use the firearm that you used during the last electromagnetic pulse or solar flare. That's a stretch. Regardless, I'm sure the OP has landed the Colt by now.

and if he hasn't, he should have....

22 was my first handgun,not counting pellet guns, and if I had to get down to just one handgun, a 22 would be the last to go.
No telling the critters I have dispatched with one,not counting a lots of fun.

I'm trying hard. They haven' got it appraised yet. Once they get it appraised they're offering it first to my uncle. If he doesn't want it it's mine at that point. My fingers are crossed because he's not a handgun guy and I'm hoping he stays that way. If they'd just get the thing appraised the ball could start rolling. It's a Florida Sesquicentennial in the case but it's been fired so collector value is out the window. I'm expecting to pay $400-450 for it. I pester them every few days to get it appraised.

That's probably not a bad deal. I've seen people trying to sell early Ruger Single Sixes for more money than that.

I'd get it in a heartbeat. A .22 handgun is the best practice gun you can have, and a gutload of Stingers from close range is enough to give anybody second thoughts about doing whatever it is they were thinking of doing that you didn't want done.

If it comes with an interchangeable .22 WMR cylinder, it is even more formidable--ask any big city trauma doc what he thinks of .22 magnums in the abdomen (I guarantee his answer will be mostly Anglo-Saxon four-letter words, even if he's Indian!).

BUT (the BIG butt) you need to practice extensively at a range if you are even thinking of using a single action for self-defense in order to be SAFE and also EFFECTIVE.

Hope you get it, even if it turns out just to be for "auld lang syne."

You can wingshoot carpenter bees with rat shot.

ABsolutely!!!

People and bear attacks get all the publicity, but the squirrel and rabbit attacks are far more numerous and are the dirty little secret no one talks about.

I mean, folks don't mind getting on an internet site and saying, "I wuz attacked by a big ol' bear but I fought it off and kilt it", whereas few will talk of their near death experiences with a cottontail, something which is much more likely to happen. I myself only narrowly escaped death or serious injury back in 1977 in Northern Utah when an enraged ground squirrel charged me. My 10/22 was out of ammo so I had to butt smash it to stop it. Thank goodness the rifle was a 1968 model with an aluminum buttplate and honest to gosh walnut stock, and not a modern plastic or take down model that may have disintegrated in my hand! *

A Colt revolver would give you the same old timey quality for protection.





* Btw, that's an absolutely true story (mostly).

assualt rabbit attacks are entirely real. just ask jimmah carter's SS men protecting him in the swamp that fateful day. without them, the attack rabbit would have endangered our very president. i think they beat the rabbit off with beechwood boat paddles as a last resort before he boarded.

Exactomundo!

People pooh-pooh those tales but killer rabbits have been responsible for more deaths than all of the sasquatches, chupacabras and 30 foot white sharks combined. We even have records going back to the Middle Ages where they were the scourge of multiple shires. Many a brave k-nig-ut met his fate at the hands of those deadly incisors.

The challenge...




and the deadly result.





If only they'd had Colt .22 revolvers back then....

I hope you get it. If you were in my family and the one who showed the most interest in your grandpa's gun,I would just give it to you,as long as I didn't think you just wanted to make a buck off of it.

moosemike,

The only .22 rimfire handgun I have anymore is the Colt Frontier Scout my father bought when I was about 5. He mostly used it on tin cans, plinking with his brother, who as I recall had an Iver Johnson .22 revolver, but I've taken quite a bit of game with it, including ruffed, blue and spruce grouse, legal here in Montana, along with rabbits. Have owned some other .22 handguns, and my wife owns several, including a very early Colt Woodsman, a Ruger Mark III, and a pair of Ruger Single-Sixes, each with a .22 Magnum cylinder as well, one a Buntline. But after fooling around with many others, I eventually discovered that I'd rather carry the Frontier Scout than any of the others. So why keep 'em?

hope you get your Grandfather's Colt --- if not I hope you buy one somewhere else. You won't be sorry.

I've carried a S&W Kit Gun (a .22) for a zillion miles on foot, horseback, 4 wheeler, tractor, mower and motorcycle. I carried it Elk hunting for probably 20 years.

Over the decades, it's killed Coyote, Jack and Cottontail Rabbit, Skunk, Porcupine, Blue and Spruce Grouse, Raccoon, Squirrels, Ground Squirrels, Rattlesnakes, Pack Rats and I can't remember what else. I carry a tough little Ruger BearCat around the farm even today.

Yeah, the Colt Frontier Scout is balanced perfectly and I believe I could be fairly lethal with it. Grouse is a recurring theme in this thread and I know .22 pistols are popular for them but unfortunately they are mostly a thing of the past in my part of PA.

Let's not for get about trap line dispatch.

If it were my grandfather's revolver it would be a glass encased showpiece, displayed for all to see in my house, screw the collector's value. Anything from my Grandpa would be priceless to me!

Divorce her.




Dave

I like ANY good .22 handgun. I've killed coons, rabbits, squirrels, possums, and who knows what else with 'em. Right now, I've got a couple autopistols, an SR-22 Ruger, and an M&P .22 Compact. Neither are target grade, but both work well enough for the odd coon around the house. I bought the wife an SR-22 as well, just in case something needs killing when I'm not around. I'll probably pick up another good quality revolver some time, but right now, those little plastic pistols are kinda neat and a helluva lot of fun. I've owned a half-dozen Ruger Mark whatevers, a Combat Masterpiece Smith, and a Single Six or two, I liked the Smith the best, but the chambers were so tight you had to hammer them IN, and OUT, too. Damn it shot good, though.

Just tell her it's great for rattlesnakes, copperheads, etc. That should do it!

There ya go.

luv me sum Colt's 22.....

Nice!

I gotta say that a case colored single action colt with stag grips is as about as classic as it gets.

And dragonflies.

A buddy and I shot a lot of barn pigeons in our youth with open choke shotguns and they weren't always doa. A .22 revolver and a CB cap to the head always seemed a very humane way of dispatching them.

so does a good stomp.......

Careful you don't end up an addict

I'd love to get the chance. So far the family is stalling out on this.

Or t-ball bat.




Dave

fungoes?

If I'm going to be out working around the farm, my carry gun for the day is a Charter Arms 22 revolver, stainless finish, 2 inch barrel. I am not a good pistol shot, and miss more than I hit with this one. But, I've killed groundhogs, coons, possums, squirrels, rabbits, turtles, and a snake with it. It's handy and fun to shoot, and I'd rather be caught with it than with nothing.

WHACK!




Dave

Well, my family screwed me out of the Colt so that's that. No surprise.

That's too bad.

Try not to be too angry with your aunt, as it is impossible to distribute the assets of an estate to the satisfaction of all of the heirs when the deceased failed to leave clear guidance about who should get what. I've been on both sides, as executor and heir, and didn't like either position.

Sorry you did not get a chance at it. Family can be the most difficult people in the world to deal with. I have received possession of a couple of my father's things, he is still alive but not in good health. I am proud to be able to carry his 1959 model Bearcat, that I learned to shoot with 40 some years ago, on all my small and medium game hunts . His Vaquero .45 colt goes on my elk and other mountain hunts......

It took me about a hundred thousand rounds to decide that a .22 revolver is good for most anything that needs done with a gun.

Picking them up by the head and spinning their body around is an effective way to dispatch them.

I have always found my .22 revolvers to be excellent for cutting down on the amount of .22 ammunition that I have in the house.

The usefulness of any firearm is not determined by the cartridge or caliber, but by the jerk behind the trigger. A .22 revolver would not be my first choice for bears, but I'd not hesitate to use one for self defense. Never met a man that wouldn't fold up and squeal like a little girl if popped just below the navel with a .22. Too, I have it on good authority that skulls aren't bullet proof.

Granddad got shuttled off to an old folks home years ago, one that had something akin to small apartments for the residents. His neighbors were prone to partying outside his door at all hours of the night and he grew weary of such things. The High Standard 9-shooter that rests in my safe was in his hand one night when he stepped out a popped off a couple of rounds into the night sky. Problem solved.

Never knew him to have a problem he couldn't solve.

I think I would like your Granddad.


You must be wrong about the .22 hurting anybody. Met a man a week or two ago that told me even 9 mm just bounce off things. He wasn't willing to let me shoot him with one to prove his point though. Go figure.

What has not been said yet is a good 22 rf revolver or semi is an excellent tool to go back to in order to refresh good shooting skills. Many times shooters will step up to larger handguns and develope flinches, wrong grips, poor sigh tpicture ,etc. A bit of practice with a 22 rf can identify those less desirable habits and let the shooter concentrate on correcting them without the recoil and noise.

It is also a handgun that a starting shooter can master the basic shooting skills with before stepping up

I have several .22 handguns. Of all mine, the little Bearcat gets the most field use. Opening of dove season, mine is generally loaded first two with rat shot. It melts rattlesnakes of the size normally encountered. Then there is the shotgun for big ones. For sure one could shoot them all with the shotgun, so maybe I just like having the revolver handy.

The Scout is also a light handy revolver. Good luck getting it.

Jack

It's useful because colts tend to retain and gain in value. you could sell it tomorrow if you had to. I had one in a buntline, regret selling it

I carry a .22 revolver EVERY time I'm in the woods. I have a S&W J-frame that I usually carry. But I also have a Ruger single 6 that finds it way in with me a few times a year.

I gave my brother a 1920 Colt Police positive 22LR with 6 inch barrel. Little tiny revolver with long skinny barrel.

An hour later we drove to the feed mill and saw he had a skunk in a live coon trap.

He shot the skunk between the eyes a ~~ 40 feet from the car window.

He is just a way better shot than me with a handgun.

Just the fact it was your Grandfathers should have been the ONLY reason you needed. Uses should not have mattered. Sorry you didn't get it.

Thanks.

There is a whole new chapter to this story if you read between the lines.

Hell yes you get that .22!

How so?

I went on a journey to find an accurate .22lr pistol that I could hit stuff with. I had a Colt New Frontier 7.5" barrel that was the leading candidate behind a Contender but foolishly sold the Colt for ?????????????can't remember.

One of the biggest mistakes if not the biggest I've made in my firearms history.

It was replaced with a Ruger Single Six 6.5" stainless that a client bought for me and while the Ruger is within a whisper of the accuracy of the Colt it's not a Colt and it doesn't feel like a Colt.

I hope you prevail in your efforts.

Bought my Bearcat in 1968, still toting it. GREAT little pistol..

I still have (in my possession) a Smith 18 and a single Six flatgate. Love them both.
I also own a Ruger MkII 6 7/8 that I can't seem to retrieve from eldest son

Flipping joke that you didn't get it, my cheap a$$ uncle snatched up everything of value of my grandfathers when he passed away.

Few years back I finally talked him into SELLING me my grandmothers Ithaca 20g that since the 70's I had been the only one to use. In the fall my grandfather would let my dad take it for me to use and it would be returned after hunting season.

This past year after years of hounding him, I pretty much paid full price for a 1894 Winchester that had been in my family since new (1906). Bought another pistol of my grandfathers and couldn't afford to buy the last few guns of my grandfathers that hadn't been sold, but either have been or will be.


Anyways - I've got a handful of .22 revolvers and pistols and this past week have started to look for the proverbial truck gun (.22 revolver) to keep in my hunting/fishing truck. Found myself in the need for one when I didn't have anything on hand.

"Granddad got shuttled off to an old folks home years ago, one that had something akin to small apartments for the residents. His neighbors were prone to partying outside his door at all hours of the night and he grew weary of such things. The High Standard 9-shooter that rests in my safe was in his hand one night when he stepped out a popped off a couple of rounds into the night sky. Problem solved."

Dan...you inherited far more than just the gun...

So moose have you decided what .22 handgun you are going to get...?

I'm not sure how many I have as I don't have that many fingers and toes... The latest one I just got from a friend is a mint 1968 Colt Trooper. Liked it so much went out and bought a matching .357 Trooper that just happened to be made the same year...

I've used mine for small game hunting, plinking and for a lot of NRA Basic Pistol classes but my major use is for a cheap understudy for my centerfire handguns. Like the two Troopers, I have understudies for most of the semi-autos, double action and single action handguns I have.

Hard to have just one...Bob

A few years ago I picked up a little 4" 9-shot stainless J-frame copy with rubber grips. It's a Taurus 94 and is a pretty handy little pistol that fits just right in a back pocket.
It's a lightweight gun with a lightweight hammer, so it has a pretty stout hammer spring for positive ignition on the rimfire cases which makes the double action pull a little heavy, but single action pull is just right.

I like it quite a bit.

The price was right and it's fun and fairly quiet running through 9 quick shots of CB Shorts. Or you can liven things up with some Yellow Jackets.

Accuracy is surprisingly good and I can dot an i at 10 yards offhand.

22 semiauto pistols can be finicky with ammo .. Revolvers are not ...

When I was 12 my dad purchased a RG 22 revolver .. Just about like this one .. He gave it to me to carry while tromping thru the woods , camping and fishing... I wish I knew how many rounds was fired thru that " pot metal " revolver ... I can't remember when I traded it off ... But I wish I kept it !!

Well stated ^^^^^ ... Love the little S&W 63's with 4" barrel. Can name at least one formerly rabid anti-gunner that left my place with a changed attitude after spending 20-30 minutes punching paper with a M63 kit gun. Comment to the effect of "Gee... I didn't realize how much fun that could be..."

Moose,
thats a shame that it did not make it to your safe. Next best thing is to start a search for a similar one. IT will remind you of the times with your grandfather every time you use it. Take your time and find a good one. Dont fret about the exact price. Just treasure the memories and tell the good stories about your early trips to the next generation. Let the blood suckers enjoy their hoard.
Enjoy the chase.

One of the best rounds to go back to and shoot to get rid of the flinch that all these big handguns cause.

Classic!!!

+1

I carry a 10 shot Ruger SP101 afield. I stoke it with five rat shot shells & five .22 LR's. It has dispatched snakes & a Ring Tail cat bent on getting into my blind with me in it. Used it to dispatch downed animals.

And I thought I was the only bee shooter around!
Dragon flies are fine targets too.

have a lot of ,22 handguns both revolvers and semi autos, always leave one in my jeep and 1 in my truck

i like to keep a single six in my SxS for critters and snakes..

Also to dispatch coons from traps.

I left in the SxS for too long, started to rust some. So i had it stripped and cerakoted. Now its good to go.

Moose Mike , you can tell your wife that a bear guide in Alaska who is also a combat vet agrees with your choice .

I have all ways had a 22 revolver or auto of some kind and used it just like everyone else on this thread. Back in the bad old Sandyhook days when 22 ammo got damn scarce and expensive I had plenty because I knew it would happen. I picked up a SW M10-8 heavy barrel in 38 SPL and was shooting it a lot. 158 gr swc cast out of that 2 ton pile of lead out in the polebarn that came from collecting it over the last 30 years +. More than a few years a go I bought 18k of cci sp primers at $8 per K, I knew I'd use them but my gunshow buds thought I was crazy and when I bought that 10 lb case of HP-38 for $50 they knew I was. 3.7 grs per load and 70,000 grs on hand. One mans trash is another man's treasure, way I figure it as I've all ways had buds ask me why I'll pick up someone else's empties they left on the ground. So then came the day a bud saw that Smith on my counter and asked about it? I said it was my new 22, my ass he says that's a 38 Spl. I said to him when is the last time you bought 22 ammo for 3-4 cts a rd? Well he says it's been a long time a go. I said well that is what my 38 ammo runs me and it's half as cheap as 22 rimfires so it's my new 22. Time is mine and I don't spend it watching libtards on TV I load ammo ,cast bullets and other worthwhile activites f**k tv. 38 kills everything as good as any 22. Try it. MB

I picked up an old Ruger Single Six a few years back and it has become my favorite handgun. I have other semiauto's, but just like the single action revo for plinking. Unlike most single six revolvers, this one is 22 lr only. It did not come with two cylinders and the frame is sized for 22lr only. I love that little gun. Cheap to shoot, accurate and didn't cost an arm and a leg. Just pure simple fun.

I just picked up a Heritage Arms single action from Cabelas with both 22LR and 22Mag cylinders for less than $150. Didn't think I could go wrong and it seems pretty accurate from what little I've shot it so far.

I have a model 17 S&W that I bought over 30 years ago. It was my favorite thing I owned for several years. It was very accurate and easy to shoot well. I carried it everywhere hunting and fishing or walking through the woods. I bought bricks and ammo cans full and would shoot till I ran out. Tell your wife they are very useful.