Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire .22 semi auto rifle for home defense?

Curious to figure find you wankers discussing terminal performance in this context. My experience with pigs is consistent with observations above. I tried HV, HP shorts and LR loads and went back to CB shorts, simply because they track in a straight line thru bones, meat and brains. The others seem to be using a Tim Leary roadmap. Yeah, they died and I got to rummage thru the goop, but such things do not inspire me. I own no HV or HP rimfire ammo at present and haven't for quite awhile.

Put a 22 round into a guys forehead and chances are he's probably going to fall over right quick.

#4 buck shot is close to .22 cal and you get 27 out of a 2 3/4” 12 ga. shell at roughly .22LR speed, all blasted at once.

IMO, that’s the best .22 home defense ordinance.

DF

I like most other people posting here have never had to use a firearm in a home defense situation but I have given it some thoughts over the years and in doing so have reached a few conclusions.

There are some things I know for sure -

1 - I can shoot more accurately with a rifle than I can with a handgun

2 - I can shoot more accurately with a smaller caliber cartridge like a 22 LR than I can with a larger caliber cartridge

3 - A shotgun makes a lot of sense on the surface but it is powerful enough that there is a greater chance of injuring or killing someone in an adjoining room

4 - When the charging handle on a 10/22 is released it sounds strikingly like the pump action of a shotgun being operated which is supposedly a deterrent from the sound alone

5 - I am in agreement with Bristoe that a good reliable semi-auto in 22 LR with a good high-velocity ammo that is proven to operate flawlessly ln the firearm may be a viable choice for home-defense

6 - A semi-auto rifle 22 LR is not my only firearm for defense but I would not be hesitant to use it if it were close to hand, which it usually is.

drover

Not to dwell on the morbid but in the two young, very sad, male suicides I became involved with (other than other scenario gunshot wounds), one with a 22 LR out of a rifle and the other with a 9 mm handgun, penetration through the skull didn’t occur. However, I never knew what brands or type of bullets/loads were in either.

The 9mm case, through the roof of the mouth, did not exit the top of the head and the temple where the 22 entered transitioned the brain In pieces but we’re up against the opposite side of the skull. Of course at PBR, the point was mute. It was more than enough.

Still, the 22 LR seems to be a confluence of physical factors that allow it to act all out of proportion to its diminutive size.

Put a 22 bullet in someones adamsapple and you will get their attention very quick. If you are not that good of shot use a double 12 ga.

I don't know why but the way you worded that made me laugh my ass off. ,

Ruger makes 25 round mags for the 10-22, now.

a doctor i played golf with told me numerous times he's seen more people killed with a .22 than any other round. a ruger 10/22 loaded with a full mag of 22 hv hp would certainly give an intruder reason for pause.

I have a couple. They work OK, but I did have a jam or two.

CB Shorts on hogs?? I hit a cottontail solid in the chest with one and he jumped straight up into the air (several feet high), did a flip in mid air, landed on his feet, and took off running. I found him in the deep brush, and finished him off. But a hog???

Twenty something years ago I loved helping my buddy cull woodchucks in a small meadow on his property. Most of it was way too small for centerfires so we hid in the woods and did head shots on them from about 25 to 50 yards. Even out to 50 yards the average 22lr round would almost always penetrate a 'chucks skull and it would be DRT. .... Then one day he remarked on the lethal tendencies of the lowly 22lr and we both agreed that at self defense range a head shot with a 22 on a human would definitely ruin that guys day. Used my 10/22 a lot there for the occasional quick follow up shot and always figured a quick mag full from that would be lethal on a human.

Years ago I got one of those tip-up barrel Beretta Tomcat .22 autos for my ex, until I learned the velocity of a .22 out of a 2" barrel was around 600 fps. That and the reliability of that little pistol left much to be desired.

OTOH I recall Travis when he was still posting said he carried an eight (??) round Ruger LCR revolver.

But I know .22 out of a longer barrel is a whole 'nother kettle of fish.

It does bring up the question of how close a .22 Short is to something like a .22 Stinger out of a snubbie barrel.

I like the concept. I know a standard velocity 22rn out of an 18”bbl will penetrate more than adequately. They can do a surprising amount of damage and they are soooo easy to hit with.

I’ve a cz452 I’ve thought about moving. Might have to trade into a 10/22 and put together a short and handy little semi-auto face blaster.

A nice 16-18” bbl, mount for a light........ what else?

Irons or reflex?

Like most here, I have a lot of options for home defense, yet I've pondered the thought of a 22LR semi-auto rifle. Thinking I could make a really good stand with one.

The ammo?? Yes CCI Mini Mag would be first choice.

But....... a Marlin 735???? Ya kiddin? Not with this old decrepit life as long as I have a choice.

795

You leaving it stock, Bristoe?

As several hundred people applauded President Reagan, Reagan unexpectedly passed right in front of Hinckley. Reporters standing behind a rope barricade 20 feet away asked questions. As Mike Putzel of the Associated Press shouted "Mr. President—",[26] Hinckley, believing he would never get a better chance,[15]:81 fired a Röhm RG-14 .22 LR blue steel revolver[27] six times in 1.7 seconds,[15]:82[28] missing the president directly with all six shots.[29][25]

The first bullet hit White House Press Secretary James Brady in the head above his left eye passing through underneath his brain and shattering his brain cavity, exploding on impact. District of Columbia police officer Thomas Delahanty recognised the sound as a gunshot and turned his head sharply to the left to locate Reagan.[15]:82 As he did so, he was struck in the back of his neck by the second shot, the bullet ricocheting off his spinal cord. Delahanty fell on top of Brady, screaming "I am hit!".[30][31][32][33] Hinckley now had a clear shot at the president,[15]:81 but Alfred Antenucci, a Cleveland, Ohio, labor official who stood nearby him, and saw him fire the first two shots,[25] hit Hinckley in the head, pulling the shooter down to the ground.[34] Upon hearing the shots, Special Agent in Charge Jerry Parr quickly pushed Reagan into the limousine. As a result of Antenucci spoiling Hinckley's aim and Parr pushing the President, the third bullet overshot the president, narrowly missing his head and hitting the window of a building across the street. Antenucci's response and Parr's prompt reaction had saved Reagan from being hit in the head.[15]:224 While Parr pushed Reagan into the limousine, Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy put himself in the line of fire and spread his body in front of Reagan to make himself a target.[35][15][19] McCarthy stepped in front of President Reagan, and was struck in the chest by the fourth bullet, the bullet traversing McCarthy's right lung, diaphragm, and right lobe of the liver.[30][31][19] The fifth bullet hit the bullet-resistant glass of the window on the open side door of the limousine. The sixth and final bullet ricocheted off the armored side of the limousine and hit the president in the left underarm, grazing a rib and lodging in his lung, causing it to partially collapse, and stopping less than an inch (25 mm) from his heart.[36][19][22]

Within two seconds agent Dennis McCarthy (no relation to agent Timothy McCarthy) dove onto Hinckley as others threw him to the ground; intent on protecting Hinckley, and to avoid what happened to Lee Harvey Oswald.[15]:84 Another Cleveland-area labor official, Frank J. McNamara, joined Antenucci and started punching Hinckley in the head, striking him so hard he drew blood.[37] McCarthy had to "strike two citizens" to force them to release him.[25] Agent Robert Wanko (misidentified as "Steve Wanko" in a newspaper report) took an Uzi submachine gun from a briefcase to cover the president's evacuation and to deter a potential group attack.[38]

The day after the shooting, Hinckley's gun was given to the ATF, which traced its origin. In just 16 minutes, agents found that the gun had been purchased at Rocky's Pawn Shop in Dallas, Texas.[39] It had been loaded with six "Devastator" brand cartridges, which contained small aluminum and lead azide explosive charges designed to explode on contact; the bullet that hit Brady was the only one that exploded. On April 2, after learning that the others could explode at any time, volunteer doctors wearing bulletproof vests removed the bullet from Delahanty's neck.[33][15]:223

George Washington University Hospital Edit
Audio of Secret Service radio traffic
After the Secret Service first announced "shots fired" over its radio network at 2:27 p.m. Reagan—codename "Rawhide"—was taken away by the agents in the limousine ("Stagecoach").[40][15]:66 At first, no one knew that he had been shot, and Parr stated that "Rawhide is OK...we're going to Crown" (the White House), as he preferred its medical facilities to an unsecured hospital.[41][40]

Reagan was in great pain from the bullet that struck his rib, and he believed that the rib had cracked when Parr pushed him into the limousine. When the agent checked him for gunshot wounds, however, Reagan coughed up bright, frothy blood.[36] Although the president believed that he had cut his lip,[41] Parr believed that the cracked rib had punctured Reagan's lung and ordered the motorcade to divert to nearby George Washington University Hospital, which the Secret Service periodically inspected for use.[25] The limousine arrived there less than four minutes after leaving the hotel, while other agents took Hinckley to a DC jail, and Nancy Reagan ("Rainbow") left the White House for the hospital.[42][41][40]

Although Parr had requested a stretcher,[40] none were ready at the hospital, and it did not normally keep a stretcher at the emergency department's entrance. Reagan exited the limousine and insisted on walking. Reagan acted casual and smiled at onlookers as he walked in. While he entered the hospital unassisted, once inside the president complained of difficulty breathing, his knees buckled, and he went down on one knee; Parr and others assisted him into the emergency department.[25] The Physician to the President, Daniel Ruge, had been near Reagan during the shooting and arrived in a separate car. Believing that the president might have had a heart attack, he insisted that the hospital's trauma team, and not himself or specialists from elsewhere, operate on him as they would any other patient.[43][15]:106–107 When a hospital employee asked Reagan aide Michael Deaver for the patient's name and address, only when Deaver stated "1600 Pennsylvania" did the worker realize that the president of the United States was in the emergency department.[15]:107–108

The team, led by Joseph Giordano, cut off Reagan's "thousand dollar" custom-made suit[44] to examine him, much to Reagan's anger.[45] Military officers, including the one who carried the nuclear football, unsuccessfully tried to prevent FBI agents from confiscating the suit, Reagan's wallet, and other possessions as evidence; the Gold Codes card was in the wallet, and the FBI did not return it until two days later.[44] The medical personnel found that Reagan's systolic blood pressure was 60 versus the normal 140, indicating that he was in shock, and knew that most 70-year-olds in the president's condition would not survive.[15]:108 Reagan was in excellent physical health, however, and also was shot by the .22 caliber instead of the larger .38 as was first feared.[46][45] They treated him with intravenous fluids, oxygen, tetanus toxoid, and chest tubes,[42] and surprised Parr—who still believed that he had cracked the president's rib—by finding the entrance of the gunshot wound. Brady and the wounded agent McCarthy were operated on near the president;[25] when his wife arrived in the emergency department, Reagan remarked to her, "Honey, I forgot to duck", borrowing boxer Jack Dempsey's line to his wife the night he was beaten by Gene Tunney.[19][47] While intubated, he scribbled to a nurse, "All in all, I'd rather be in Philadelphia", borrowing a line from W. C. Fields.[19][42] Although Reagan came close to death, the team's quick action—and Parr's decision to drive to the hospital instead of the White House—likely saved the president's life, and within 30 minutes Reagan left the emergency department for surgery with normal blood pressure.[36]

The chief of thoracic surgery, Benjamin L. Aaron, decided to perform a thoracotomy lasting 105 minutes[46] because the bleeding persisted. Ultimately, Reagan lost over half of his blood volume in the emergency department and during surgery,[42] which removed the bullet.[33] In the operating room, Reagan removed his oxygen mask to joke, "I hope you are all Republicans." The doctors and nurses laughed, and Giordano, a liberal Democrat, replied, "Today, Mr. President, we are all Republicans."[15]:147[48][19] Reagan's post-operative course was complicated by fever, which was treated with multiple antibiotics.[42] The surgery was routine enough that they predicted Reagan would be able to leave the hospital in two weeks and return to work at the Oval Office within a month.[46]

half-a-box magazine.... I like it!