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

7 pages long. I don't think anyone seriously thinks 22 is the best choice. I think we can all agree it can work. Its better than nothing. That bigger up to a point is better. And none of us wants to be shot by a 22

Trooper Coates got a single .22 to the chest...


MARK HUNTER COATES
Corporal Mark Coates was shot and killed after stopping a car for weaving in traffic on I-95 near the Georgia border.

During the traffic stop the subject began to struggle with Corporal Coates and they both fell to the ground. The man fired a .22 caliber handgun into Corporal Coates' chest, but the round was stopped by his vest.

Corporal Coates was able to force the man off of him and return fire, striking the him five times in the chest with his .357 caliber revolver. As he retreated for cover and to radio for backup, the man fired another shot. The round struck Trooper Coates in the left armpit and traveled into his heart.

The man survived the incident and was sentenced to life in prison.

Corporal Coates was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and had served with the South Carolina Highway patrol for five years. He was survived by his wife, two sons, two step-daughters, parents, sister and brother.

I guess the matter won't be settled,..but very few are. Anyway, I keep a 9mm beside the bed. I carry a .380.

But while shooting walnuts that had fallen from the tree and with my .22 auto rifle, I re-realized that I could pop them at will shooting fairly rapidly.

I knew that I could from long experience with a .22 auto loader from when I was a kid. It made me think about all of the firearms I had shot since then and how very few of them I could shoot as well as the .22 auto.

I guess the easiest handgun for me to hit with is a nice old K-22 that I've had for years. I see them going for about $800 these days in nice condition. But even that nice old S&W .22 revolver with its 6" barrel and target sights comes up *way* short of my $140 .22 rifle in its ability to rapidly engage targets effectively.

That's why I started this thread. I'd guess that many of us firearm enthusiasts started out with a .22 rifle and had gotten bored with them and moved on to more powerful firearms. That's how it is with me.

But after spending decades working with about any type of firearm you care to mention, I once again picked up a .22 rifle,..an auto loader. And I realized that it is a very effective little tool that many take for granted.

For those that prefer a 22 for home defense you might consider a Raven .25 pistol as a backup .

I read a thread somewhere on the interweb by a trauma surgeon in a major city. He said they treat a lot of gunshot wounds from 22 pistols, 380's and 9mm's. He said it wasn't rare for people to survive being shot with those. For whatever reason he said he never seen someone survive being shot by a .22 rimfire in a rifle though.

World record grizzly bear taken with .22 single shot rifle. Full story here.



In a related story, Alaskan bear guide Phil Shoemaker has announced that he will retire his .458 Winchester Magnum rifle, nicknamed "Old Ugly", in favor of a Remington Model 580 single shot .22 accidentally left in his camp by one of his clients. "Placement is what it's all about, and that .22 sure kicks a lot less", noted the grizzled grizzly hunter.

My Dad was shot in the arm by a 22 rifle as a 10 year old kid. He said it felt like he was hit with a baseball bat.

I keep a loaded 10/22 handy, not for home defense needs, but to thump the odd raccoon or possum. It gets a work-out all year long. For anything against humans, I'd grab the 870 or the AR.

I love my .22s, and I respect what they can do, but the shotgun would be more decisive. I also know folks who've been shot with .22s, too. None of them recommend it, but they are still alive.

Many years ago, I went with a friend to try out our new handguns.
My friend is a top notch shot with rifle or shotgun, but only so so with a powerful handgun.

He showed me his “new home defense handgun”, a .22 simi auto.

Do you want to know why a .22 instead of a .45 he ask ?
This is why.
He tossed a 2 lb coffee can, and proceeded to hit it with 8 of 10 shots in about 2 seconds.
I could not argue with his reasoning.

The gun you want in a defense situation is the gun you shoot well instinctively
Caliber is a secondary consideration.

Me ? I have a 12 gauge riot gun on hand.

I've owned a lot of 22's. The 10-22 is good. I can't say it's any better than a 795, 995, 60 or other semi-auto Marlin though. The 10-22 has the advantage of being very easily customized due to the proliferation of parts for it as well as probably the most available mags, extended and otherwise. The Marlin probably comes in a distant second. The Marlin's advantage as I already noted, is its cheapness, being about half the price of a 10-22, new.

It wouldn't surprise me if the unreliability attributed to the Marlins was due to cheap ammo, as somebody else mentioned. People who buy cheap guns, probably buy cheap ammo. Note that "cheap" in this terminology is not meant to be taken negatively. Just synonymous with "inexpensive".

I can't speak for Bristoe, but I certainly didn't take it that he started this thread to tout the .22 over the 480 Ruger, 458 Win. Mag. or whatnot, just that for somebody who didn't have anything else, for whatever reason, was not unarmed with a 22 especially in rifle form. It's amazing how many people then start arguing that a 50-90 Sharps or the like is mo betta to shoot folks with. Nobody said they weren't.

Don't keep a nice gun in my barn...dunno why that 10-22 was hanging out there several years ago when the pic was took. The spot above the 795 generally belongs to a Daisy BB gun that gets used for pests. If I'm out there and a rabid coyote or meth head shows up I'm not wearing a sidearm whilst rolling around under machines and at least I'm not unarmed. I've got a long crowbar, a rack full of the kids' old softball and baseball bats and several good-ass hammers I could use. Maybe they've got more stopping power than the .22 or BB gun. Dunno.

In defense of the Marlin,...in my opinion, it's got the best barrel offered on a .22 rifle. Marlin has been making those barrels for every .22 rifle they've made for a long time. If you look at the rifle altogether, it's obvious that it was built to a price point. But if you look at the barrel you'll see a very nicely machined piece of work. The crown is indicative of it's quality. Most budget .22s have a simple, flat crowned muzzle. But the medium/heavy barrel on the Marlin has a very nicely machined radiused crown,....just like they've been putting on their barrels for a long time. People who have gotten serious about accuracy testing report that the Marlin is extremely accurate. I've not done any serious accuracy testing with mine, but I did take the time to carefully adjust the sights. Mine needed the elevation set for the distances I'm shooting and I also tapped the rear sight slightly to the left in its dovetail to bring the windage to center.

It's also significant that Marlin was able to put a fairly heavy 18" barrel on the 795 and still keep its weight down to 4.5 pounds. Ergonomics are subjective. But for me the little Marlin has excellent balance and when I shoulder it the sights are in line with my eye.

Some people have said that it's not reliable. I've got quite a variation of bulk ammo on hand and have been out back just burning through it to see if it's going to give me any trouble. It's fairly dirty right now. But it gobbled up everything I put through it.

I *have* experienced 2 duds out of about 50 rounds of bulk packed Winchester Dynapoints. I was wondering if standard velocity ammo would reliably cycle the action so I ran a couple of mags of CCI standard velocity ammo through it and it gobbled them up. It also ran through quite a few bulk pack 36 grain Winchester HP's. Some people don't care for Remington Thunderbolt ammo, but it's proven to be very accurate and reliable in my rifle. CCI mini mags were good, of course.

These little blow back actions are fairly simple and any problems that they experience should be evident with a cursory inspection. Marlin has been making this same, basic rifle for a long time,...mostly the model 60. I've not heard many complaints about the reliability of a Marlin model 60. My guess is, anybody who has reliability issues with a Model 795 should first try a new magazine in it if a good cleaning doesn't fix the problem.

I like mine.

My best friend growing up had the tube magazine fed equivalent of the 795. It was ultra reliable with no cleaning whatsoever and gobbled up any cheap .22 ammo we had. A "Me and Joe" type thing as the guy's name actually WAS Joe and I actually had a Remington model 12. Somebody gave me a buttload of ultra-old .22 ammo and it gobbled that shixt up too.

If for some reason somebody can't have a semi-auto, a pump is okay for this duty, as is a lever. I've got two pumps, a Winchester and a Remington (the old model 12). Got my Grandpa's guns from both sides of the family. A Winchester or Marlin lever will do. I don't personally like the Henry's.

If the 795 was recently produced, it is for all practical purposes, a Remlin. I've always thought Rem. made a decent barrel, perhaps Remington has helped other problems or inconsistencies go away.

I'm at least partially on board with a 22 semi-auto rifle as being more than just an accidental self defense weapon.

If a 795, 10/22 or Squires Bingahm is tested & trusted.............. what more can you do. Ammo, the same. Past track records may then become moot.

Harrell probably covered more ground than most have on the subject, a good video IMO.

I think Marlin Papoose survival .22 would be a great gun to own. You can eliminate dud problem by buying top quality match or biathlon ammo.

Pffft, just the opposite I'm afraid. Remington has done nothing good for Marlin.

I too could embrace a good pump of lever for serious purposes. The only drawback that I can think of is that it generally takes both hands to operate one. One big strength of the SA is that only one hand is needed.

Mine runs like this one.

I think the Henry pump .22 magnum would be a nice rifle if it worked. But from what I've read, they're hit or miss in the function department,.....and they're too pricey for me to take a chance on.

I have access to several properties with large hog traps which we move frequently. I have found the best gun for dispatching hogs is a CZ 22 in WRM semi-auto. I haven't shot anyone with it or shot anyone period but if killing hogs is any test then the WRM is a bunch better cart. The hogs in these large traps run and it takes some power to stop one with imperfect shot placement.
I have one that I keep in the truck and one at the house. Both have red dot sights on them.
Maybe not the best self defense gun but it is available and has fast follow up.
I also have a couple of .38 Special S&W pistols around just for special occasions.

For front door range, getting shots on target, and a lot of them, I think the 22lr semiautomatic is hard to top. Low flash, low recoil, short and handy....

Nobody is claiming it’ll stop a person better than a ounce and a half of 4’s at 10 feet center mass. But nobody is surviving a half dozen chest shots with a 22 either.


I like the idea. A lot. Pick yer poison.