I was thinking of a follow on to Glockduffus's thread denigrating the 22LR. I recollect a story of a bear being shot dead by a single shot with a 22LR. In my life a rabid cat died with one shot of a 22 LR, of course I know of other incidents but I am hoping many will share stories about what they have dispatched with a 22, any bears, any self defense stories. Just trying to keep it real around here.

An acquaintance's dad emptied a mag from his MK II into the front door when somebody was trying to break in. One of the rounds hit the guy.

He left and was never found.

I knew a fellow, recently deceased, who killed a black bear with a .22 short to the side of the head. I guess the bear rolled and somersaulted and snorted and thrashed around a bunch before it decided it was dead. Just to clarify, this was not a self-defense shooting, it was just killing a bear.

I don't think it relates much to the lethality of the .22...more a comment on the precision of the .22, but my son in law hauled livestock for many years, and the .22 was the go to gun of choice. California law requires live stock haulers to humanely dispatch downed injured cargo animals in a timely manner. The standard of the industry is the lowly .22. In his own words.."we've tried more powerful options (he is a handgunner), not every time, but too often, more noise, more unwanted drama, stressed animals, dramatic gory non fatal wounds, so we always return to the .22 as the most efficient, we hate drama".

Around 1977 a friend and I were hunting ground squirrels in Utah just west of Bear Lake, I was using my 10/22. They were thick as fleas in that area and we walked into a particularly dense mess of them. The shooting was fast and furious and I lost count of how many I had shot. Thought we were clear when a hold out suddenly dashed out no more than 10 yards away. I fired quickly but only winged him.

The wounded ground squirrel charged straight at me! I raised the carbine and squeezed the trigger but my heart sank when all I heard was "click"! The magazine was empty. My mind was racing as adrenaline flooded my system. With the enraged squirrel rapidly narrowing the distance between us I resorted to the only means of self defense possible and butt smashed him with the solid walnut stock which ended the episode immediately. Thank goodness it was an early 1968 model with a metal butt plate, a newer plastic one might have cracked and then who knows what mayhem may have ensured.

And that is a true story...

I shot a rabid red fox with a .22 Magnum about 45 years ago. Used my girl friend's father's Winchester 275 barn gun.

I never even had to take my NAA Mini Revolver (.22lr) out of my pocket. I just had to reach for it to cause the unsavory looking guy who had been making a B-line for me ever since he spotted me a couple hundred yards away while I was on a walk with my dog in a large nature park that belonged to the Boy Scouts of America (they occasionally had camp outs and jamborees there, but was otherwise usually about empty of people). When he got within twenty yards, I put my hand in my right front pants pocket to get a hold of the Mini-Revolver, and that was enough to cause him to turn on his heels and abruptly proceed in a different direction.

Know a guy that defended his dog from a black bear with a Marlin M60. The bear had been trying to get into his shed for several nights, guessing for the livestock feed he kept there. This guy kept an old M60 loaded around the place all the time and when he heard the bear ripping on the shed door he stepped outside with the intention of cracking off some shots to scare the bear off. He didn't get his door shut in time and his dog squirmed out and immediately started for the bear. I guess the bear was pretty worked up and the dog didn't spook him, in fact the bear charged the dog and got it pinned against the shed. The homeowner opened up on the bears side with the .22 and the bear ran off. Guy called the sheriff's department and they called the conservation agent. It was decided to track the bear the next day in the daylight. The next day after a fairly lengthy tracking job they found a dead bear. The bear autopsy revealed seven rounds into the chest from the .22. Not sure what he was actually loading the gun with, probably Mini Mag hollowpoint. I do remember the bear weighed a bit over 400 pounds.

MacKay had something to say about this.. He has been there..

After my brother got out of the army and was going to school, he worked for a private contractor during the summer, killing gophers in National Forests across the Northwest. The guy he ran the crew for was a family friend, and a bit of a POS. Several times, the guy left the crew up in the middle of the mountains with no food, or no vehicles, or no pay. In the middle of one abandoned stint, the crew of about a dozen guys was without food except what they could forage for 3 days, my brother used his Ruger Mark 2 to shoot a doe in the head as she was trotting away at about 80 yards. Two quick shots, one at the base of the skull and one directly in the back of the skull. No one was going to die of starvation, but they certainly needed more than the wild berries they could forage.

Mordachai Rachamim

Sounds to me as if the .22 Ruger would have been better used against the guy who abandoned his employees leaving them in a dire survival situation.

Just my opinion.

L.W.

The real crime is that my brother kept working for the guy for two more summers. His whole family were a bunch of scumbags. Parents in an "open" marriage, all the kids lied and cheated and stole their way to great government contract jobs, all the while dismissing the notion that laws apply to everyone.

I am prone to agree with you, and if it were the 1800's, I'd have pulled the trigger myself, if need be.

From memory, I think at least twice active shooters at a school used .22 LR firearms to murder students at school. One was a girl who said she did what she did because "I don't like Mondays." A Ruger 10/22 was her weapon. I'm not going to say her name but the year was 1979 and the school was Grover Cleveland Elementary. The other was in 2012 in Chardon, Ohio. A Ruger MK II handgun was the weapon.

EDIT: The title of the post asked about self defense with the .22 rimfire. Obviously these school shootings were not self defense. They were cowardly homicidal attacks on innocent individuals that unfortunately had no means of protection. For clarification.

A new recruit to the county sheriff's dept went nuts on an apartment balcony where he was hanging out with other young folks. He shot at least 1. Someone in apartment grabbed a .22 rifle & killed him. I can't remember all the details. This was 2-3 yrs ago in knox county, Tn.

I remember that. I was in High School when it happened. It was quite the subject of conversation with classmates.

There was even a song about it.

Pop shot a pitbull a couple years back.

It got in the chicken coup and killed his chickens. Pop went out and the dog got kinda [bleep] with him, so he shot it. One 22lr in the chest, dead dog.

Owner showed up about an hour later. Dad told him he’d show him where his dog was after the guy cleaned up all the dead chickens. 🖕

A few years back, an elderly fellow in Northern Ky. had criminals come into his house though the basement & rob him.

A few weeks later he heard them again & placed himself in a chair in view of the basement door, while armed with a 22 rifle. The thieves entered the upstairs & the old man cut loose. One punk got away & was later caught. The other SOB got a body bag for his trouble.

The home owner didn't get charged, actually in most parts of the state they get donations in cases like this, but the Law took his rifle for evidence. One of the web sites I visit was in the process of gathering donations to help the man arm himself again. They didn't have too, as a gun shop local to the homeowner saw to it he was taken care of the next day.

Beretta 71 was it not?

I'm not a big fan of .22 handguns for defensive purposes, although I know they'll do the job sometimes. But I have a little Marlin 795 .22 rifle with a Weaver V3 scope that will put 10 shots into a ragged hole at 25 yards and is rock solid dependable. I'm fairly certain that it would give an intruder a bad day.

In Nevada if you shoot someone with a .22 or .25 you can face a charge of; Assault, with intent to annoy.

My Dad, tells a story about him and a friend fishing along our local river many years ago.
Two tough looking guys snuck up on them and were threatening to beat em up and rob them if they didn't hand over some cash....

Dad's, pal drew a .22 revolver out and pointed it at the biggest guy and made a show of cocking it and aiming at the guys knee. He said " How would you like to be shot in the knee, a-hole"? The two bad guys beat a hasty retreat...

Investigated a shooting where a fellow resisted during an street robbery. One of the robbers shot him in the forehead with what was determined to be a .22LR. Victim ran off, and walked 15 blocks to a hospital. Recovered the .22 lr round when the doctor removed it protruding from his forehead. Victim had a severe headache and couldn't recall much about the robbery.

Once upon a time, many moons ago when I was a younger man and a Newlywed, my Wife and I had joined one of her Co-Workers, and her husband at her In-Laws Cabin on a lake in Michigan. I had taken along a Ruger Mark I and a supply of ammunition on this trip. The Co-Workers husband and I decided to go do some target shooting in the nearby woods. We had been shhoting for about half an hour when all of a sudden the tree limb next to my head exploded as bits of bark flew like shrapnel and it distintegrated! It was immediatley followed up by more bullets snapping, and "buzzing" through the air around us.....it took but a nanosecond to figure out that someone was shooting at us and I don't think I could have hugged Mother Earth any tighter than I was!

We both started hollering as if our lives depended on it.....and it was met with a few more rounds sent our way. Quickly deciding that we had no choice but to get the hell out of there, I told my acquaintance that I had a plan. I had 2 magazines for the pistol.....I loaded both and when I started returing fire, he was to haul azz for the road and safety!

I popped up on my knees and started emptying the magazine in the direction I thought the shots had come from. Mark ran faster than a scalded dog getting out of there. I dropped back down, changed mags, then jumped up, and began firing in the general direction as before while I ran as fast as I could for the road! Once reaching safety of the road, the pucker factor dropped from around 1,000 to about 20 and then I began to get angry.....I mean mad dog mean angry. I reloaded both mags and we started back for the cabin.

Upon return, we explained what happened to our wives. They informed us that they had been setting outside in the back yard enjoying the weather, when the neighbor's kid came out of the woods with a rifle. One of his buddy's happened along and asked him why he quit shooting....he stated that because there was someone else in the woods shooting....the new kid said "Give me your gun, I'll go find out who it is". Apparently, it was this little bastid that was shooting at us and thought the woods were his private domain!

The Wive's recalled joking about possibly becoming widows if we were the ones out in the woods they were talking about.

Needless to say, if it hadn't been for an older neighbor intervening when we confronted these little azzholes, well suffice it to say, the older neighbor confiscated the firearm, called the boys Father and told him he had the boys at his place and he could pick them up there.

That's the ONLY time I've fired a ".22LR" in anger.......


Frog----OUT!

victims don't 'run off', when 'shot in the forehead' with a .22LR......

Maybe the wives weren't joking about becoming widows. Seems like if they saw and heard the kids with the gun talking all this over the wives could have piped up and told the kids who was out there and to not go in there investigating with a gun.

Never been a time when I was carrying a 22 that I was sorry I had it.mb

That's some intense shixt. I got the goosebumps reading it. Hope it don't give me the nightmares.

Back in my ‘70’s packing house days, when a particularly tough cow didn’t stay knocked out with the pneumatic knocker, the kill floor guy got the .22 pistol and the result was just the same as Huntsman22’s cow above.
From what I’ve read, .22 LR wounds in humans while not immediately fatal all the time, often result in septic shock later and that is fatal. It was used for a quiet back of the head hit often because a .22 bullet is so soft that it deforms and is untraceable ballistically.

The only thing that a .22 handgun has saved, for me, is my sanity. Where I live the largest common predator is the coyote, and I have spent copious amounts of time trying to elicit a hair raising charge from them. All to no avail.
Rabbit stampedes at the burn pile are probably more hazardous. What with the beagle charging blindly and running the varmints right past my feet.

I have described how I seek adventure on my home place with the .22 handgun. I confess that the adventures are more mind-set than they are thriller novel material. But the use of a .22 handgun in these small adventures has shown me that the same handgun is capable of larger adventures.

I've said in other threads that I thought the modern prevalence of concealed carry had pretty much done away with the "Kit Gun" concept. Still, if I found myself in rural North America walking stream banks while fishing, or simply day hiking, I can't think of a better companion or "kit" gun.
When used this way the .22 is on my belt, instead of tucked away in a bag or tackle box. Pretty much always have enough spare ammo in a little pocket coin bag to make life interesting

And I work 60+ miles from home. I don't have a bug-out bag, or a get-home bag. I do have a bag with enough stuff to make delays or extended detours in getting home more comfortable. The .22 adventure gun, with the coin bag of ammo figures prominently in such preparations. Does this mean the "Kit Gun" lives on?

I killed a wild pig or two with a Single Six. They weren’t charging but they are dead. I’ve killed plenty of snakes with it too.

I carry a High Standard derringer tucked behind my billfold in my pocket sometimes. Not ideal but sometimes there’s no other option and I don’t know anybody who wants to get shot with anything, even a 22.

its legal here to shoot anything with about anything. There were generations of hunters using 22LR for said anything, and still a % who still use it. It penetrates animal skulls, which is not surprising as it beats 2" of pine with most ammo types in rifle and still penetrates a 1/2" pine board at 400 yards which was the old army test for potential lethality. Tests on youtube show subsonic match ammo getting 10+" of gel penetration at 300 yards. Not that you could maintain holdover at those ranges but just to show the 22LR can kill quite a ways out.

Some videos I like on it.

22LR through windsheild
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKFvrqCG118

22LR through 11 layers dry wall
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pSVn7ozXTQ

22LR through 4 household doors
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pSVn7ozXTQ

22LR through both sides of deer skull
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VW2C3exp0R4

22LR, 11" gel penetration at 300 yards.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DzLQGv-w5M

Closest to self defense has been shooting a rattlesnake with one.

A 22 is probably my most carried sidearm here on the farm. This means I almost always have it when getting my self-across-defence.....

^ LMAO

Cautionary note;

And it's been hammered on ad nauseum, but...

I've been pretty proud of the little LCR .22 I picked up in august. Run a lot of rounds, of all types, through it since then. Reliable as the sunrise?

First misfire today. Last round in my first cylinder full. And my thoughts went immediately to the potential of Fail to Fire issues with rimfire priming. I picked the round up and it had a barely visible mark in the rim, which makes it a weapon issue, in my mind.

After that first cylinder, I shot up 50 stingers, 50 Fed Gold Medal, and 40 Fed AE. Never a hiccup.

I'm always impressed with the stingers, but the Gold Medal stuff was the eye opener today. They grouped into tight little knots that really got my attention, albeit they shot 2" higher than most loads at 50'

Don't recall buying the Fed Gold medal stuff and have no clue where it came from. I'd guess I bought it to try in the Sako 78.

I'll be on the lookout for more...

That right there is hard to believe

Leonard Bryant was his name.. typical Rez party the skins drinking keystone and whatever cheap beer you could getting rainbow market. Well Leonard found his mom’s 22 L.R pistol he was [bleep] around with it. Drunk pointing it at people all the other Indians laughing joking yeah Leonard. Well someone said something about it being loaded. Leonard to prove to folks it wasn’t held up to his head and pulled the trigger. Well you all know the rest of this story.. needless to say ol Leonard died that night..

Sometimes this is NOT a weapon issue. I would recommend measuring rim thickness on the defective round. I may be too thin, which barely allowed the firing pin to reach it. I've seen it. Another thing, sometimes in the brass rim there are spots that are not hollow, so there is no primer compound in that spot. They don't dent much either because that spot is not hollow; it has brass in it.

Your experience verified what gun writer Bill Jordan used to say "I'll take a revolver, you take your chances". He had a very colorful history in Law Enforcement. If you get a "dud" with a double-action revolver, simply pull the trigger again. The only way I would use a rimfire for self-defense is in a double-action revolver. Just my opinion. Fortunately, I've never been in a situation requiring gunfire.

And sometimes it's just the ammo. This was a solid hit with my G44, that's why I said I'd rather have a revolver in 22 LR.

A good lotion will take care of those dick beaters in no time..

[quote=TWR]And sometimes it's just the ammo. This was a solid hit with my G44, that's why I said I'd rather have a revolver in 22 LR.

Aha!!!

So the G44 IS unreliable...

No, 22lr in general is unreliable.

Sure enough grizz slayer!

Not that I’d be anxious to try it. 😬

https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/bella-twin-little-woman-little-gun-big-bear-cold-front/

For the record, those were Federal bulk pack shells that I practice with.

And man hands don’t care. 😎

I've seen a pile of cows become beef and a bunch of pigs, pork, all from a 22.


And, I've seen a few rodeos where it just didn't work.
One old cow took 3 or 4 from a 22 mag before she would
consent to a sticking.

Saw a cow take 6 from a revolver, hitting the floor with each.
She would get up bawling each time.

A 38 calmed her down.

Sometimes cows and hogs get a super thick skull. I have seen it,
We always cut it open to get the brains.

Buddy ran a custom butcher shop for years.
Kept 2 guns there. A Marlin 22 was the primary kill gun.
One shot, almost always. A second put it up to dam near
every single time.


But.

A single shot 12 gauge hung on pegs.
Loaded with 1 1/4oz #4's it was the emergency kill room decider.
They would shove it into the ribs and pull the trigger.
Game over. Everytime.

Saw your video.

Wouldn't argue with you about it, with out it.

And it's typical with a decent shot.



But it doesn't work that way every time.

Occasionally, it just don't seem to bother them much.



Most guys I know that kill a lot, use a 22.
And most of them that have done it long, have a backup.

Dead truck that would come around always had a killing gun behind the seat for cancer eye cows and broke legs. The one time I saw them break it out it was a 12ga H&R with slugs. Took the old boy a couple to get the job done and I think he was hurting worse than the cow.

A guy next to our range came over to see if anyone could come kill his steer. He and his brother had it loaded in a trailer and shot it in the head with a 38. It got pissed and walked out of the trailer and was running with its twin around the guys pasture.

I had a 243 AI with me and a 105 Amax did the job on the 8-900 lb steer.

Cattle don’t always cooperate but careful shot placement is always needed no matter the caliber.

where was your careful shot placement?

CNS

thru the ribeyes?

I had the same thing happen with a small mule deer yearling that had been hit by a car and had a broken leg. Could not have weighed 75 pounds. I walked up to it with a 12 gauge loaded with a slug, stuck the muzzle between its eyes and pulled the trigger. I remember it didn't even blink. A 3/4" hole appeared at the bridge of its nose and it just looked at me with a stunned expression. I had missed his brain by and inch. Had to run back to the truck and get another shell. This was witnessed by my brother and a Colorado game warden. So much for the awesome knock down power of a 12 gauge with slugs.

Through the ears

In the packing house, when they shot the cow with the .22 pistol, the USDA inspector was right there to condemn that head for any possible meat product. There is quite a bit of usable sausage meat on a cow’s head. The pneumatic knocker or the .22 maybe even didn’t actually kill the cow, it just knocked them out long enough to get hung on the rail by their back leg where the next guy down the line cut their carotid arteries.

That's one thing that gets a lot of people when putting down a hog or cow.

They shoot between the lookers.

and worse on horses. the brain is pretty high up.....

X...eyes to opposite ear. I'm pretty sure I read that on this site. I'm glad someone posted it as I'd likely have gone between the lookers.

Works every time.

I made my cousins horse sit like a dog when I punched it there after it bit me on the shoulder
Couldn't use that hand for a couple of weeks.

The biggest thing Ive personally killed with a .22 is a few coyotes.

That being said, Ive investigated multiple shootings where a .22 was used. I seen them skip off skulls, Ive seen them penetrate skulls. Ive seen a car load of gang bangers with a sawed off single shot rifle, with one shell, fire a single shot from a moving car and hit a rival gang member from approximately 105 yards away. The 40 grain solid hit the guy under one armpit, crossed through the heart, and lodged under the opposite armpit. The guy ran about 50 yards and died in his tracks. Shot placement.

For the guys who talk about head shots, they are not 100% reliable. Ive seen many cases where the bullet skids against the skull, then travels under the scalp and lodges under the skin on the opposite side of the entry wound. The x-rays look freaky as initially it looks like there was an entry on one side with the bullet on the other side of the head, yet the guy is alive and talking.

.22's usually deflect off bones rather than breaking them, causing bullet tumble and an erratic bullet path. If they do penetrate the skull, they often wont penetrate the off side skull, but rather skip around inside the skull cap. It can deliver a gruesome wound.

Bottom line, as we all know, is shot placement. A .22 will kill, but maybe not as fast as a larger caliber.

Anyway, my 2 cents after 32 years as a LEO in a city with a violent crime rate that was almost always 10 times the national average. Suicides, homicides, assault with firearms, and officer involved shootings totaling several thousand in that time, and I retired as Chief of Detectives.