by Greg Ellifritz
Ohio –-(Ammoland.com)- After last week’s article about using the .22 for self defense, I was deluged with queries about my self defense recommendations concerning the .22 Magnum cartridge.
For those of you unfamiliar with the cartridge, HERE is a blog post from Cheaper Than Dirt about the round’s history and capabilities.
I’m quite fond of the .22 magnum round. The first handgun I ever owned as a kid was a Smith and Wesson Model 51 .22 Magnum. It’s a 1970’s era J-frame with a 3 1/2″ barrel and adjustable sights. I shot that gun a lot, even though the price tag for a box of ammo in the early 1980’s was $3.99…rivaling .38 reloads!
I still have that gun (now worth over $1000) and I also have a Smith and Wesson Model 351 PD…its updated little brother. The 351 is a 2″ Scandium J-frame that holds seven rounds. It’s a handy gun to tuck in the waistband and I often have it clipped inside my gym shorts (with a clipdraw) when I do yard work outside.
I’ve never been able to explain it, but the .22 Magnum has always performed better than it really should. I have a friend who used a .22 magnum rifle for urban deer control when his city received a nuisance permit to cull its deer herd. He told me that he shot almost 40 deer with that round (all in the head or neck). None of them took a step. Every one collapsed in a heap. I haven’t had that kind of luck with a 12 gauge slug!
The famed Rex Applegate also opined that the .22 magnum would make an ideal hideout handgun. He pressured Smith and Wesson to make a J-frame snub in that caliber, stating that he would prefer the performance of the .22 magnum over the .38 spl out of a snubnose revolver. Unfortunately the 351 wasn’t developed until after Applegate’s death.
In my stopping power study, I wasn’t able to come up with many shootings with the .22 Magnum. I have 9 shootings with that caliber in my database. Each of those incidents had only one round fired and five resulted in an immediate incapacitation when hit. That 55% immediate incapacitation rate rivals the 9mm and the .38 spl. I caution you that the data isn’t really comparable because the number of shootings with the .38 and 9mm is much higher than with the .22 magnum. The round still seems to offer decent performance.
If you want more quantifiable information on the cartridge, BBTI published a chart of the velocities of the various .22 Magnum rounds when fired through different barrel lengths. Richard Mann did some ballistic gelatin testing for American Rifleman Magazine and reported some good findings as well. In his tests, the 45 grain Hornady Critical Defense round expanded to .36 caliber and penetrated 15″ of gelatin. That’s as good or better than most .38 spl defensive loads out of the snub revolver!
The .22 mag has essentially no recoil, but has similar performance as compared to its .38 cousin. It does, however, hold two more rounds. I can see why Rex Applegate liked the idea!
If your are going to carry the .22 magnum, I would stay away from the KelTec semi auto PM-30. It’s a really neat idea, but I haven’t found one that will work reliably for defensive use. Stick to the Smith and Wesson revolvers or the Ruger LCR. The LCR is the cheaper option and actually has a better trigger. In my experience the S&W triggers are horrible in this caliber. I’ve tried to replace the mainspring and the rebound spring with lighter aftermarket versions. They greatly improved the trigger pull, but negatively affected reliability. It seems that you can’t really monkey with factory specs in the S&W revolver and still have a reliable gun. I’ve tried every combination of spring weights possible and none of the combinations worked well enough for defensive carry. I’m back to the factory springs for carry purposes.
The NAA mini revolvers are another option. They are tiny and very handy to carry, but most people don’t shoot them well. The shorter barrel also negatively affects bullet performance. If you can shoot the gun fast and accurately, I wouldn’t discourage you from carrying it, but I don’t know many people who can honestly do that. I have one at the PD, and after a few trials, I determined that I would rather carry a knife than the mini-revolver. Buyer beware with those little things.
If you have a reliable gun and load it with either the Speer Gold Dot or Hornady Critical Defense rounds, you will have a lightweight, limited recoiling gun that offers low end .38 spl. performance while providing a couple extra rounds in the cylinder. That’s a tough combination to beat!
Greg Ellifritz is the full time firearms and defensive tactics training officer for a central Ohio police department. He holds instructor or master instructor certifications in more than 75 different weapon systems, defensive tactics programs and police specialty areas. Greg has a master’s degree in Public Policy and Management and is an instructor for both the Ohio Peace Officer’s Training Academy and the Tactical Defense Institute.
For more information or to contact Greg, visit his training site at Active Response Training.
About:
Buckeye Firearms Association is a grassroots political action committee dedicated to defending and advancing the right of Ohio citizens to own and use firearms for all legal activities. Visit: www.buckeyefirearms.org
Going from a 1.875 inch barrel to a 3 inch barrel, as is now possible with the lcrx 22 magnum creates an enormous difference between the 22 lr lcrx and the 22 magnum lcrx. 100 ft. Lbs vs 140 ft. Lbs of energy at the muzzle. You don’t need the Hornady to accomplish that. The cci maxi mag is all you need, and they cost, right now, $.20/round at midway.
I raise and butcher my own pigs. I use a PMR 30 with Hornady 45 grain critical defense rounds to put them down prior to continuing the process of butchering. Shooting into the head, centered and one inch above the eyes in the direction of the body. This round always penetrates into the body cavity and what’s left of the round can be found somewhere in the guts. I can track the round through the head easily and if curious enough I’ll find the round. love the power and simplicity of this caliber. the pmr-30 can dump all 30 rounds… Read more »
My family and I survived a home invasion because of my Ruger single six in .22 mag. This guy was one week out of prison, 6’3″ and 275 lbs. He is back in prison and walking funny. The “pip squeak” .22 mag, split his femur and took the fight right out of him.
Barrel time is very important in short barrels. Everyone seems to be lightening the bullets and losing velocity and especially energy. If the bullet weight is increased to 50 grains, the bullet stays in the barrel longer, allowing pressure to build more before the bullet is expelled. A 50 grain bullet will have almost exactly the same velocity as a 35 or 40 grain, BUT at a much higher energy. My 41 Mag with a 2 1/2 inch barrel shoots 185 and 215 grain bullets within 25 fps of each other.The 215 has a lot more energy. We want a… Read more »
All this info is great but where can i get these bad ass bullets??? im on the eastern shore of Maryland and 22 mag is real hard to get….would really like to get these Hornady critical defense rounds…
I have had the occasion to stop a attack from a pack of 7 coyotes going after a woman and her dog. With a 6 1/2 in barrel revolver I shot two of them a short distance away from her and when the others turned to see what is happening I shot two more. The other three took off. I helped her walk back to her car carrying her dog that was injured. The coyotes weighed 45 to 55 pounds and the bullets shot them dead quickly so I believe a round in a human chest would do a LOT… Read more »