22lr Self Defense - This is a question that many of us in the gun writing business have asked. "What is the best caliber for a self defense handgun?" Those expecting me to answer numbers one through three will be disappointed. I answer their simple question with a complex question. "What's the most powerful cartridge you can shoot accurately and efficiently in a gun that's comfortable enough to carry all the time?" Depending on the person asking, the answer will vary. For some, it's a full size .357 Mag. or 10 mm auto. For others, it is one of the current .380 ACPs offered in 9mm pistols. And in some cases it's .22 LR.
When many law enforcement agencies switched from the .40 S&W to the 9mm Luger, discussions began on Internet forums about how the 9mm proved to be "just as good," ballistically, as the .40 S&W. No, the .40 S&W has a larger diameter and heavier bullet that travels at a higher velocity. It's simple physics. But law enforcement agencies choose their capabilities based on many factors, ballistics being just one of them. They also look at the cost of ammunition, the service life of the gun, and the ability of their trainees to become proficient and accurate relatively quickly. For these reasons, the 9mm is starting to win.
22lr Self Defense
Citizens who carry firearms for self-defense consider many of the same factors, including ammunition cost and availability, but their most important consideration is to use a firearm that is reliable and that they can consistently hit their targets. Distance for self-defense. . Ballistic advantages come to the fore when your bullet doesn't connect. Five .22 LRs beat one .44 Mag in Bullseye. That he missed entirely. To paraphrase the famous jurist Bill Jordan, ballistics are good, but accuracy is ultimate.
Throwback Thursday: Self Defense Calibers — Best And Worst Options
Recoil is a factor that can interfere with accuracy. Cartridges on the lower end of the power spectrum, such as the .380 ACP, can produce a lot of recoil when paired with one of today's ultralight, microcompact pistols. The lack of recoil is the main advantage of the .22 LR when it comes to precision shooting. The subject of the .22 LR as a self-defense cartridge has been brought up frequently in digital and print forums.
This article is not an argument that the .22 LR is the "best" cartridge for self-defense, or even a good choice for many gun owners who could use a more powerful cartridge. But the .22 LR may be the best choice as a primary or backup gun for certain shooters, and if that's the case, they should choose the best ammunition and gun for the job. To that end, in a two-part series, we'll review both ammunition (Federal Punch .22 LR and Winchester Silvertip .22 LR) and a firearm (Smith & Wesson Model 43C) designed specifically for the self-defense chamber. 22 LR cartridge.
This year, two manufacturers, Winchester and Federal, introduced .22 LR cartridges designed specifically for self-defense, the Silvertip (left) and Premium Punch (right).
.22 cartridges have a long history as self-defense cartridges. The cartridge was introduced by Smith & Wesson in 1857 when they chambered their first revolver, the Model 1, in a small rimfire. A handgun is not a military or law enforcement firearm. This is for civilian self-defense. Seven self-contained .22 rounds housed in its cylinder could be loaded in quick, single-shot pistols or the five- and six-shot black powder revolvers of the day, which provided a distinct firepower advantage over shot, powder, and capsules. to load separately. While the ballistic performance of the .22 Short (as it later turned out) black powder cartridge was quite poor (it fired its 29-grain bullets at only 800 fps for an energy yield of about 44 ft.-lbs), it. was close - a long-range weapon of last resort.
Lr For Self Defense: Ammunition Test & Comparison
Over the years, the performance of the .22 rimfire has increased. A "long" version was introduced in 1871, followed by the "long rifle" cartridge in 1884. The .22 Long Rifle ("LR") cartridge, the most common today, effectively triples the power of the original .22 Short. As self-contained ammunition advanced, more powerful cartridges with the rapid-loading advantages of the .22 rimfire were developed, but the .22 LR remained the popular choice for self-defense. A wide range of small and affordable pistols were available in caliber and in many rural homes, the .22-cal. The rifle served three functions: putting meat on the table, removing vermin, and deterring bipedal predators.
The .22 LR has found modern military and law enforcement applications, especially where noise or excessive penetration is a consideration. The projectile's silence when suppressed means it was used by intelligence agencies such as the US Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and Britain's Special Operations Executive (SOE) during World War II. In the same conflict, the American long-range bomber team received a combination Stevens 22-410 rifle and shotgun as a survival weapon. All-metal cased ammunition was supplied to the Air Force, just in case they needed to use the .22 LR for defensive purposes.
Military and law enforcement use of the .22 LR continued after the war. U-2 pilots carried a high standard suppressed .22-cal. the gun In the 1970s, the British Army released the .22-cal. Walther PPs (designated L66A1) for their soldiers in Northern Ireland for self-defense when off duty. The Israelis used the .22 LR in many law enforcement and military applications. Their Air Marshals carried Beretta Model 71s in .22 LR for some time and successfully used them in several incidents against heavily armed terrorists attempting to hijack aircraft. The Israelis modified a version of the ArmaLite AR-7 survival rifle into a "personal defense weapon" for their F4 Phantom pilots.
The .22 LR rimfire cartridge is often used by the military and law enforcement, such as the Walther PP used by British soldiers on duty in Northern Ireland and designated in service as the L66A1.
Norma Nxd Non Expanding Defensive Ammunition
As technological advances have advanced in the field of weapons, the biggest revolution of the past two decades has been in ammunition. Modern advances in powder and bullet design have turned formally "obsolete" or "inadequate" cartridges, such as the .32 S&W or .32 ACP, into viable options for self-defense. The .22 Winchester Magnum has recently received serious attention for self-defense, with several manufacturers developing rimfire loads for the cartridge for their premium self-defense lines.
In 2021, Federal and Winchester, two ammunition manufacturers, introduced a .22 LR cartridge designed specifically for self-defense applications. These two cartridges have a different approach to how they are designed to work. The Federal Punch .22 LR is designed to meet the FBI standard of 12" ballistic gelatin penetration from the short barrel length of a common concealed carry pistol.
Instead of the standard .22 rim-lubricated lead bullet, the 29-grain bullet in the punch cartridge has a nickel jacket on the lead core and has a nosed bullet profile. The Winchester Silvertip .22 LR uses a plated segmented hollow point bullet weighing 37 grains. The bullet is designed to break into four pieces on impact, creating an initial wound channel as the bullet's three "wings" continue to enter the base.
The two .22 LR cartridges introduced for self-defense have different design approaches. The Federal Punch .22 (left) uses a flat nose bullet design with a full nickel finish designed for maximum penetration. The Winchester Silvertip .22 LR (right) uses a coated segmented hollow point whose "wing" creates an initial wound channel as it continues to penetrate the base.
Federal Personal Defense Punch .22 Lr 29 Grain Flat Nose Pd22l1
The Federal Premium Punch is designed for .22 LR penetration. In factory testing, the bullet penetrated 13.75" in 10% ballistic gelatin. Photo courtesy of Federal Ammunition.
Both cartridges are optimized to run at the velocities generated by the short barrel. From the federally claimed 1070 f.p.s 2” barrel, the 1.875” barrel of the Smith & Wesson Model 43C yields an average velocity of 1196 f.p.s. For punch. The same revolver shot 1008 f.p.s. From the silvertip load, velocity from the 3.5" barrel was just under the factory-claimed 1,080 f.p.s. For accuracy testing, a Smith & Wesson Model 43C revolver fired five-shot groups under 2" at 7 yards with the punch and just under 1.5 with the silvertip.
One of the problems with using the .22 LR for self defense is reliability. As anyone who has used mass .22 LR cartridges can tell you, you will sometimes get a misfire when firing rimfire cartridges. Small rimfire cartridges are very delicate - rough handling can dent the cases, bend the bullets or loosen them in the cases. To overcome these shortcomings, Federal claims to rigorously test and monitor the reliability of its production punch .22 LR.
The cartridge case is also nickel plated to handle defensive ammunition during frequent loading and unloading and to aid in chambering and extraction. Winchester also claims that the plated bullets in their silvertips help with reliability. During our testing, we averaged about one Punch .22 LR that failed to fire, even after multiple muzzle blasts from different pistols from each 50-round box. The Silvertips had no failures
Best 22 Lr Ammo For Self Defense
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