Best Small .22 Revolver... does it exist?

[rooster]

I like my NAA black widow in 22 mag. It's still rimfire and it's a true single action but 22 mag is a little more powerful round.

 

[Cameramonkey]

The minimum id go with for self defense is 22 magnum. Which I'd also steer you to the Ruger LCR.

I cant find the article now, but as I recall the LCR has one flaw for carry. If bumped the right way or carried barrel up, rounds can slide backwards out of the cylinders slightly causing a malfunction of some kind. I dont recall if it was a jamming of the works preventing the cylinder advancing, or misfires because it has to push the bullet forward a smidge before the rim gets pinched and loses too much energy to reliably ignite the rounds.

Either way they said it was a great range toy, but not reliable for carry.

Plus 22WMR are still hard to find. I used to want a PMR30. But now that WMR is as rare as unicorn farts, No thanks.

 

[Hohn]

Come South, CM. .22WMR all over here...

 

[Cameramonkey]

Come South, CM. .22WMR all over here...

Yeah. Central IN seems to be a black hole. We've only started seeing 22LR on the shelf since late summer I'd guess. And NEVER at an urban WalMart. They dont even appear to stock it as there isnt space on the shelf. I occasionally see 2-3 boxes of WMR on the shelf at sporting goods stores, but then its pricey.

I could regularly drive to Columbus, OH and see thousands of rounds on the shelf, even at Meijer! It just doesnt make sense to me.

 

[slipnotz]

As stated a couple of times, I'm partial to Smith Wesson revolvers. The 63 and 34 are nice little revolvers if you can find one. If they were all I had to carry, they are better than nothing.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Yeah. Central IN seems to be a black hole. We've only started seeing 22LR on the shelf since late summer I'd guess. And NEVER at an urban WalMart. They dont even appear to stock it as there isnt space on the shelf. I occasionally see 2-3 boxes of WMR on the shelf at sporting goods stores, but then its pricey.

I could regularly drive to Columbus, OH and see thousands of rounds on the shelf, even at Meijer! It just doesnt make sense to me.

PointBlank in Greenwood generally has it. Plenty of places online now as well.

 

[Bapak2ja]

Kentucky Gun Company is currently selling blems. It had several Heritage .22LR with the .22mag chamber for under $170. The shortest barrel was 4.75, but it is a viable option for training. It could be carried, but it would need an appropriate holster for CC.

https://www.kygunco.com/Search/Ajax...earm=true&Rating=&Type=&MinPrice=0&MaxPrice=0

Heritage is fair quality manufacturer. It is not a S&W or a Ruler, but it is a viable option at a low price. When you decide to upgrade to a .380ACP you will still have a good training unit.

 

[Crusader17]

A 22 long/short/mag/anything is still a lethal cartridge. I sure wouldn't want to be shot with a 22, but it's not going send an attacker flying backwards. Light strikes are definitely I bigger problem with 22, this is simply because it's a rim fire cartridge. I believe the 22 ammo "shortage" is pretty much over. It seems like most people recommend at least 38 special, which you can find a box of 50 rounds for 16-20$. However 22lr is around $5/ box of 50. So for lots of shooting a 22 makes sense and would be a lot of fun. Maybe you can start off with the 22 and work up to a 38 special for carry after a while.

 

[DeadeyeChrista'sdad]

Bapa is on the right trail

View attachment 52980

3 inch Heritage Shopkeeper. Fun fun fun!

Both cylinders, too!

 

[BehindBlueI's]

A 22 long/short/mag/anything is still a lethal cartridge.

Falling off a 3' ladder has the potential to be lethal. A .22 won't penetrate muscle and break bone, it will not cause less bleed damage than appropriate calibers, it will deflect off the skull easier, ride ribs easier, etc. It will not deal with intermediate barriers, including things like forearms and heavy coats, and still have the oomph to do much to the torso. The potential for a mechanical disabling of an attacker is significantly reduced. That's "stopping power", not causing someone to fly backwards which is Hollywood nonsense anyway.

 

[flightsimmer]

I've had and shot a lot of 22lr handguns like most of us here.
What I have come to realize is, anything under a 4 inch barrel shoots a trajectory like a rainbow.
If you're looking for a quality revolver, a 4 inch S&W model 63 (stainless) or 22/32 kit gun (blue) would be tough to beat but whatever brand you pick, make it 4 inches or more.
If you want a semiautomatic, the newest Ruger 22/45 lite with quick takedown is a fabulous choice.

 

[m82mike]

I won't carry it for protection, I have a S&W Model 1 in 22 short. apparently somebody thought it was worth carrying, as they made a lot of them.

 

[Crusader17]

Falling off a 3' ladder has the potential to be lethal. A .22 won't penetrate muscle and break bone, it will not cause less bleed damage than appropriate calibers, it will deflect off the skull easier, ride ribs easier, etc. It will not deal with intermediate barriers, including things like forearms and heavy coats, and still have the oomph to do much to the torso. The potential for a mechanical disabling of an attacker is significantly reduced. That's "stopping power", not causing someone to fly backwards which is Hollywood nonsense anyway.

I agree there's less power than other rounds and more chance that the bullet is stopped by other things, but it's still going put the hurt on someone in a defensive situation. A 22 is lethal.

 

[hopper68]

I have my mom's old .22 short Rhom RG 10. In a fight you throw it at your attacker and hope it distracts them long enough to grab a real gun.

 

[AngryRooster]

11 rounds of 22 to the face, stops em' every time! This isn't Kabul or Kandahar.


It must be true, I read it right here on INGO.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

I agree there's less power than other rounds and more chance that the bullet is stopped by other things, but it's still going put the hurt on someone in a defensive situation. A 22 is lethal.

I had a victim shot through the gut, side to side, with a 7.62 during a tenant/landlord dispute. He was...hefty. He didn't realize he had gut shots until they got him to the ER. Even the medics didn't notice it as they were treating his hand and arm. The .22 might hurt. They might not notice, or shrug it off. They might run from the noise and the flash. It depends on who they are and how dedicated to ending you they are. If they don't decide to give up, you're in a bad way unless you can work that bullet into some mighty small target areas. This is based on the investigation of a multitude of real gunfights and shootings, not guesswork. Unless there is some physical limitation for the shooter, ie horrendous arthritis or the like, that makes a rim fire the only tolerable option, there is zero redeeming qualities to using a rim fire for defensive purposes.

 

[DeadeyeChrista'sdad]

BBI is technically correct. 100%. That said, please don't shoot me with a .22.

 

[oldpink]

I had a victim shot through the gut, side to side, with a 7.62 during a tenant/landlord dispute. He was...hefty. He didn't realize he had gut shots until they got him to the ER. Even the medics didn't notice it as they were treating his hand and arm. The .22 might hurt. They might not notice, or shrug it off. They might run from the noise and the flash. It depends on who they are and how dedicated to ending you they are. If they don't decide to give up, you're in a bad way unless you can work that bullet into some mighty small target areas. This is based on the investigation of a multitude of real gunfights and shootings, not guesswork. Unless there is some physical limitation for the shooter, ie horrendous arthritis or the like, that makes a rim fire the only tolerable option, there is zero redeeming qualities to using a rim fire for defensive purposes.

And let's not leave out the already addressed issue of rimfire cartridges being inherently less reliable to fire than centerfire cartridges.
Hell, that's one of the reasons for why they even invented the even less effective .25 Auto, with the other being that the unjacketed bullet for .22 LR tends to hang up more than the jacketed bullet generally used in the .25 Auto.

 

[gglass]

The SP101's are sweet revolvers.
Very slick trigger right out of the box, that smoothed out even more with some dry-firing.
I have one in .327fed.mag and like it a lot.

You cannot compare the trigger of any center-fire revolver to the equivalent rimfire revolver, since the mainsprings on the rim-fires is much heavier. This is how it has to be to get reliable ignition of a rim-fire cartridge. Doing any trigger lightening on a rim-fire revolver WILL make it less reliable than it already is by the nature of the cartridge.

 

[weezy]

Everyone,

Thanks so much for the details and recommendations. I feel like I understand the reliability issues a lot more now. I will be headed to the gun show tomorrow and will let you guys know if I end up picking something up. Leaning towards the SP101, but the Heritage Firearms are tempting too, since this would just be a "fun" gun. I have a S & W Shield in 9 mm if I need to CC.