The .22 rimfire cartridge is the oldest self-contained round still in use today. It was introduced in 1856, and you would be hard-pressed to find a shooter who didn’t learn to shoot with a .22 caliber firearm. Even many non-gun people have a .22 somewhere in the family, and I’d hazard to say a home is not properly kept if there isn’t a .22 rimfire pistol or rifle available. It is considered by many to be the optimum round to have in a long term survival situation, and is perhaps the most useful cartridge one can have.
That being said, there isn’t a self defense instructor out there that will recommend the .22 as the optimum defensive round. Most will recommend something along the lines of a .380 ACP or larger for that job. However, there are a number of individuals who simply don’t have the hand strength to handle anything larger, whether it is due to limited hand strength, arthritis, injury, or a sensitivity to recoil or noise. Does that mean that they are just out of luck when it comes to defending themselves? Absolutely not.
A common misconception is to equip a new shooter with a small handgun because, the thinking is, it will be easier for them to shoot. This is actually the furthest thing from the truth. Recoil has more to do with the size of the gun, as opposed to the size of the cartridge. The .22 Long Rifle cartridge, in a moderate-sized firearm, is comfortable for almost everybody to shoot, once a new shooter gets past the muzzle blast and noise. For those of you who think that someone is worse than defenseless if they have a .22, or they should “just get used to something bigger,” I have a message for you: stay away from new shooters, you’re not helpful. Get out of your bubble, and actually talk to people, maybe get out and learn something new that might not conform to your world view. Those who have severe arthritis, permanent hand or wrist injuries, or conditions like fibromyalgia, are some of the folks who will benefit from using the .22 semi-automatic pistol. Even Col. Jeff Cooper, the Guru, was a believer in the .22 for self defense, if one wasn’t able to handle anything larger. The good Colonel wanted to people to be armed and trained, even if that meant using something other than his beloved 1911 in .45ACP.Continue reading“Fighting .22 Rimfires, by Steve in Missouri”
