Of the many caliber debates out there, arguments revolving around truly diminutive cartridges simply don’t come up as often. 22 LR is one of those rounds that’s seen as the purview of new shooters, kids, and squirrel hunters — sometimes. More than you might think, 22 LR is still presented as a capable self-defense round and a solid option for a carry gun. When questions like “Would you want to be shot with it?” are asked, confused silence often follows.
So, what’s the reality of 22 LR? Is it a worthwhile self-defense caliber or is it best left to plinking cans and teaching newbies the ropes of handgun use? We’re going to consider the efficacy of 22 LR and the pros and cons of using it for your daily carry.
What is 22 LR?
While the topic of what 22 LR is might seem clear, it’s still important to stop and put it into perspective. Unlike cartridges like .380 ACP and 9mm, which are centerfire, the 22 LR is a rimfire. That means that instead of a circular primer located at the center of the base of the case, it has the primer compound sandwiched in the rim of the base. Why is this relevant? Because rimfires are only found in small calibers for a reason.
Rimfires like the 22 LR are only used with small calibers because they can really only handle low chamber pressures. This is due to the fact that the case of a rimfire must be thin enough for the impact of the firing pin to ignite the primer, meaning a higher pressure round — even the 380 ACP, which you might not think of as high pressure but it is, compared to 22 LR — can’t safely be loaded into a thinner rimfire case.
The 22 LR, specifically, has a bullet diameter of .223 inches and an overall length of 1.0 inch. If you’re thinking that bullet diameter puts it into the same class as the 223 Remington, which has a bullet diameter of .224 inches, you have to understand that ammo isn’t measured by bullet diameter alone. For example, the 223 Remington has an overall length of 2.26 inches and a maximum pressure of 55,000 psi while the must shorter 22 LR has a maximum pressure of 24,000 psi. They’re not the same.
Due to the design of the 22 LR as a rimfire, it’s far more common for it to experience failures to fire. It also can’t be reloaded.
Can you use 22 LR for self-defense?
Technically, you can use 22 LR for self-defense. A great example of just how well it really can work took place in 1957. A woman by the name of Bella Twin found herself face to face with a rampaging grizzly bear. She was walking her trap line near Slave Lake, Alberta, Canada, and all she had on her was the 22 she used for rabbits. Clearly, that wasn’t a time for debate, and Bella fired the 22 rimfire right into the bear’s eye, dropping it on the spot. She knew it wasn’t a great idea to trust a single round of 22, though, and proceeded to fire seven more shots into the grizzly’s head. There’s a fair bit of speculation that the gun she had wasn’t a 22 LR but was, instead, a 22 Short due to its being used primarily for rabbits. Either way, the event does answer the question of whether a 22 is effective for defensive use. Yes, it can be. Given the proper shot placement and a little luck, a 22 LR — or in Bella’s case, a 22 Short — can stop a threat in its tracks. And remember, you’re probably more likely to be facing human assailants, and humans are generally not as tough as grizzly bears.
From a general standpoint, the answer is clear: you can use 22 LR for self-defense and it might be effective. It could stop the threat quickly enough to save you. On the other hand, it might not. It has a tiny bullet that isn’t designed for the kind of energy transfer as larger calibers, and it also isn’t made to expand and create a large wound cavity. It’s simply not possible for it to create the kind of threat-stopping wound a bigger caliber can. That doesn’t mean it can’t work, only that it’s a bigger gamble.
Should you use 22 LR for self-defense?
Whether or not you should go ahead and use 22 LR for self-defense depends on a few factors. In some cases, the only gun available for carry use is one chambered in 22 LR. Or maybe the person carrying the gun has severe arthritis or some other issue that makes it next to impossible for them to handle anything larger. Basically, if a 22 LR handgun is the only choice for legitimate reasons, yes, it’s better to carry that gun than nothing at all. But if you can manage something larger, do it. If it’s a matter of saving up to purchase a defensive handgun chambered in a larger caliber, then do that, even if it takes quite a while.
The late Col. Jeff Cooper once said that one of the first things you should expect of your defensive handgun is that it be unfair, meaning it gives you what others might perceive as an unfair advantage in a firefight. At that time, Cooper used that as a good reason to carry .45 ACP, which was admittedly a top caliber for the era. But ballistics have come a long way over the years, and today you’re looking at 9x19mm Parabellum as the ideal defensive round for most people.
Are there alternatives to 22 LR?
The question of alternatives to 22 LR isn’t about a comparable caliber, it’s about the felt recoil and ease of operation. As a matter of fact, there are guns in larger calibers than 22 LR specifically designed for easy operation for injured shooters or people with weaker hands. One such gun is the Smith & Wesson EZ which is made in both .380 ACP and 9mm. The EZ is made with a slide that’s surprisingly simple to manipulate and a design and size that mitigates felt recoil quite a bit. Some shooters do run into trouble with keeping the grip safety engaged, but for the most part, it’s a fantastic issue to the problem of having a bigger caliber gun that’s not excessively challenging to use.
22 LR is a great caliber with lots of applications. There’s a reason it’s ideal for instructing new shooters — felt recoil and muzzle rise are non-existent — and of course, it’s also affordable to use. However, it does experience more failures to fire than centerfire guns, and that’s a serious problem for a potential self-defense weapon. Your self-defense gun must be inherently reliable and accurate, and when you use a 22 LR you open yourself to the possibility of failures that wouldn’t otherwise happen. This is not to say it can’t be used, only that it’s not the ideal.
Unless you must use a 22 LR for carry, leave it for teaching new shooters, plinking, and shooting small pests. It’s a fun round with enjoyable uses, but it’s not the caliber I’d want to trust my life to if I had another option available.
