Do. 22 LR Rifles Make Sense for Home Defense? – NRA Women
A few years ago we posted a discussion about whether or not . 22 LR pistols made sense for self defense . It’s garnered enough attention to remain in the top six most popular articles on the site. It’s about time that we follow up with a conversation about another commonly asked question: Perform. 22 LR rifles make sense for home defense? First, let’s take a look at how. 22 LR rifles compare to. 22-caliber pistols. Then we’ll size them up against center-fire handguns and carbines.
The Ever Popular. 22 LR Rifle
Long guns chambered for the diminutive. 22 LR cartridge are among the most popular firearms in the United States and have been for decades. The. 22 LR cartridge is one of the least expensive options available plus produces low levels of felt recoil. Rimfires are available with a wide variety of features and price points. They are ideal for training new shooters, casual plinking, small game hunting and you’ll find models that have been gussied up for formal target shooting competitions. In fact , for many shooting sports enthusiasts (myself included) their earliest shooting experiences, and the first guns they’ve owned, have been. 22-cal. rifles.
Budget-friendly wood-stocked. 22 LR carbines like the Marlin 60 have been a mainstay of American shooting sports for decades.
Several of the long guns available chambered for. twenty two LR are carbines. This means they are compact, light-weight weapons with barrels around 16″ in length. An 18″ barrel is a mid-length option while guns with barrels 20″ or longer are called ‘rifles. ‘ For this conversation I’m going to focus on. twenty-two LR carbines when discussing performance information since they are among the most common options available.
. 22 LR Rifles vs .. 22 LR Pistols
In regard to magazine capacity, whether a given. 22 rifle holds more ammunition than a rimfire pistol depends on the model in question. Single-stack pistols usually accept 10- or 12-round magazines whilst double-stack pistols , which are relatively new to the shooting market, use 16- to 20-round magazines. Lever-actions and semi-automatic guns fitted with tubular magazines hold around 14- to 16-shots. Semi-automatic rifles that take removable box publications can have capacities of anywhere from 5- in order to 25-rounds depending on the gun. Some rifle models, like the Ruger 10/22, can accept a lot more specialized mags with capabilities of 30-rounds or more. Regardless of their capability, it’s a good idea to be able to stage a spare magazine or two just in case the particular magazine itself jams, breaks or gets dropped.
Modern rimfire carbines, like the Winchester wildcat, are loaded with cutting edge features including light-weight polymer stocks, threaded barrels and optics-ready receivers.
Semi-automatic pistols chambered with regard to. 22 LR tend to be more ammunition sensitive than just about any other type of firearm available. There are plenty of loads which will operate properly in a variety of pistols. But it can take a bit more foot work to find the loads which work best in a particular rimfire handgun.
However , as the cartridge name implies, the. 25 LR (Long Rifle), was designed for use in rifles. A longer barrel gives the powder charge more time to burn properly and to develop an optimal level of pressure. The bullet will leave typically the barrel traveling faster in addition to, for semi-automatic rifles, there will be enough pressure generated for you to cycle this action reliably. As a result, most. 22 LR rifles do not suffer from the same levels of ammo sensitivity as pistols. This implies they will operate reliably having a broader range of bullet weights and velocities than pistols.
The tubular magazines of old fashioned lever-actions can hold a good deal of ammunition. The particular Henry American Beauty shown here holds up to 16 rounds associated with. 22 LR or 21 rounds regarding. 22 Short.
Rifle-length barrels do a better job involving stabilizing bullets than pistol-length barrels. This allows them to shoot more accurately at longer distances. A well-tuned target gun will shoot smaller groups at 50 to help 100 yards than a well-made pistol may print in 25 back yards. This makes. 24 rifles more flexible for other shooting endeavors. And more time spent using the gun in the field contributes to better developed shooting skills and even familiarity with often the gun’s controls.
A. 22-cal. hollow point bullet is more likely to expand properly when fired from a rifle length barrel.
Simply stated, the majority of. 22-cal. rifles are going to outperform rimfire pistols when firing the same ammunition. But just how much of a performance boost do rifles provide for home protection? At across-the-room defensive ranges, pistols together with rifles are on a level playing field when it comes to accuracy.
That brings us to bullet energy. Longer rifle barrels could hit harder than pistol-length barrels and additionally hollow-point bullets are more likely to increase properly whenever fired from the longer gun. But bullet energy depends as much on the ammunition used as the weapon it’s fired from. Take a look at the following list. It shows the muzzle energy selection of a short-barrel revolver, the pistol not to mention two guns that I’ve chronographed:
Caliber Firearm Muzzle Energy Reference
. 22 LR 3″ Revolver 76 to 82 ft. -lbs. ( Ruger Wrangler )
. 22 LR 4″ Pistol 79 to 113 ft. -lbs. ( Taurus TX22 )
. twenty two LR 16″ Carbine 105 in order to 147 feet. -lbs. ( Winchester Wildcat )
. twenty-two LR 18″ Target Rifle 87 to 99 foot. -lbs. ( Ruger Precision )
The first three guns on the list were fired using high-velocity. 25 LR loads topped along with 36-gr. to be able to 40-gr. principal points. As the barrel lengths increase, so does bullet power. However , there is an overlap between the 4″ gun and the 16″ carbine where the energy levels are similar, depending on the load fired. The fourth rifle on the list was tested with low velocity lots designed specifically for target shooting. Despite having the longest barrel on the list, this rifle’s energy output is in the same range as the 4″ pistol because of the ammo set used for testing. This is why it’s important to pay attention to the specifications of the ammunition when making a purchase.
. 24 LR Rifles vs . Centerfire Handguns & Rifles
In the write-up regarding. 22 LR pistols, an adequate amount of the conversation dealt with your reliability issues which are inherent in rimfire cartridge design. No matter which platform you use, firearm or gun,. 22 LR cartridges are more likely to fail to fire due to faulty primers than centerfire weapon or pistol cartridges.
Check. 22 LR ammunition boxes for listed rifle velocities. Subsonic tons have been slowed down for use with sound suppressors. Look for high-velocity a lot like those in the 2 nd and 3 rd boxes.
Guns chambered in. 22 LR also tend to run dirty. This is due in part towards the types of powders used. But most of the commercially available. 22 LR ammunition currently available is topped off together with bullets that are coated using a waxy lubricate. This wax helps the exact bullet to travel more smoothly down and also out of the bore but it also leaves behind a greasy residue that can gum up the rifle’s works over time. This lubricant works well enough that most rifles can fire hundreds of rounds before they need to be cleaned. Nevertheless, a dirty. 22 is more likely for you to jam at an inconvenient moment.
Test your journals along with the ammunition. Stage additional loaded periodicals with your rifle when possible.
When it comes to topic energy, the vast majority of center-fire handguns and guns are going to outshine a. 22 LR gun at close range. Bullets that strike with higher levels of vitality, which is measured in feet pounds connected with pressure (ft. -lbs. ) are more likely to end a confrontation quickly using fewer shots fired. The sooner the fight is over, the less likely it is that the home defender will be injured. And fewer bullets leaving the particular gun will reduce the potential for unintended collateral damage. Like. 22 LR pistols, rimfire rifles may required extra shots to be fired in order to stop an assailant intent on doing harm.
Caliber Firearm Muzzle Power Research
. 45 ACP 5″ Pistol 360 to help 434 toes. -lbs. ( Girsan MC1911 ME )
9 mm 4″ Pistol 282 to 355 ft. -lbs. ( Ruger Security-9 )
. 380 ACP a few. 54″ Pistol 140 to 180 ft. -lbs. ( Walther CCP M22 )
. 22 LR 4″ Pistol seventy nine to 113 ft. -lbs. ( Taurus TX22 )
. twenty two LR 16″ Carbine 105 to 147 legs. -lbs. ( Winchester Wildcat )
9 mm 16. 1″ Carbine 496 in order to 560 ft. -lbs. ( Ruger PCC )
. 223 Rem. 16. 31″ Carbine 1, 125 to 1, 227ft. -lbs. ( RISE Watchman )
. 308 Win. 16″ Carbine 2, 414 to be able to 2, 451 ft. -lbs. ( Sig Sauer 716i Tread )
Does a. 22 LR Rifle Seem sensible for Self-Defense?
Years ago, in another write-up, I wrote what I’ll say here: Rifles chambered for. twenty-two LR are not an optimal choice for personal protection. They simply do not deliver the same levels of performance potential as centerfire handguns as well as carbines. But this time I would like to add a caveat: Rimfires are certainly not optimal but they should not be dismissed out of hand because defensive tools in a pinch.
A takedown rifle such as the Henry U. S. Survival may be the only gun at hand when an emergency situation arises.
That previous article inspired a heartfelt response from your parent in which they shared the story of their college-age son. He survived a brazen day-time house invasion thanks to the trusty Ruger 10/22 firearm he learned to take with as a boy. He took typically the 10/22 when he left home for school so that he could use it for shooting on the weekends. No less than four assailants illegally entered his apartment that will day however they felt ‘inspired’ to exit post haste when they realized that one of the occupants was armed and prepared to defend himself.
The Ruger 10/22, and its many clones, are among the most popular semi-automatic rimfire carbines available. Typically the Magnum Research Switchbolt demonstrated here has a reversible bolt handle regarding right- or left-handed shooters.
Did this 10/22 successfully fill often the role of a defensive gun in this situation? It most certainly did. And this is not an unique situation. I have heard and read more than the usual few first-hand accounts of individuals caught in sticky situations in which a. 25 LR weapon or gun preserved their lives. It was the only firearm they owned, it was your gun available at that time or even they were limited to rimfire amounts of felt recoil due to their physical limitations.
The same advice mentioned in earlier “whatchagot” self-defense conversations should be applied right here. If a. 24 LR rifle is going to be staged as a primary or secondary defensive gun, then make sure it is inside good working order. Clean it thoroughly and use lubrication it correctly before staging it. Stoke it having premium-grade, high-velocity ammunition that you’ve tested plus stage extra loaded newspapers or ammo with the marker. When you’re in a better position for you to arm yourself with a more potent defensive option, do so. Until then, make the most of what’s at hand.
