You can’t compare a .22 to a .223. Not in the same ball park or city (just a heads up).
A .22LR does make a fair amount of noise. But, it would be FAR better on your hearing than a .357. or just about any pistol or revolver.
I own a .22 Ruger target pistol, and a number of .22 rifles. The .22 pistol would not make a bad home defense weapon. It sure should could scare someone away. Same with your .22 rifle.
That Rugar 10-22 that you have is a carbine, I think. Shorter than a rifle. Not bad in a house, and light weight. Nice gun.
However. (there’s always a but…).
Someone that breaks into your home may not be stopped by one round from a .22. It may take all 10. Do you keep shooting?
A .22 in the leg won’t knock a person down. Literally knock them down like a .357 or .45 will.
Ehhh… I thought about it. The Police/Sheriff/Parks Service (now with .357) use weapons that are big enough to put a person down and do it quickly.
Masaad Ayoob used to think this, and advise it–but he stopped several years ago. The reason was that he had never seen any instance when the type of gun used in a self-defense situation could be showed to have made the difference in such a case. Most “experts” still agree that you should keep a defensive gun simple, just for reasons of mechanical reliability.
As for semi-autos, they jam. And you may have to use it in the dark, when you’ve just rolled out of bed. The specific problem with semiauto 22LR’s is that the bullet nose runs right into the lower edge of the feed ramp during loading, and jams the gun open–and you cannot clear the gun just by cycling the bolt handle, because the back end of the jammed case is still halfway in the magazine, being pushed upwards by the rest of the ammo. You have to remove the magazine, and then remove the faulty bullet before re-inserting the magazine and re-chambering again. How fast can you do this in the dark? …On a positive note, either of the new .17 rimfires should feed a lot more reliably than either of the unjacketed 22LR’s do. Spitzer bullets feed better than round-nose ones do, and copper jacketed bullets feed better than plain lead.
Maybe think about buying a 17M2 barrel?
~
First of all, recoil shouldn’t be an issue; you’ve got to take it in order to give it. Secondly, the “pump action” will work to your advantage, as the sound of a racking shotgun will send shiver’s up the criminal’s spine.
Here’s my opinion on home defense weapons:
Handgun. A handgun is an underpowered self-defense weapon only to be used when you’re away from your long guns, such as when you’re traveling, etc. In essence, a handgun is used to fight your way back to your rifle or shotgun. So for home defense, a handgun would be a poor choice IMO. I mean, why would you want to limit yourself to a weapon that is underpowered and has terrible accuracy? Choose a long gun instead.
Rifle. A rifle is the best choice for home self-defense in terms of power and accuracy. But it does have drawbacks. First of all, if you have close neighbors or live in an apartment, or family members sleeping in other rooms, a rifle would probably not be a good choice. Secondly, a rifle is not as intimidating as a shotgun (for whatever reason).
It should also be kept in mind that a bolt action rifle would be somewhat slow and cumbersome for home defense use, so if you want to use a rifle for such a purpose, it should be a lever action or semi-auto.
Shotgun. Ah, now we’re getting somewhere! While a shotgun isn’t as accurate as a rifle, so what? We’re only talking about a 10 yard shot at the most. Same goes for power; at the short distances encountered during home-defense operations, the power of a shotgun is very deadly. Furthermore, a shotgun doesn’t have the velocity or penetration of a rifle, so it’s a much better choice if family members and neighbors are in close proximity. And the sight & sound of a racking shotgun is quite intimidating.
So IMO, a shotgun may not be the ideal home-defense weapon, but it is certain the best.
One critical component that has been left out of the this discussion is the tool used to positively ID your target. A flashlight (or torch for our cuz’s). Ayoob and other self-defense experts have really expounded on the use of a flashlight along with whatever your favorite home defense tool. I’ve noticed a significant number of articles describing the latest methods using a flashlight and ones firearm. My personal choice is either the Glock 19 or Taurus .38(whichever I get to first), both loaded with MagSafe rounds, and my NRA Surefire light.
DougC
Glad you made that later posting - you had me thinking. I may not have the firearm familiarity of other “Dopers” but I do know the 10-.22 is a very reliable firearm. Smooth action and easy to use.
Yes, I think the vast majority of gun owners probably think a .22 is underpowered for self-defense. However, if you have a high capacity “mag” on that rifle, you’ve got 50 chances of doing some damage. Granted, you may not have that much time to fire all 50 rounds - but after taking let’s say oh 3 or 4 slugs from that rifle, a home-invader might think twice about pursuing further criminal activity in your house.
OTOH, I’ve also heard anecdotes about cops catching a single .25 in an area not covered by body armor and dying right there. Heard at least one 1st hand account of enemy soldiers not being immediately stopped with hits from a .50 BMG.
1st rule of gun fighting: Have a gun.
2nd rule: Nothing man-portable is a reliable stopper.
Isn’t it possible that a shotgun spread is not a good thing during a homedefense scenario? Personally, I’d go for air-horn, german shepard, toss my 20lb full-clawed cat, baseball bat and karate. You lose weight doing karate and you can carry and conceal it without a permit.
The three most common choke types are “full” (tightest constriction forcing a narrow, dense shot dispersion, delivering about 70% of the shell’s pellets in a 30" circle at 40 yards); “modified” (less constricted with a medium-wide pattern, 60% of pellets in 30" circle at 40 yards); and “improved cylinder” (least constriction and wide spread, 50% delivered at 40 yards). A barrel lacking any sort of choke is called “cylinder bore” and delivers the widest possible shot pattern, placing approximately 40% of the pellets in the patterning circle at 40 yards. Specialty chokes such as the skeet choke is designed to put 50% of the shell’s pellet in the patterning circle at 25 yards.
Given that home defense distances are 8 - 10 feet, the idea that you don’t need to aim a shotgun is erroneous. You have a little more leeway than you do with a .45, but you still have to aim it! My Mossberg has a “cylinder bore.”
This may be off topic (I can start a new thread if the OP so wishes).
What, exactly, defines self defense in this situation? Is it all what the jury decides, or is there anything more specific? I would not have any problem emptying a clip or putting a few shotgun blasts into someone if they were inside my house and I was awakened to hear them downstairs. If I know that someone is in my house and I go find them with the intent of killing them…what are the specifics here? I used to hear that anyone who had broken into your house qualified as an immediate threat but recently it seems that not everyone agrees with this.
*A person is justified in threatening or using force against another when and to the extent that he or she reasonably believes that such threat or force is necessary to prevent or terminate such other’s unlawful entry into or attack upon a habitation; however, such person is justified in the use of force which is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm only if:
(1) The entry is made or attempted in a violent and tumultuous manner and he or she reasonably believes that the entry is attempted or made for the purpose of assaulting or offering personal violence to any person dwelling or being therein and that such force is necessary to prevent the assault or offer of personal violence;
(2) That force is used against another person who is not a member of the family or household and who unlawfully and forcibly enters or has unlawfully and forcibly entered the residence and the person using such force knew or had reason to believe that an unlawful and forcible entry occurred; or
(3) The person using such force reasonably believes that the entry is made or attempted for the purpose of committing a felony therein and that such force is necessary to prevent the commission of the felony.*
In other words…a jury will decide it. You’d better be in imminent danger of bodily harm before you take a shot. Just emptying the weapon at an intruder is going to buy you some serious jail time.
A couple of my thoughts: Crafter_Man, I’m in agreement with you that a sidearm should be for fighting back to your longarms, but I also agree with what beltbuckle metioned earlier about knowing your weapon. I think one of the bigger points nobody’s touched on yet was that you have to actually wield the weapon in whatever confines you’re in. I bring this up only because if you have to continually back yourself and your family up into the bedroom corner to get to a phone, can you physically wield that shotgun or rifle around corners without “telegraphing” with that muzzle?
With a few Gunsite courses of fire, I got a feel for slinging around a rifle and shotgun from a kitchen table to the back bedroom versus my .40S&W. My point: Your personal mileage may vary.
Shoot what feels good and comfortable. My AR-15 with flashlight slung under the barrel works nice for me in the apartment, but that’s not to say that’ll work for my diminutive neighbor who has smaller hands than I–she’d do better with a sidearm.
As a matter of fact, I’d even recommend to the OP to go to a gun range and rent a few guns of whatever make and caliber you like, and get a feel for what you like to ‘plink’ with.
Tripler
I gotta buy a gun safe this weekend. I can’t believe I’ve gone this long without. :smack:
So according to this detailed article from the Firearms & Tactical institute, the best pellet selection for home defence is # 1 buck. More total hole area in the bad guy than 00 buck, decent penetration in balistic gelatin (12") but not quite as much as 0 or 00.
Problem with smaller shot, especially bird shot, is that it could be defeated at greater than point blank ranges by thick clothing / leather coats, and or would not penetrate deep enough to inflict diabling injurry. (think gruesome skin injurry)
Magnum loads (more pellets, not more powder) are preferred. If recoil is an issue, try a 20 guage gun instead.
The article has detailed comparison of different brands, as well as a more detailed explanation of the rational for selection of #1 buck, with also a.
