Self Defense Choice: .22 LR Revolver or .38 Special With Wad Cutters

[centershot]

This is a excellent revolver.

I always wondered why there were hundreds of these carried by police officers and if you can find one, very expensive. Great gun!

 

[FNSafari]

I am looking for a lower noise and recoil revolver for self defense.
So what is better, a 10 shot .22 LR revolver or a .38 Special 5 shot with wad cutters?
I know at one time people were loading hollow base wad cutter backwards and also Federal had a Hy Shock round that was a hollow base wad cutter with a post in it.
What kind of wound would the wad cutter produce?
What are your thoughts?

If you ever have to use a gun on someone and get sued, make sure your ammo was factory ammo, as in not reloaded by you.

 

[DGP4]

I learned to shoot a handgun as a kid in the 50s with my best friend's dad's Model 10 service revolver. He was a City of Miami cop and carried it with 158 grain HBWCs. He swore by the put down power and ease of shooting accurately with that set up. Even as a scrawny 10 year old, I could shoot it pretty accurately with practice. Years later, my first job out of college was writing federal grants in aid for various county departments. I did several for the county coroner Joe Davis who was quite a character. He liked to shock me with some of the more gruesome specimens he would have on hand whenever I went to his office. I saw plenty of samples of the effect of the wad cutters and most were pretty devastating. Now, I also saw a lot of .22LR Saturday night special victims that proved the .22 can do a lot of damage, but the .38 wadcutter won me over. Being a rifle shooter by preference and living in NYC in the following years, I never had a handgun until many years later when I moved back to Miami. The first handgun I bought was, you guessed it, a S&W Model 10 with a heavy 4" barrel just like the one I learned to shoot with, and I loaded it with 158 gr. HBSWC and it still sits on my bedside table. I agree that shot placement is everything, so whatever you rely on for SD should be shot frequently at the range.

 

[Infrequent Shooter]

Lorcin and RG firearms have killed waaaay more than their share of people in the last 40 years. Ultra cheap, 25, 22 cal. Retired cops can confirm. Would be my last choice, but used extensively. I should add a Raven to the lineup!

 

[Medic505]

As a new paramedic I transported a heavy set man that had been shot twice with a .22lr. In spite of all the efforts I could provide, the shooting victim didn't make it. He was shot once just above the navel and once in the left hip area. There was an exit wound on his left upper thigh, no exit for the belly shot. That bullet ricocheted off of his spine and clipped his aorta. He had bled out and died before we arrived. .22's Kill, I've seen it. Would I carry one for a personal defense weapon? Not a chance in hell. I'll stick with my first edition Sig P365. No bells or whistles, it just runs.

 

[std7mag]

My planned load for the Taurus 38 SPCL that I recently got is Missouri Bullets 125gr lead TCFP.

Remember, the Germans were using them in WWI and accused of using hollow points. They do a lot of damage.

 

[Fuj]

I wish I had a camera with me.....Grandma is heeled !! A friend of the
family was showing me some pics of his Grand Mother from the late
50's. Shooting into a creek, she was holding a bobbed H&R 9 shot .22.
He still has it. He tells me it was given to her by her husband as he went
off to Korea. He was killed over there. She even carried it to church he
said. It's a Sportsmans model that was bobbed so you could only read
"man" on the barrel engraving. No front site. Lee tells me that she shot
it often with .22 shorts, and as far as he knew, it was her carry load ??
She worked in a payroll office at one of the Jones Laughlin steel mills
in Aliquippa near Pittsburgh......

 

[ISS]

All IMHO...

I bought a Glock 34 and fit it with a Lone Wolf 357 SIG barrel. Replicates the old FBI 357 125gr HP load. Perfect in cold weather with a coat on.
Summer days, I bought a Glock 36 with the 12 round extended pinkie finger mag. I am not a great Glock fan, but they are as simple and reliable as a cast iron anvil. IF the wife will practice, the 36 would be about perfect. Ask my wife about hers.

My preference is my SIG 220 Super Match. Eight shot 45 acp. I worry about how long the Police will have my SIG if I ever have to use it. Glocks are cheap, I wouldn't miss either of them.

ISS

 

[284winner]

I think the bigger question here is reliability. Years ago I had a 22 LR pistol. It wasn't super reliable. Rimfires can be that way. Over time things change tho and I haven't researched 22LR pistol reliability. I guess I'm saying if you decide on the 22LR option, make darn sure it's reliability is excellent. Meaning all shots go bang at the range. Center fire pistols are extremely reliable. Especially revolvers although I don't shoot them anymore, they are the most reliable of all defense pistols. The 22 is wicked. I'd choose a 38 spl over the 22LR personally and use the Lehigh defense 100 grain option.

 

[Propbndr]

If you ever have to use a gun on someone and get sued, make sure your ammo was factory ammo, as in not reloaded by you.

Ditto what GPalman said! My insurance highly recommends asking your local law enforcement what they carry for ammo and to carry that brand and type in whatever caliber you carry. That way in the event you get sued for protecting yourself, the lawyers will have a hard time saying that you used something that is “too deadly”. I have heard of lawsuits where the person used reloaded ammo with HBWC’s that were deliberately loaded backwards. They lost big time even though law enforcement said the shooting was justified.

 

[GaryinIllinois]

I think the bigger question here is reliability. Years ago I had a 22 LR pistol. It wasn't super reliable. Rimfires can be that way. Over time things change tho and I haven't researched 22LR pistol reliability. I guess I'm saying if you decide on the 22LR option, make darn sure it's reliability is excellent. Meaning all shots go bang at the range. Center fire pistols are extremely reliable. Especially revolvers although I don't shoot them anymore, they are the most reliable of all defense pistols. The 22 is wicked. I'd choose a 38 spl over the 22LR personally and use the Lehigh defense 100 grain option.

If it means anything, I see MANY 22 LR cartridges laying on the ground at my range with a firing pin imprint and the bullet still in the case. May be the result of cheap ammo but what I saw is enough to dissuade me from carrying a 22LR for self defense. 22LR would be last choice but still much better than nothing!

 

[284winner]

If it means anything, I see MANY 22 LR cartridges laying on the ground at my range with a firing pin imprint and the bullet still in the case. May be the result of cheap ammo but what I saw is enough to dissuade me from carrying a 22LR for self defense. 22LR would be last choice but still much better than nothing!

Exactly what I mean. Do you put your life in the 22LR's hands or go to a much more reliable center-fire pistol round ? For training, the 22 is great.

 

[762willdo]

Well one of the larger grizzly killed in Alaska was killed with a 22LR
ALSO there’s a group of guys that have taken elephant with 22lr
ultimately it all about shot placement

 

[CJ6]

Well one of the larger grizzly killed in Alaska was killed with a 22LR
ALSO there’s a group of guys that have taken elephant with 22lr
ultimately it all about shot placement

Is that even legal in Africa?

 

[ISS]

My wife's back up is a S&W M43 air lite. Eight shot 22lr revolver. Better than a slap in the face with her purse... It is just for inside the house.

ISS

 

[DirtySteve]

38 wad cutters would be my choice. Immediate action with a revolver is pulling the trigger again versus racking the slide. Plus you shouldn’t ever fire just one shot. You only need to justify the first one the rest are free.

 

[k260]

A 38 wadcutter in the guts is a painful way to die. No worries of over penetration either.

For sure, but how long will it take to die and how much damage can be done until that happens? Killing someone is not the goal in a self defense shooting situation, stopping them from hurting you is the goal but if they die in the process that's on them.

 

[n.c.outlaw2024]

.22 LR, upclose and personal Sopranos style
.38 old school....think i would take the .38 snubnose

 

[drover]

I am looking for a lower noise and recoil revolver for self defense.
So what is better, a 10 shot .22 LR revolver or a .38 Special 5 shot with wad cutters?
I know at one time people were loading hollow base wad cutter backwards and also Federal had a Hy Shock round that was a hollow base wad cutter with a post in it.
What kind of wound would the wad cutter produce?
What are your thoughts?

As always the answer is - it depends.
If you can shoot the 38 and reliably hit your aim point with it then 38 is the choice, if not then go with the 22 LR revolver.

10 shots with a 22 you can hit with trumps 5 shots that may, or may not, hit.

drover

 

[centershot]

I also heard that modifications to a handgun, spring kit etc, is also grounds for being sued.