Some of you might ask – why say such a thing? Or more succinctly DUH!
Let’s hope everybody says this! However, it seems to me our wonderful little 22 caliber firearms tend to be plagued with an inferiority complex.
They are underpowered.
They have no “stopping power”
They are rimfire, not centerfire
If you search on the subject, you will be hard-pressed to find any real issues with the “lowly” 22. That said, most of the self-defense crowd will go on for hours about 9mm vs 45 vs 38 vs 380. The 22 rarely gets a kind word. Should it? Probably not.
For most of the reasons above, I do not think it is wise to depend on a 22 cal firearm for self defense in most cases. For those individuals who simply cannot hope to fire a larger gun, the 22 may be their only valid choice. It is better than nothing and I doubt if anyone looking down the barrel of a gun stopped to ask what caliber it is before deciding what action to take or abort.
The whole point of this post is simply to remind us all that while it may not be the mightiest firearm, it still deserves respect. After all it’s been documented that a 22 has killed bears, even elephants so there! Even if you don’t have any rogue elephants roaming around in your back yard today, keep in mind the four rules of firearms even applies to the 22.
Four rules firearms
-
-
- Always Keep Firearm Pointed in a Safe direction. Never point your gun at anything you do not intend to shoot. …
- Treat All Guns as Though They are Loaded. …
- Keep Your Finger Off the Trigger until You are Ready to Shoot. …
- Always Be Sure of Your Target and What’s Beyond It.
-
To the above, I also suggest you always wear safety glasses (or goggles, as I must) to protect your eyes. This is especially important when shooting 22 because it is not considered a long range round so the common distance for most practice is 25 yards. The closer you are to the target, the less distance there is for something to comeback at you.
In addition, I recommend ear protection. Sure, 22s are not nearly as loud as other rounds but they still make plenty of noise – enough to damage your ears, so do it right, follow the four rules and use eye and ear protection.
