9mm vs .22LR

Am Shooting Journal ^ | 5/13/2019 | S Coffman

[w1n1]

Which is better for Self-Defense, Hunting or Plinking?
The 9mm and the 22LR are two popular ammunition out in the market. They are different in respect to cartridge sizes. Comparing the two in a head to head is easy when you’re only viewing the size of the caliber. The 9mm is bigger than the 22 round.
The .22 rounds have much less energy than 9mm rounds, the powder load is smaller. When fired has less acceleration and kinetic energy.
Which means the penetration and knock down power is not in the same class as the 9mm caliber. However, that doesn’t mean the .22 isn’t good for anything. Beginner shooters can start with the .22. With the less recoil, it helps newbies in learning all the basic marksmanship shooting. For the more seasoned shooter, the .22 does offer speed in shooting and accuracy. Now thats not to say that you can’t do the same with the 9mm.

Which is better is not a simple A or B answer. These two calibers are quite popular amongst avid shooters, some may be more of the die-hard but it seems that they prefer these calibers for self-defense, hunting and plinking. Let’s take a look at why these purposes serve one caliber and not the other.

Self-Defense
For personal defense stopping an attacker in their track with good shot placement to the vital area takes paramount. Which is why the 9mm takes the lead in this due to the bigger size and was specifically design for this purpose. (no brainer)
A quick word about "stopping the attacker" it means creating enough damage to cause significant blood loss and/or causing enough pain to make the attacker change their mind. So even if you’re packing a .22 J-Frame revolver and put 5 rounds into the attacker which compelled them to stop is also a good thing.
Penetration is another important factor, the ideal penetration needs to be at least 12 inches. (according to the FBI)
Most .22 LR does not reliably penetrate deep enough to strike something critical. 22LR was never designed to be a self-protection round and it serves poorly as one. However, in some self-defense circle they believe its more capable than a lot of people give it credit for. For example, with the advancement in loads, the CCI Velocitor 40-grain small game load has been known to perform relatively well out of handguns.

Hunting
In this department its sort of unfair to compare the two for hunting because the 9mm was never meant for hunting purpose.
22LR ammo is a better choice for hunting for this purpose. The .22 is the more ideal round in this environment due to practicality. Of course we’re not talking big game here, but small game. Another thing is most .22LR for hunting is from a rifle. Unless you’re able to find a Stevens Model 35 pistol from the past.
This single shot pistol in rimfire calibers and the more rare .410 shotgun shell including the .22LR were the favorite of sportsman and target shooters of yesteryear.
The downside to this pistol is that its a single shot. This gun was knowns as “bicycle guns” because they were light and handy and perfect for bringing along on your country bicycle trip for small game and plinking. (back in the day) Read the rest of .22 vs 9mm.

[Yo-Yo]

Ruger did it first: https://ruger.com/products/lc380/models.html

[central_va]

Micro-beltfed machinegun 1919a4 Lakeside Machine Miniature beltfed 22LR

[Do_Tar]

I was going to post something snarky along the lines of “Which is better, a pin hammer or framers hammer?”. Then I noticed the tags.

[treetopsandroofs]

“Author forgot to mention...shooting a .22LR is just plain fun.”

Now that we can find the rounds again. :-)

[Haiku Guy]

That’s it. We have officially run out of things to talk about...

[IndispensableDestiny]

Mobsters have used .22LR for hits. The bullet enters the skull and just bounces around without exiting.

The only things that bounce around inside one's skull are silly notions.

[yarddog]

I don’t know about mobsters but do remember when Israeli agents murdered the wrong person in Norway. They meant to kill a terrorist but got the wrong person.

I do remember clearly that the weapon was a model 70 Beretta in .22LR.

Of course your typical gang banger is not going to let you sneak up behind him. Still the .22 is better than most think.

[MileHi]

Along with the usual lousy writing, this sets a new standard in lame subject matter.

[IndispensableDestiny]

I do remember clearly that the weapon was a model 70 Beretta in .22LR.

I didn't intend to imply that the .22 LR was not a useful assassin's weapon. It is. Ruger made an integrally suppressed Mark II for the US Navy.

It's the bullet bouncing around inside one's skull that is silly.

[TheNext]

45, 9, 22

Best calibers created.

One stops a bear, one stops a human, one stops a squirrel.

imho

[Rocko Jack]

Roger that
Also 22s are almost as successful in stopping attackers with one shot.
Not from physical damage, but psychologically people don’t want to be shot by anything and retreat after being shot

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

Back before 1970, more murders were committed with the lowly .22, fired from a “Saturday Night Special”, as most people could not afford bigger guns.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

The old Walon Jennings song, “Cedartown, Georgia” comes to mind.

“Cedartown, Georgia”

I got a gal in Cedartown Georgia
I used to have to walk nearly three miles to court her
She never had much, just a sharecropper’s daughter
But I married her and took her down to New Orleans.
Bought a little house in the South French Quarter

Got a job hookin’ bales, loadin’ them on a steamboat
I give her seven days pay next day I’m broke
When she ain’t a sleepin’ all day she’s a primpin’.
Every evenin’ when the sun goes down
She starts a swarmin’ on Orleans town

Walkin’ into work this mornin’ at daybreak
I caught her with the tall long dandy from canebreak.
She walked right by me and she looked right through me.
I made up my mind what I’m a gonna do
Eased in the pawnshop and bought a little 22.

Watched as the roomclerk gave them a room key
Standin’ outside I could read Room 23.
Tonight I’ll put her on a train for Georgia
Gonna be a lotta kin folks squallin’ and a grieving
‘Cause that Cedartown gal ain’t breathing...

[CommerceComet]

This should be fun.

What's to argue? Two different calibers for two different purposes. If someone broke into a house and there is a .22LR and 9mm at the homeowner's disposal, which one would a reasonable person grab? The nine, no question.

For an afternoon of plinking? A .22LR is hard to beat.

[GoldenPup]

And when the cop asks you what you’re afraid of, you answer, “Not a goddamned thing!”

[mylife]

Whatever is nearby.

[jaydubya2]

Do you think my WALTHER P22QD could handle 60 grain?

[DesertRhino]

“Penetration is another important factor, the ideal penetration needs to be at least 12 inches. (according to the FBI)”

The FBI was seeking to blame firearms for abysmal tactics in the Miami shootout. This old saw about 12-18 inches never goes away. That is a cop standard that expects routine barrier defeating such as windshields, car doors, dry wall, house doors, etc. Some 125 JHP 357s don’t make the cut even..or only barely.

CCW shootings almost never involve barrier defeating.

The FBI has tainted nearly everything they have ever touched. You can safely ignore this FBI standard. The “FBI standard” gave us the 147gr 9mm subsonic which was one of the worst street performers ever foisted on US cops. The old lead 38 special semi-wadcutter hollow point was far better.

[DesertRhino]

“The .22LR is totally inadequate for self defense.”

Bobby Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, the world record grizzly bear in the 1950s, and tens of thousands of other beg to disagree.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Look into the S&W M&P Shield .380 EZ. Insanely easy to rack the slide.