Anyone carry a .22?

[Danno]

I was wondering if anyone carried a .22 of any type. My father in law carries a .22 8 shot snubby sometimes just because it is a lot smaller than his normal carry piece (Ruger SP101 4"). I have a Harrison & Richardson .22 magnum that I'm thinking about keeping in my car.

Interested to hear from ya'll...

[DarrellM5]

I guess a .22 beats no gun at all, but only barely. I personally wouldn't carry anything smaller than a 9mm and I prefer .40 S&W, .357sig or .45acp. I know that some people choose to carry a .32 or .380. I think these are insufficient as a primary carry weapon, but they are both considerably better choices than a .22. They should also be as small or smaller.

[DrDavidM]

I prefer something larger. If I had a choice of a 22 or nothing, I would not think twice. I would grab that 22. While it is certainly proven a 22 can provide a deadly shot, it is going to take a very well placed shot. Most people in a state of excitement aren't capable of making a shot that well placed.
There is another issue also. Rimfire rounds tend to misfire a lot more than a centerfire round. I don't want to pull the trigger and have nothing happen. I have had many rimfires fail to fire. I have never (that I recall) had a centerfire fail to fire. There are certainly better quality rimfires, but I would still be somewhat uneasy about it.

Again, if it was that or nothing, there would be no second thoughts.

[Smokewagon]

A friend of mine used to carry a .22 magnum derringer for years. He's carrying a .380 now.

[benzuncle]

Danno, if a 22 LR or 22 Magnum interest you, go to naaminis.com
I initially wanted a 22 Magnum but after viewing their site, ended up falling for the NAA 380.


The 380 is very "pocketable".

[AmericanCCW]

That small NAA looks very nice. Nice finish and compact.

[Danno]

That's nice, but $$$ for such a small gun... I doubt that I will carry anything smaller than a .380, but like I said, just for a BUG, or trunk gun, maybe a .22mag - plus it's a good plinker... :)

[kwo51]

One of these small gun mfg. came out with a 380/32 which sounds like a hot round.

[rmarcustrucker]

You never know when you might come across one of those killer squirrel groups...seriously, I've heard of plenty of self defense and murders being done with the old .22lr. It's meant to be a "point of contact" weapon. When the BG's breath is smelled. At 3 feet shot placement should be pretty exact. And like others have said, better then no gun.

[NDS]

I have two .22lr pocket pistols. One is a Beretta 21A, the other a Taurus PT22. I shoot both pistols quite a bit, but never carry either. My P3AT not only fires a more dependable centerfire round, the .380 is generally considered an acceptable minimum caliber while the .22 is not.

The real kick is that the .22s are each larger and weigh more than the .380; why would you carry a larger, heavier pistol with a less dependable, less powerful round?