I have owned several 22 Mag handguns and carbines over the years.. as with all cartridges placement is # 1 penetration #2and then the ability to accurately place follow up shots...I myself would rater have a 38sol. or larger more powerful round for self defense ...I still feel well armed with my single action 22 mag..I shoot it accurately and I'm very proficient with follow up shots..and now with the new ammo its a even better option...

The most disturbing element of this article is the posts and the venom and insults that are hurled at people for just stating an opinion someone disagrees with on a subject that is not settled science or fact. Why not just state your opinion and let others do the same. Insulting others tends to undermine the strength of your views, ad hominem attacks don't add anything to the validity of your argument, they in fact tend to frame your view as weak. Please be civil especially with an audience of generally like-minded people who you probably have a lot in common with it puts our shooting community in a much more favorable light with those outside who know little or nothing about firearms.

A .22 Mag is HALF of a .44 Mag, so...I'll just shoot the bad guy twice!

I carry a NAA (North American Arms) Black Widow in .22 Magnum daily. It drops in my pocket and carries with the ease pocket knife. I bought the .22 Mag/.22 LR model, and the .22LR cylinder provides for cheap shooting. With the Black Widow, there is never a reason to be unarmed. The two inch heavy barrel, larger magnum frame, enhanced sights, and over sized grips make this little gun a real performer. Sometimes less really is more...

Bryan J., I trust your data more than anything else I've read so far. Brad and others also made good arguments. I think I'd rather have a shotgun for home defense but if CC was the issue, I don't think I'd count out the 22 mag. Especially on my budget.

'Better learn how to shoot something that starts with a 4.' People like you are such a detriment to the shooting public. You have no ability to see any opinion other than your own.

Very unscientific study loaded to make .22 wmr look bad. Your selection of barrel lengths is proof. Why not try longer barrels like my 6.5 in Heritage Rough Rider? These guns are out there and get over looked by people like you because you are afraid of what you'll find. Try again and come back once you've done real testing.

My home defense pistol is an H&R Model 676, 22wmr. I shot an adult armadillo from 25 yds. The bullet entered the left shoulder, exited the right hip. The exit wound was the size of a tennis ball. I was told .22s 'Would bounce off Possum on the half shell'?

We are being robbed on prices as it is, why can't these manufacturers produce ammo to handle orders! I can't find .22 magnum ammo for my rifle.

.22 mag ammo is difficult to find these days. I have 22LR ammo is stock and listed at our web site.But we sold out of the 22 wmr ammo.

Welcome to the site Joe, you will find a wealth of information and opinions here. The problem I have with many of the opinions voiced here is that folks that could easily master a more powerful weapon have rationalized away reality and think that any gun, no matter how small, will save their life. In their imagination they envision that all bad guys will be unarmed, weigh 125 pounds, and dress in T-shirts. Too bad when their bad guy shows up wearing heavy winter clothing, weighs 300 pounds, is high on drugs, and has a weapon way more powerful than yours. If a person took self defense seriously enough to invest the time needed to truly understand 'stopping power' and the underlying terminal ballistics required to accomplish it, they would be carrying larger weapons. Your daughter is fortunate to have a father so interested in her safety, you are to be congratulated. Since she has the 20 gauge at home, I assume the .22 will be carried. And since any revolver that 'fits' her hand should be eligible for consideration, the only mitigating factors are size and recoil. Size will depend on how she carries it. But recoil, the scariest word on this website, can be easily overcome by increasing gun weight and getting the right grip. Anybody that can't carry a 28-ounce gun instead of a 12-ounce gun, for instance, could just lose a pound of body weight. But the greatest factor is the grip. Most shooters will acknowledge that a .357 Mag stings with wood grips but becomes a pussy cat with rubber. And some rubber grips are better than others. The Taurus Ribber Grip can easily tame recoil, even in the .41 and .44 Mags. And Ruger uses the Hogue grip on their .454 Alaskan so that it can be comfortable to shoot. My point is that you should choose the largest caliber she can adapt to and then work backward to make it work. If your daughter had to save her life with one shot, Joe, no matter which bad guy showed up, would you rather she had a .22 Mag in her hand or something bigger?

@bigfoot-7/29 I arrived at this site to find a good recommendation for a small, powerful self-defense hand gun for my 90 lb. daughter to take to school this fall. I think a 22 mag is easier for her to handle and practice with. She will have a 20 ga wheatherby semi-auto in her appt. for home protection, so I don't find any of your comments helpful on the subject, I could get her a .44 mag Dessert Eagle, but being a practical father who is looking to cover my daughters bases, no thanks to you or your comments.

Gentlemen, i fail to see the value of being a 45 year vet retired Master Sgt. when it comes to the evaluation of a revamped technology as the .22 WMR. I bring no disprespect to those in service to this nation, but i'd sooner give a pack of fairly young men PMR 30s Autoag II, and maybe a rifle or two each one gets a case of each ammo and give them a month or two... I have been a .22 mag (WMR) fan since my boyhood, hunting rabbits and whatever all over my uncle's ranch west of Beeville. We were raised to be absolutely loyal to gun safety rules and common sense and lovingly taught how to put a .22 short bullet through a cottaon tail's head. We did things hunting out of educated common sense and developed our economy of use.the .20 ga. bolt action if we had to kill the jack rabbit or scare the fudge out of a nasty coyote. The .22 short to kill our game, including quail in the brush, dove up in the foilage and the cotton tail and such. In this economy of use...the .22 mag ruled...it blew up the rattler so one maybe two shots eliminated the threat...the shotgun was major overkill and the .22 just never made sure. When the jack rabbit stayed out range the .22 mag was in its element. Now I am drawn into this 'new world'of high velocity everything, critical defense and whatever and I am a 60+ newbie...so I google everything study and talk to folks who know and ...well I am now a strong proponent for the .22 mag for self defense. PERIOD. 1. Excellent downrange destruction for what you invest. Hornady has reinvented the ammo and it has spread to the .32 ACP, .25 ACP and appears to be be doing exceptionally well as you NEVER hardly ever see it on the shelf anymore. 2. Testing that produces numbers is much like a politician... it should produce results of the positive kind. Thus God creates You Tube...one shot no more pumpkin, gourd, watermelon...PMR 30 and AMT Auto Mag II produce the same basic effects...which I find very desirable...accuracy off handed over one hundred yards using the neon orange and green sights. Cannot wait to get it with a good scope Lastly...this is a niche weapon that i believe is developing as we speak...with Mitchell's Mauser building up an extremely successful .22 mag semi auto rifle that kicks butt, Magnum Research now seems to have caught the bug and the .22 mag market in general taking off like a short fused M80 and the demand extremely outrunning the supply... wonder why? As a very powerful sidenote...when used in the inner cities by police forces collateral damage (neighbors shot too...)would be greatly decreased if not eliminated as to this reason. Cheaper to train on, lighter , time on target increased exponentially and ease of use saving lives. The Fear Factor is not lost on this either, especially the PMR30. Loud, big flash and 30 round clips...and one question with a built in observation....which end of this scenario would you want to be on...1911 .45 ACP approaching an enemy using the PMR 30 with the high speed polymer tipped Hornady round. It really sounds ridiculous right??? Both use open sights and to be honest any really tight shooting with the standard sights on the 1911 just is not possible...given that in my testing i was able to consistently , with open sights, hit a 12' target shooting off handed . sighting the gun through the very nice fiber optic sights standard on the PMR 30 was a breeze and with some practice I'll take the PMR 30 and let's see if you can get closer than 50 yards to me....oh and did I mention the pistol comes with a second 30 round clip...

In my time as a paramedic I have seen more than my share of shootings. Of the nearly 2 dozen in the last 5 years all but 2 where sub 40 cal pistols and not one of the shot persons continued to put up a fight. Of the half dozen suicide by 22 pistols I've made not one left the position they where in when they shot themselves. I have also witnessed people stabbed with small knives in the chest not make it 10 steps. A close range 22 does more damage than a 5 inch steak knife. Is it the best round, no. Is it useable, yes. When I can't carry a 40 I carry a 22mag. First rule of a gunfight, bring a gun.

Anybody that chooses ANY .22 for self defense is completely ignorant when it comes to terminal ballistics and history. These naive gun slingers assume they will plink the bad guy with one of their famous 'well placed shots' and the bad guy will fall down immediately. What really happens is that the bad guy, now slightly irritated, returns fire and puts a magazine full of .45s into their body because he wasn't STOPPED with the first shot. Any guesses on who wins that fight? Too many of our members must be getting old and weak or just plain lazy. They would rather carry a girly gun because it is small, light, and doesn't hurt their little hand when it goes bang. Carrying a gun that can actually stop the bad guy with one shot isn't in their mindset. They would rather carry a 'feel-good' gun, that's a gun that gives you a false sense of security because it's a 'gun' but is actually worthless when it comes to saving your life. I know, better to have a .22 in your pocket than a .45 at home, right? If that's your plan then you need to pause and find a way to carry a gun that is actually capable of saving your butt. As the FBI and the Army have said, just because the .22 kills more people than any other round that doesn't make it a good combat round. And they gave a thumbs down on the .38 and 9mm too. Better learn how to shoot something that starts with a 4.

One point, less thru and thru holes. Less of a chance of hitting and potentially killing innocence. I will have to stick with what I have. But for the wife maybe.

Gotta say,reading thru the comments scares me. A Lot of of wanna be ballistics experts with just a smattering of knowledge pasted over a whole lot of ignorance and opinion. Not suprising the anti's think we're a bunch of un-educated knobs. Seems only one or two out of ten can actually stay on topic and contribute anything intelligent about it. speaking of the topic, 22 mag for PD? Why not. Much better deterrent than a pocket knife or PS. Most of the time that's all that's needed. Easy to handle and master for those who may need it most, women. If they do have to pull the trigger, doing it with increased confidence and competence will help to offset any of the rounds shortcomings. Training with a low recoil round may also allow them to place quick follow up shots on target. I think the 22 mag is a great place to start if one chooses to go armed.

Lot's of dead people with .22 bullets in them. My wife is new and not savey. A .22 pistol is perfect for her.I'm proficient with a larger caliber semi. I've shot thousands of rounds out of my High Power and can hit a sillouet at 25 yds. without using sights. I had someone at a show tell me the 9mm was useless? The results of readinjg and not shooting. What you're proficient with is what is best for you. Anything else? I prefer you have a gun too big for you if your trying to kill me.

I'm 80 and am limited by body shape/size when I CCW. Sure, I'd like to carry my G23 or something bigger. But when push comes to shove, my NAA .22 Mag is quick and easy to always have in my pocket holster. Until I find a better way to carry something larger the NAA is always with me,

30yr ret. 1sgt. After its all said & done its all about putting ordnance on target. Taurus .22WMR 8 round-empty the cylinder under 2 seconds in a 6' pie plate 7 mtrs away--- practice-practice-practice

In my life I have shot everything from 4oz. Red squirrels to 1400 holstein bulls with a .22. If shot placement is correct they all drop like they've been hit by lightning. I've spent the last forty years in and around law enforcement and been asked many times, usually right after the B&E or some other crime, 'What kinda' gun should I buy.' Some homes don't need guns so I would suggest a baseball bat. For almost all others, a dao .22 revolver. Never once in those forty years was I listened to. When I would check back it would be 'the guy at the gun store told me' and a hundred pound lady would have a gun that really should have had wheels on it and a team of mules. Having known both shooters and shootees heres what I know: None off the shootees stopped to check the caliber of the hot lead coming their way. None of them wanted to shot twice. Shooters lose fine motor skills and get tunnel vision. Small, weak, arthritic or aging hands get slide bite, can't clear a jam, don't like recoil, have trouble with saftetys and magazine releases. The list goes on. SIMPLE is the key word in almost every case. Before Obama these people could get ammo cheaply and learn to shoot. Someday in a better world it may happen again.

I just saw a vid on the 32 h&R mag in a Smith snubbie... looked cool and you can carry 6 rounds.

I'd like to own this Kruger 22mag. I carry a LC9

I was very disappointed with this article. What are the firearms used? Try my Keltec PMR 30; extreme accuracy, range and quiet with handgun ammo. Why confuse the test with all the rifle ammo? Stick to the four ammos that actually work in a handgun. The most vicious .22LR ammo out there is Aguila SubSonic Sniper .22LR compatible 60gr. And it will cycle semi-autos. Try a .22; (Walther P22/5" barrel or Keltec Pmr30/4.3" barrel) ;reach out and touch someone.

I seen a big 6 plus foot 250 lb muscle head get shot square in the chest with a 22 mag pistol. It dropped him instantly and he was done doing anything at all but wait on the ambulance. I sure as heck wouldnt want shot with a 22 mag. I think people severely underestimate what this round is capable of. I use CCI maxi mag plus V. They are very noticably louder, faster, and cary much longer range in both rifle and pistol.

Is this a sales pitch for the 22mag from Ruger? Conversely, no one looks at the business end of a hand gun and says "that's only a .22". From the movie, "Cowboys and Aliens"...."get yourself a handgun, and learn how to use it!"

I have ALWAYS been a fan of the .22 cal. whether it's in a rifle or a hand gun, and I believe that a .22 is a very formidable weapon! It's not a toy! In fact, I KNOW that a couple of well-placed rounds out of a .22 will give ANYONE second thoughts about taking that next advancing step! The ballistic data and "number crunching" is very informative, but I'll have to agree with ALOT of the comments that I have read and MOST of the studies that I have read and personally conducted.....A .22 cal. pistol (or rifle) is as affective a firearm for home defense as anything else out there!

One must also consider that rim-fire cartridges are not nearly as reliable as center-fire. This is a dumb concept. Buy a .32 at least it will actually fire when the chips are down.

Nice. If their was ammo available to load in it?? I haven't seen a 22 round for months on the shelves of any stores!

All you nay Sayers above need to re read the article. The basic premiss of the article was '22 WMR is possible good place to start for the beginner' and which one of you pessimist's are willing to take a live test?, no one I would guess. Therefore, , I'd rather have my 74 year old Mother and or kid sister be able place 4 in the chest easier, than hoping 2 .38's somewhere in the torso area. Working within the LE Community I can tell you that you would be amazed at how many go down with a small caliber round and how many misses occur with a large caliber round (even by trained professionals). Jeff Cooper said ' I'd rather have a hit with a 22, than a miss with a .45' I have many weapons and carry several different weapons CCW depending n my circumstances of the day and the one thing I've found is that I am going to use the weapon I can get my hands on first and then let the chips fall where they may land.

It may be small but it is effective I have shot many a ground hog with rifle and handgun and the never ran off that is with CCI hollow points the new ballistic tips are even better. I dont recommend a 22 for CCW but if thats all you can afford or handle its better that a rock

For Tom C - I may have overstated my recollection about Stinger velocity (the box says 1640fps), but it was faster than a 22mag through the same length barrel. I did some backyard ballistics on a 2x6 with 5 in barrel revolvers: 22mag V-Max with plastic tip barely left an exit hole >22, while the Stinger blew out >1/2 inch hole. The 22 mag is a great rifle cartridge but it's a waste of powder in a short barrel gun. For camping, my 357 is a bit much, so we usually take along the 9 shot Revolver with Stingers. My central issue is that the 22 Mag is not any better than a hot LR in a short barreled handgun.

I'm sorry this is incredibly bad advice for any one. The only reason you are using deadly force is to stop a person period that is going to in flick deadly harm on another. You need to be justified legally in your shoot. Shooting to wound or maim is opening you to a whole slew of legal questions. Plus are you going to empty the entire gun to stop them? The .22m does not have the mass Asa .9 .40 .45 or .38. Granted this is better then no gun but get real . And remember there is no second place winner in a gun fight.

I am like chuck, old & bad knees.i have a hipoint 9mm pistol & carbing, interchangable mags. For serious home defense, I have .45 bl powder pistol & carbine. All cost around $100 each. Thats 42 rounds.

a 22 mag to the head will disable most attackers. in other words shot placement.

To paraphrase Donald Dumsfeld, "You go into a gunfight with the gun you have, not the gun you would like to have." Even a 1" .22 is better than than an index finger in your pants pocket. I am old and fat and have bad knees but I bet I can still run faster than you can if I have blown out both of your kneecaps. As someone else said, it isn't the size of the hole so much as it is where the hole is located.

Please not the old my caliber is better argument again! It's getting old. Never once in my lifetime has anyone ever said they wouldn't mind getting shot in the forehead with a .22 LR let alone a .22 Magnum.

I see a lot of crime shows (real stories not dramas) where people were shot dead with a .22 - sure a 1911 with a 5" barrel and a 230 grain hollow point would stop someone almost instantaneously but a .22 is still very lethal.

Better would be .32 H&R magnum. This year Hornady began offering a FTX Critical Defense load in this caliber. Hopefully, Ruger or S&W will offer an alloy 6-shot hammerless revolver in that caliber.

Compare a .22 LR rimfire and a .22 magnum rimfire in a handgun with the same barrel lengths, that would be interesting to find out how close the performance would be.

I look at it this way, if you pay attention you will see people every day carrying edged weapons for personal protection, instead of a handgun. It is nothing here in Oklahoma to see men [& women] with the metal clip of a folding knife on the outside of a pants pocket. I'd much rather have a .22LR or .22WMR revolver where I could maintain a little distance between myself and a attacker.. than to have to get up close hands-on with a attacker using my knife. If you are not gonna carry a large caliber handgun, then carry something you can eat if a bad guy takes it away from you after you've given him your best shot... and I'd rather eat a small empty handgun than a sharp edged knife. Personally, I usually open carry a .40 cal Glock 23 w/ CT laser. The smallest I carry is a Ruger .380 LCP w/ CT laser. Both loaded with Hornady Critical Defense rounds. There are lots of great ammo rounds on the market, but I have had the most reliable feeding from the Hornady ammo.

Peter M., I do not doubt that that CCI Stinger is a good choice if one is limited to a .22 LR pistol, in fact, it would be my choice if I had to carry a .22 for defense. But to be honest, I've never been able to get anything even approaching 1600 fps from this round fired from a pistol. Are you sure about that number? Even factory data suggests that the stingers should run at least 400 fps slower than that from a handgun. Just asking...

I use a .22 WMR with a 6.5" barrel for slaughter. I put a couple hundred rounds through it per month. It also has a cylinder for 22lr. The .22 WMR has no problem penetrating the cows skull (I use the CCI 40 grain FMJ), but will not exit. I'm confident that my .22 WMR will have the same effect upon anything that I shoot. The .22 LR is good for sheep but will not consistently knock down pigs or beef with 1 shot. And should you miss with the 22 Mag ... the sound will scare the crap out of them.

I would never use a rimfire for self defense. There are way too many better centerfire options out there to justify buying this.

Wrong idea to only maim your the attacker, if you intend to shoot someone you must know when, how and be prepared to use deadly force, for your own saftey and to avoid legal backlash.

There is almost no earthly reason to chamber a revolver in 22 WMR. Before you discount this comment, try this: I have 2 revolvers with 5 inch barrels: one 22 LR and one 22 WMR. I chronographed both with 33 gr bullets: CCI Stingers in the LR and CCI 22 WMR in the other. I wanted to see how close the Stinger was to the WMR. What I found was that the Stinger was slightly faster, somewhere in the 1600 fps range. I was surprised. Your velocity data in the article was quite good, but it’s what I expected: The 22 WMR is a formidable load in a rifle at 2326 fps for the CCI 30 gr. But barrel length is everything - a 1 in revolver barrel is on a par with an air pistol and the 4.6 in barrel produced 1637 fps - not terrible, but only 2/3 of its potential for velocity and energy. And the Stinger LR is in the ballpark. The problem with the 22 WMR in a pistol is the case rather than the bullet. It’s optimized for a rifle barrel. The pressure would peak after the bullet has already left the short barrel - I like to say that the extra powder is transformed to noise rather than bullet energy. So can the 22 WMR cartridge be optimized to achieve a pressure peak in a short barrel? Giving maybe >2000fps?. First of all it’s a rimfire, so ignition is not as vigorous as a centerfire. Secondly, the case length is very long with respect to the small cross section, so burning powder quickly and uniformly is a problem. Can manufactures find a magic powder to optimize the WMR for a short barrel? I don’t know - that’s why I said that there was almost no earthly reason to chamber a revolver for 22 WMR. I’ll carry my LR revolver camping with 9 Stingers in the cylinder, thank you.

I have a NAA mini revolver in .22 mag among my larger group of carry weapons. The fact is that I can carry this gun in ways I simply cannot carry the others. So when it comes to taking the .22 mag or leaving the gun in the car in the parking lot, I will take the .22 mag anytime.

Any info available from any source on ballistic tests with the Kel Tec PMR 30? ... longer barrel ... 30 rounds from jump ... any TAC info on the .22 WIN MAG terminal effects from field experience ... hits on animal or human targets... lets not be queasy here ... we are talking about PERSEC ... Personal Security as in live or die ... Reagans Sec Svc agent was poleaxed by one center body mass hit from a .22 exploder round that did not explode ... just saying ... any replies good bad or insulting will be appreciated ... OBTW (oh by the way)the location of the hole is generally more important then the size ... except for a .50 caliber ... between the bottom of the nose and the cleft of the chin is the ideal fine touch front focus targeting spot ... if you can do it under the stress of a gunfight ...it will take out the medulla ... no medulla everything shuts down ... body drops cross legged straight down ... it is what it is ... Veg Syco