Burning Question?

[Scoundrel]

A larger caliber works too, but I think even a .22 LR can be effective if you put a few rounds in the right place...

I am very glad to see someone else in the gun community supporting this attitude.

My dad is 72, and recently got interested in handguns again (my fault). We tried him out on several, and he did well with a Ruger P95. But then he broke his collarbone, and now, after being "fully healed", he limp-wrists it and experiences failures to eject and feed properly (it works fine when I shoot it). Even when it doesn't have failures, his groups are large. He worked for a month with those squeeze hand grip things to strengthen his grip, but the results were the same.

So we tried the Taurus Judge, which he liked the look and feel of, but the recoil was too much for him. We gave that up after only 10 shots, when the trigger guard was abusing his knuckles and it looked like he was going to drop the thing.

Then we tried him out on a Ruger MK III 22/45 Target, and he was able to shoot quickly, reliably, and accurately, with reasonably sized groups. He likes that gun a lot, and I sent him home with 700 rounds of practice ammo and a box of Stingers for home defense. He's looking into night sights for it.

A lot of people are disdainful toward .22lr, but you gotta consider this: If the choice is between a 9mm that doesn't cycle properly in his hands, a .45 revolver that he can't keep ahold of and that threatens to hurt him, and a .22lr that he can shoot well, then the choice is clear.

We figure that 10 low-powered rounds that he might be able to place well is a great deal better than nothing in a home defense scenario.

[Planedude]

My Dad is 76 now. He felt he needed to have a handgun for SD at his house. He wanted a "stupid reliable .22" so he could shoot it well.
So I gave him my old RG single action "peacemaker" (with gen-u-ine plastic "stag" grips) loaded with CCI Stingers.
He's happy, a BG in the dark dang sure would'nt be.
Oh! and as a fallback weapon if they don't run from the ferocious .22? He retrived his old Winchester 1200 12 gauge from my safe (stored there for years) shooting 1oz birdshot loads.
With that he feels they are good enough. Who am I to question that?

[Mike Brownhouse]

FWIW, a buddy of mine is a cop in a big city. His off-duty weapon is a Smith & Wesson Airweight .38 Special 5-shot, with no additional ammunition. He doesn't see a need for more than that. I personally would want the option to reload, and it's easily done with a semi-auto, but then I like to be extra-well-prepared.

[Popeye]

A larger caliber works too, but I think even a .22 LR can be effective if you put a few rounds in the right place...

Agree with this thinking also. There are many people killed or threats stopped do to the lowly 22LR. I prefer my Pm9 for EDC and I only carry one mag. If I'm going into know trouble spots then I take a different pistol with a longer barrel and larger round capacity.

[Double3]

It makes me smile to carry 17+1.

[Scoundrel]

Agree with this thinking also. There are many people killed or threats stopped do to the lowly 22LR. I prefer my Pm9 for EDC and I only carry one mag. If I'm going into know trouble spots then I take a different pistol with a longer barrel and larger round capacity.

“Sheriff, I see you have your pistol. Are you expecting trouble?” “NO Ma’am. If I were expecting trouble, I would have brought my rifle.”

[jlottmc]

The only time I needed reloads was Bosnia, or one of the times I got a little lost in the field reloads were my friends then, and I still carry them. Soon they will be required for the uniform.

[Don K.]

CW9 with one in the pipe and a full mag slapped into place for me. If its not done with this I should have brought the 870 or EBG along.

[Armybrat]

It makes me smile to carry 17+1.

Ruger SR9?

[ORSalesRep]

Given that statisically more and more crimes involve multiple assailants, I usually carry two extra magaizines. I also try to weigh that against my attire's ability to conceal them along with what part of town I expect to be travelling in. For me, it is the same logic as always being armed. I would rather have spare magazines and not need them, than need them and not have them.