{"id":13,"date":"2015-10-08T15:28:00","date_gmt":"2015-10-08T20:28:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2023-12-17T17:30:33","modified_gmt":"2023-12-17T23:30:33","slug":"22-pistols","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mckinneyfirearmstraining.com\/wordpress\/22-pistols\/","title":{"rendered":".22 Pistols (updated)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today let’s talk about the lowly .22 pistol.\u00a0 I say “lowly” only because no one considers this a suitable caliber for self-defense.\u00a0 However, don’t forget the first rule of gunfights, attributed to Col Jeff Cooper: bring a gun<\/u><\/i><\/b>.\u00a0 A .22 is always better than nothing, but just barely.\u00a0 Yes, a .22 will kill a person, but usually only if you hit them in the head, neck, or femoral artery.\u00a0 Hitting other places may do the job, but not quickly enough to save your life.\u00a0 That said, if the pistol holds 10-15 rounds, I would be willing to stipulate that 8 or more fast shots on center mass is very likely to change the dynamic in the case of a home invasion, with only one or two assailants.<\/p>\n

However, if a .22 pistol is small enough to carry concealed, it won’t have enough ammo to help you much, and accuracy will be difficult (see Rule 1).\u00a0 If all you can carry is a pocket gun, then get a .380.\u00a0 Many people also consider the .380 to not have enough stopping power, but it is almost as powerful as a 9mm, and will clearly stop an attack if you have good shot placement, especially if loaded with +P ammo.\u00a0 Yes, I know +P can wear out a .380 over time, but it won’t hurt to use it for self-defense; just don’t practice much with it.\u00a0 NOTE: the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute (SAAMI) does not recognize a specification for .380 +P, but Buffalo Bore does make such a cartridge.<\/p>\n

So, for this discussion we’ve mostly eliminated the .22 from concealed carry (see Rule 1).\u00a0 That leaves us with bigger guns, which are mostly target pistols. Competition target shooters will often spend big bucks on these, over $1000 for models from Walther, Hammerli, or Smith & Wesson, but there are some very nice models available for $300-500.\u00a0 Two of the best known are the High Standard Sport King and the Browning Buck Mark, but I am going to write about two that I own: the Ruger Mark IV Tactical, and the Colt 1911 (22).\u00a0 Both are fairly heavy, have large capacity, and have long barrels; accuracy is quite good, and recoil almost non-existent.\u00a0 Keep in mind that the kind of accuracy inherent with guns like these means hitting a 4 inch circle at 25 yards;\u00a0 even a fairly new shooter could hit a person 10 times in a row at 7 yards.<\/p>\n

\"ruger22\"<\/div>\n
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Ruger Mark IV Tactical<\/b><\/u>
\nThis is the newest version of a gun first produced in 1949, that popularized the .22 pistol.\u00a0 The standard Mark IV has a 60 degree grip angle, like a Luger.\u00a0 It come with a fully adjustable rear sight, and threaded mounting holes for a rail (also included) for mounting a scope or red dot.\u00a0 There are also many available accessories, like fiber optic front sights, competition triggers, springs, grips, etc.\u00a0 You must get a speed-loader for it, as the magazines are difficult to load by hand.\u00a0 Cleaning the gun is now quite easy, as the break down process has been greatly imploved.\u00a0 This is one of the most accurate and popular guns on the market, in its class.<\/p>\n

\"colt22\"<\/p>\n

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Colt 1911<\/b><\/u>
\nThis is not actually made by Colt, but by Walther in Germany, under license to Colt.\u00a0 It is, however, absolutely identical to a Colt .45 1911, including the weight.\u00a0 Many parts, like grips and springs, are interchangeable with real 1911 pistols.\u00a0 It is a finely engineered handgun, equal in most ways to the Ruger, and better in some.\u00a0 Disassembly and cleaning are very easy, and accuracy is very slightly better.\u00a0 Walther makes two models of this gun: the Government Model (the more tradional M1A military style), and the Gold Cup (which has adjustable rear sights).\u00a0 This model does come with a speed-loader.\u00a0 I have the Government Model, but wish I had spent a little more for the Gold Cup, for the adjustable sights.\u00a0 However, I am not unhappy at all with mine.\u00a0 It is fun to shoot, and cycles the finicky .22 rounds perfectly.<\/p>\n

There are other benefits to shooting a .22 target pistol:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Ammo is quite cheap, about 12-15 cents\/round.\u00a0 A few months ago it was hard to find, but the supply has recently caught up to demand. Don’t buy the cheapest you can find, or subsonic, or high velocity (except for defensive purposes).\u00a0 There is a substantial difference in accuracy between brands.\u00a0 My favorites are Norma Target, CCI Standard Velocity, and SK Rifle Match.<\/li>\n
  2. They are very easy to shoot, so shooters can concentrate on technique without the fear of recoil getting in the way.\u00a0 Many people actually have .22 conversion kits on high powered pistols and rifles, for inexpensive training.<\/li>\n
  3. Some people simply have a fear of guns that keeps them from trying to shoot, and would paralyze them in a crisis.\u00a0 The .22 solves that.\u00a0 It shoots like a BB gun.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    In a perfect world, I would love to start all beginners on a .22 target pistol for a few weeks, then step up to a bigger caliber, but that is not practical.\u00a0 It is a great way for people to get started with shooting, so if you have room in your budget for two or more guns, consider starting with a good .22 target pistol.<\/p>\n

    Don’t forget Rule 1.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Today let’s talk about the lowly .22 pistol.\u00a0 I say “lowly” only because no one considers this a suitable caliber for self-defense.\u00a0 However, don’t forget the first rule of gunfights, attributed to Col Jeff Cooper: bring a gun.\u00a0 A .22 is always better than nothing, but just barely.\u00a0 Yes, a .22 will kill a person, … Continue reading “.22 Pistols (updated)”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mckinneyfirearmstraining.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mckinneyfirearmstraining.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mckinneyfirearmstraining.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mckinneyfirearmstraining.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mckinneyfirearmstraining.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/mckinneyfirearmstraining.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":456,"href":"https:\/\/mckinneyfirearmstraining.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13\/revisions\/456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mckinneyfirearmstraining.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mckinneyfirearmstraining.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mckinneyfirearmstraining.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}