22mag vs 38spl revolver for self defense

[tigerguru]

I'm currently looking at a s&w 351 .22mag snub nose. Does anyone here have experience with this particular revolver? Is 7rds of 22mag in a slightly lighter package as good as a 5rd .38spl?

 

[JHenley17]

I'd rather not trust my life to a rim fire cartridge, but that's just me.

 

[usmc-nav]

My wife has a 351PD, same as yours. It is a compromise, lighter weight but not as much muscle. Some companies now make self defense rounds for 22 mag. I carry it often in the summer months.

 

[DBMJR1]

Placed correctly, .22 Mag will get the job done.

.38 will work better.

 

[Abby Normal]

First off, I Love the .22 Mag. Now for the big hairy But, the best 22 mag is 10 lb/ft short of an average 38 spl. That's according to ballisticsbytheinch. http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/calibers.html I look at a rounds energy (lb/ft) not the speed (fps).
If you are reading the ballistic no. on the ammo boxes .22lr are tested are rifles, not a 2" snubby. The .38spl is tested as a pistol. The great thing about ballisticsbytheinch is they compare apples to apples. They even have Real World gun test.
The other thing to remember is you may find a .22 to expand to .38 but a .38 isn't going to srink down to .22.
More bullets are better but only 2 more rounds for a lot less energy and a smaller hole to bleed from would easily put me in the bigger is better camp.

 

[Bonephish]

I'm currently looking at a s&w 351 .22mag snub nose. Does anyone here have experience with this particular revolver? Is 7rds of 22mag in a slightly lighter package as good as a 5rd .38spl?

I'll trade my Taurus 2" .38 Spl +P and $300 for a 351PD .22 Mag. Contact me.

 

[swampfoxx]

I carry a Hi-Standard 22 magnum Derringer in my pocket when I don't want to carry my P229. It's loaded with varmint rounds. If I shoot you in the eye, it will make a large hole in your brain.

 

[Magdump]

The 22mag round is highly underrated. BUT, a 2 inch barrel does make a difference. I would shoot some through a chrony just to see what's what

 

[Brawny]

If I had a .38spl and you had a .22 mag I still would not insult your mom.

 

[Whitebread]

I'm in the 22mag is better than unarmed camp, but in a self defense shooting I want more much much more. We recently discussed a self defense shooting in Mandeville where a larger caliber required multiple rounds to stop the attack. And the attacker wasn't some battle tested bad ass just your run of the mill doper who thought he was 10 foot tall and bulletproof.

If its all you can stand to shoot due to recoil then so be it. A couple of well placed shots from a 22mag do more damage than 10 rounds of 45acp that missed. Personally I like 9mm over 45 for in gun of the same size for what sounds to be the same reasons, more rounds. In your case I may go with the 38 but my preference would be neither.

 

[Abby Normal]

Magdump, check out the ballisticsbytheinch.com info on the .22 mag. They were having trouble getting their chrono to pick up the slug, because it was so small and moving so fast. They had to buy an updated chrono to finish with their data.

 

[RustyHammer]

... the best revolver for self defense is the one you have WITH YOU!

 

[dantheman]

None of this data is hard and fast in the real world . I personally saw a man that had been shot in the chest with a .22 LR . He was flat on his back and going into shock . Now , would I recommend a .22 LR for self defense ? Of course not , but it goes to show how everything we think we know about ballistics , etc. goes all to hell in a real life situation .

My advice , avoid a fight if at all possible . If it happens , shot placement is usually more important than caliber . Just my opinion .

 

[nwmousegunner]

My first new handgun was a .22 magnum, a Smith&Wesson model 48. That was 1963 and I still have it and still shoot it. It is the most accurate revolver I have ever owned. When it first came out the ballistics were quoted as being equal to the .38 spl. mid range load. The .22 magnum was designed as a small game and medium sized varmint load and for that purpose it can't be beat. Regardless of caliber as stated before shot placement is the key in a self defense.

 

[PappaDoc]

22 high standard

I carry a Hi-Standard 22 magnum Derringer in my pocket when I don't want to carry my P229. It's loaded with varmint rounds. If I shoot you in the eye, it will make a large hole in your brain.

I carry one too, made some nice oak grips, still use the jackass holster made for it. It used to be the standard backup piece for the Louisiana state Police until 1969, last time I found a jackass holster on Ebay for the high standard it was 350 bucks, think I'll keep mine.

 

[swampfoxx]

I guess Dave is the resident expert on all subjects here. He criticizes everyone that doesn't agree with him.

 

[honestlou]

I'm currently looking at a s&w 351 .22mag snub nose. Does anyone here have experience with this particular revolver? Is 7rds of 22mag in a slightly lighter package as good as a 5rd .38spl?

The answer to your question is "no, it is not as good, and not even close to as good". The only possible exception is if you are jumped by 6-7 people. If I had 5 or fewer attackers, there is no way I'd rather have 7 shots of .22 mag over 5 shots of .38.

 

[LACamper]

So many better choices now than a .22 mag revolver. Where's the advantage? No recoil? what about a .32 mag? weight? Plenty of better choices.

I'm just not a revolver fan... too slow to reload for most people.

 

[Gus McCrae]

.22 Mag is better than nothing, but isn't really close to as good as .38 Special. While useful, energy numbers are missleading to the effectiveness of a particular round. Energy is defined as:

E=1/2*M*V^2

Which puts a premium on velocity.... to borrow a phrase from John Linebaugh "Velocity is a constantly diminishing variable." A small light bullet is going to lose that energy much quicker when opposing mass gets in the way. Penetration Testing is a much better measurement on the effectiveness of a particular round (brassfetcher.com), but that still isn't the whole story. You still need a big enough cavity to quickly bleed out and cause incapacitation. 9mm sized bullets are probably the smallest that should be used for self defense, but round for round, bigger is always better. More mass in the bullet is good too.

 

[LACamper]

to put that in perspective, a good punch yields 220 ft/lbs of energy...