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Originally Posted by
Darrell KSR
I'm not the guy to ask, since we have much better people here with worlds more knowledge, but you do not want a 22 if you want self protection.
In my view, a 9mm is the minimum. Glock 19 is one of the most popular hand guns in history.
Glocks are ugly, but they go bang when you pull the trigger. Unless it's an anomaly, every time. Mine has never failed to fire no matter the conditions or ammunition. That alone is worth the price to me. Unless you want a revolver. And yes, plenty of other companies are reliable, too. But some with good names and good workmanship won't necessarily be the most reliable. Buddy of mine has, literally, hundreds of guns. Former member of a state police type organization, and now a wealthy collector. He buys Sig Sauers and other big name weapons with 4 digit price tags and sends them back for work. Trigger replacement. Filing down of parts because it doesn't eject properly. (I'm not picking on Sig, just the first name that came to my mind).
On the caliber, 22s are great target pistols. They can kill. They can also not kill. They can also not slow a person down. No way, no how, do you want that for protection. Way too many stories of a 22 doing nothing more than making somebody mad.
When I had a real and substantial threat, I leaned on several people here for advice as well as CatintheFort (Andre) who all knew their stuff. Andre spent a lot of time with me, and I selected a 45 caliber that I could carry. You'll get different opinions on caliber, but I really don't think you will see much support for a defense weapon with a caliber below 9mm or 38 maybe.
If you have a chance, go to a place like Hoover Tactical here in Birmingham (they aren't rare) with an indoor shooting range, and rent a pistol from them in the caliber and model you are considering, and shoot it. Hoover Tactical rents pistols for $10. Great way to see if the pistol fits your hand, if the recoil on it is bad, or manageable, etc. My 45 seemed like a large caliber and recoil concerned me until I shot it. It was more of a rocking back and forth recoil that didn't disturb follow up shots, rather than a recoil with a muzzle flip where you'd have to find the target again on a 2nd shot.
Anyway, hopefully others will chime in. But my $0.02 is buy a 9mm, not a 22. Or buy both, but don't carry the 22 for self defense.
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