TOP 5 22LR HANDGUNS FOR SELF DEFENSE

Note: I didn't list a few handguns in this video for a few reasons. Yes, there are other great options out there, but other guns can't be concealed as easy as the guns that are in this video. Pistols like the Walther PPQ or the Taurus TX22 will make my top 5 list, just not this one.

I carry my P22 sometimes. I’ve owned it for a long time and expect it to be reliable with CCI rounds. I understand the limitations of the 22LR. Regardless, This is the last gun you would want me shooting at you if you are a bad guy because I ain’t missing. I’m not saying I can’t shoot my other guns but I am saying I’m way faster and more accurate with little bad boy. Lines up in my hand so well it is good without using the sights. On the sights the lack of recoil makes follow up shoots lighting fast and dead on. That said I do normally carry a Smith and Wesson J frame 38 revolver.

I used a tx22 compact

I'd love to see this revisited with some of the 22LR's that have come out recently. Would the Sig 322 be in the list now?

If redone today- id bet the Taurus 942 and the Taurus TX22 would be in the top 5

I just found out about that silencer co $200 dollar suppressor. Gonna grab one for my 10/22 and get a threaded pistol of some sort. I have so much 22 ammo I don't know what to do with it. I need bigger mags for the 10 22 as well. ❤

Thank You!!!! I am a woman with small hands and arthritis in my fingers and right wrist. It is so difficult for me to shoot my husbands 9mm. The recoil is too strong, I also have extreme difficulty just loading it. Every time I go to the gun store and ask to see a .22 I get ridiculed for wanting to see a .22 for self defense. So again thank you for your information.

Doesn't the Walther P22 have the same backward safety as the Ruger SR22?

I am surprised that the taurus tx22 wasn’t on the list

how did you make the ruger to a 15 round magazine?

No mention of the Tx22. Any reason why?

It's all shot placement folks. I know of a woman in Alaska that hunts moose with a 22lr, this is how she gets meat for the year. Shot placement its the trick. Your don't need something that beats you to death when you shoot. Plus you can care two hundred rounds in your pocket no problem.

Better than a sharp stick😅😂😅😂😅😂😅😂

Now in my mid 80s, I have switched from my Glock model 22 to my LCR in caliber 22.

Where can I get that little wingman?

no to pot metal slides (p22). even aluminum can be dodgy. i prefer steel slide so bersa 22-6, velocitors do expand a bit w/ the longer barrel. LCP-II .22 also has steel slide.

#6 Taurus tx22 wins ;)

Just picked up a 525 count of .22 LR Remington White/Green box for $42 at WallyWorld. Wanted more. Nope. 1 box limit. Had to send in a friend to get another box.
$84 for 1050 rounds. Last purchase was $19.99 for 550 count box. That was before I retired in 2010.
Went back yesterday. All gone. They received 20 boxes. I felt privileged. A manager in Sporting Goods said she'd call me whenever they get more.
Yay!!!

Taurus TX22 all day, every day!!!

I carry a walther p22 fully decked. I am extremely proficient with it.

how much sir,

I am debating on "downsizing" from a 9mm. The way I see it, its easier to conceal, specially if I'm going hiking or in the gym.

None. Get a 9mm or higher.

The S&W 317 Airlite (the 2" version, not the 3" Kit Gun), though currently discontinued, is the only 22LR revolver that is similar in size AND weight to the LCP II 22LR. Guns as light as the LCP can offer some unique way of carrying, for example around your neck using a lanyard. Almost every other way of carrying require you have some garment or accessories on you, like pocket carry you need to wear pants or jacket that has a pocket; IWB carry you need a belt. When you are pretty much naked, like waking up in the middle of the night, carry on one's neck is your one option if not the only option.

Carrying this way requires the weight to be minimal or it'd interfere with blood circulation. So LCP II 22LR is the top choice. But if you want to or have to have a revolver, the 317 is your only choice, albeit a pricy one even for buying used. If you can live with one fewer round and not locked into 22LR, you should take a look at the 351PD. It's the 22mag version of the 317, similar weight, currently in production. Current price is about $700 :)

As always great video 22Plinkster. All great handguns. So many people with arthritic conditions and many have challenges even loading a magazine. I use my Quickie Loader for my 22LR magazines to simply keep my fingers fresh.

First one of your videos I've seen. I like the get to the point presentation style and easy going demeaner. Looking for a 22 for my sweetie who is not strong enough to be comfortable with larger caliber weapon but wants something to at least give her a chance when she is home alone. Great video for that.

Where is the GSG 1911 in 22Lr?

Bought a Ruger LCP 22 & a Buckmark Micro Bull Barrel. Buckmark fails to eject. Sad

I'm surprised the Taurus TX DIDNT make the cut. 16 rds

Not apposed to this list. But i would have included the kel tec p17 somewhere in here. Great, reliable gun with 16 round stock mags

Reminiscence of General Cho after watching this video. True martyr who sacrificed himself to fight against racism. RIP Seugnhee The General Martin Luther Cho

I love the 22lr for self defense in my 9 round revolver. If I get a miss fire I just pull the trigger again. No jams or stove pipes too clear. Live too fight another day.

I would add the Walther ppk/s in .22lr to this list.

I saw a butcher shooting 2000lbs cows with just 1 shot of 22lr, perhaps good enough for 130-500lbs 2 legged hostile creature

What about my favorite, especially for the $, the Kel Tec P17...<><...:)

He needs to be in the Olympics for real

I started out carrying a .40, went to a 9mm for a few years, carried a smaller .380 on occasion. I can handle all of them fine, I’m a male in my 30’s and I workout, I’ve also shot guns since I was 16. I like to shoot my carry guns frequently and at various ranges, so they get wear and I go through a decent amount of ammo. The last couple of mass shootings have taught me that ammo markers and stores that sell ammunition don’t care about their customers and will raise the price for any reason they see fit, any excuse they can come up with, it’s worse than buying gas on a holiday weekend. 17 years ago when I got my first 9mm it was $5.99 for a box of 50, it went up to about $13.99, then during the pandemic, $49.99-$59.99 for the exact same thing! That’s when I got realistic about the off chance that I would ever need to use a firearm in defense. If I do ever need it, I could care less if the person I have to shoot lives or dies, the only thing I’d be doing would be trying to stop him, I’m sure with my capabilities I can adapt and improvise to make a .22 work in that regard. I’m certainly not going to be a little pawn for everybody in the industry to line their pockets with my money. I have other responsibilities, spending .50 cents to $1 every single time I pull the trigger is not only limiting, it’s ridiculous. A cartridge is not worth .50 cents, certainly not $1, .30 cents is even expensive for what it is, especially given that the majority of them you ever fire will just be making a hole in a piece of paper. So my using a .22 is partly because I think I’m good enough I don’t NEED anything more, and partly because I’m not going to be a sucker and buy into this self defense as a hobby thing. I mean the ammo makers and gun writers aren’t stupid, they’ve got a lot of people convinced they’re going to be in a gunfight one day and they need the nastiest most expensive rounds out there because “what is your life worth”, they’re very clever. I’m pretty sure they’ve taken over a lot of people from golfing. I used to be a sucker tbh, dress around my carry gun, carry only premium Hollow points in calibers on often exact same firearms police carried…. After having carried for a decade and a half and spent WAY too much money on a lot of that stuff, I’m kinda over it. I love shooting and I still carry a gun, mostly in a sling pack with other stuff, but I only use and spend my money on one caliber now, .22

Hey what about the Ketec p17? Weighs about 14oz loaded with 16 rds.

The 9 mm is powerful. The 40 cal is powerful the 45 acp is powerful. I say there is difference between a crippling caliber and one kil within in a minute caliber if it hits the chest. I would not be a fan of 22 lr 32 acp or 25 acp for self defense. I don't know how to feel about 380. I do know though 38 special is proven to be powerful with the 135 grain loads super deadly. I feel like I would not carry anything less then 38 special with 135 grain loads. I think snub nose 38s are ugly kinda off topic but I like the 4 inch barrels better looks nice.

Shame on you for posting this crap. Less guns is what's needed

I made the mistake of purchasing my wife a Ruger Max9 Pro, and did so based entirely on reviews, without first trying it out. Now, the thing is pretty freakin awesome for a micro 9mm, and truly does live up to all of the positive hype, especially the tritium sights. However, it does kick like a mule, which makes it hard to put subsequent rounds on target in short bursts. A lot of people claim the recoil isn't as bad as comparable micro 9mm's, but I'd have to defer to those with more experience with micro compacts. Unfortunately, because of the recoil, my wife hates it. It's a bit too small to comfortably fit in my hands, but I will likely make due. She on the other hand won't carry it.

So, we're looking into getting her a 22lr caliber for her to CC. Now, she's shot several 22lrs at the range, and she's not only entirely comfortable with them, I mean, who wouldn't be, but she actually enjoys shooting them; again, who wouldn't? I know a lot of people roll their eyes at the suggestion of a 22 for self defense, but I look at it this way. My wife can easily put 5 rounds on target at 10 feet in less than two seconds with a 22lr, so any attacker who gets four or five quarter inch holes drilled half way through his (or HER, I'm not sexist) chest cavity within a couple of seconds, is likely going to rethink his (or HER) options, and probably start heading in the opposite direction. That is IF in the process he manages to not be face down on the pavement. Not to mention, there are some pretty wicked 22lr self defense rounds available, which relatively speaking do some pretty significant damage to a target.

Thank you

Do not, i repeat do not but the Glock 44 handgun in 22lr. It jams with any ammo known to man. Terrible for reliable fire.

I like the Beretta bobcat. The barrel pops up and no racking the slide and the beautiful Beretta M-9. Another is the German made GSC firefly..a Sig clone.

Who's this guy without sunglasses?
Want my plinkster back!

A friend bought the Ruger (#4) and it's just a jamomatic. He added a Ruger threaded bbl too, but it's junk.

Ruger used common sense on how our hands/thumb works. It used the most efficient way to put the gun hot. Thanks Ruger. Every one else has it backwards. Need to know how the carpometacarpal joint works.

A laser is a great addition and encourages you to shoot with both eyes open. Thanks for sharing.

Love my S&W .22 Compact and Ruger LCP 2. My biggest concern about .22 for self defense would be barrier penetration. Thanks for sharing.