introduction
What caliber to use?
Well, it all boils down to the situation.
Basically, if you really need the stopping power, then yes, get a higher-power bullet (i.e. .40 S&W, .357 SIG, 10mm, .357 Magnum, etc.)
If you’re a citizen and just need it for self defense, even a .22 or .25 ACP mouse-gun will be a deterrent once an attacker sees you pull one out.
Most self-defense situations are in close range, and last a few seconds. Usually just 3 shots and everyone scatters. Most criminals aren’t too keen on getting into prolonged gunfights when things don’t go to plan, and typically just try to get away to rob another day.
But let’s get into the details below.
context: .22 LR can be enough…
… until you have a really motivated attacker.
Or someone hyped up on drugs.
Which you generally don’t run into, unless you’re a cop.
(Unless you really like trying to pacify crackheads at 3am in downtown for some reason).
As always, it comes down to context.
A .25 ACP can still work well for defensive situations, where your attacker isn’t super open to getting hurt.
Think of a bully… the minute you show you can be a threat, they’ll move on to someone else.
Same thing with most criminals. It’s not like they’re doing it for the honor. If you look like you’re not going to be easy to rob, they’re going to move on to some little old lady or some other easy target.
In this context, smaller calibers can still work. Even a nail gun most likely will need hospital attention, it’s not like you can just shoot yourself in the leg with a .22 LR and go about the rest of your day like it’s just a scratch.
(Unless you’re the aforementioned crackhead with superpowers, but even then, after a few hours you’ll be feeling it).
So for defense, any reliable caliber works, .22, .25 ACP, .32 ACP, .380 ACP, 9mm, etc.
For rimfire .22, I’d recommend against using it in a semi-automatic, due to duds being a lot more common with rimfire ammunition (you don’t want your pistol to malfunction in a life-or-death situation, when you really need it).
You could run rimfire .22 in a revolver though. If it fails to fire, you just pull the trigger again, and fire another .22 round.
If you do expect to run into someone (or something) that is very motivated to attack, then a higher caliber (and higher velocity) bullet (.40 S&W, .357 SIG, 10mm, .357 Magnum, etc.) will be better. There’s plenty of anecdotal evidence showing for someone really motivated, and/or under a lot of adrenaline, can still continue acting in doing whatever they are doing (ie. attacking, for a defensive situation) for a good while, before they succumb to their injuries.
During the 1986 FBI Miami shootout, the shooter was hit from the side with a 9mm bullet, but was still able to fight and do a lot of damage to law-enforcement.
With a round with more stopping power, like the one’s mentioned above, typically one or two rounds and that’s going to stop the bad guys from keeping on doing bad things, and incapacitate them.
9mm vs .40? Is .40 really that much better?
Paul Harrell did a really good real world experiment showing penetration against a real world target in both 9mm and .40 S&W (simulating the 1986 FBI Miami shootout situation).
Basically it concludes that the .40 S&W has much more stopping power (even with the newer technology in 9mm bullets), and basically recommends using a higher power caliber, if stopping power is a concern to you. Unless you’re in law-enforcement or military, it might not be).
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