Should 22Mag be taken seriously as a defensive caliber? New on AllOutdoor

Posted on November 13, 2014 by Oleg Volk

New test results using CMR30.

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6 Responses to Should 22Mag be taken seriously as a defensive caliber? New on AllOutdoor

  1. Jim R says:
    November 13, 2014 at 7:09 pm

    Cue arguments about what makes a cartridge / firearm “adequate” for personal defense in 5-4-3-2-1…

    That being said, the CMR / PMR both look like interesting designs and I wouldn’t mind having them in my battery. Now, if Keltec can only deliver.

  2. Dub Dublin says:
    November 14, 2014 at 9:32 pm

    KelTec’s actually delivering pretty well. Maybe not well enough to meet skyrocketing demand, but I was able to buy a PMR-30 with a fairly short waiting period (less than a month) through my Local Gun Store (Mc Bride’s in Austin). To get it that quick, I prepaid to move to the top of the list, but they did only charge me MSRP for the gun, with no ridiculous gouging like you see on the net or at many gun shops that aren’t actual KelTec dealers.

    YMMV, but it seems to me the “KelTec can’t deliver” thing is pretty badly out of date now (except for whatever the newest product is, since the market is quite hungry for the kind of affordable quality innovation KelTec is delivering.) BTW, I’ve run thousands of rounds through my PMR-30 – it’s a stunningly reliable weapon (once you figure out how to properly load the magazines, and only *very* carefully load the last 5 rounds to avoid crimping the cases), and a complete hoot to shoot.

    Now if we just had good, cheap WMR ammo again – when I bought my first PMR-30, it was because .22WMR was way cheaper than 9mm or .38/.380. Not sure if those days are coming back anytime soon – .22LR is readily available and getting to be better priced, but the Magnum stuff is still pretty scarce and outrageous, even nearly 2 years after Govt. responses to Sandy Hook started the ammo stampede. Sadly a bunch of CMR’s might not help the ammo situation… 😉

  3. TOR says:
    November 14, 2014 at 10:04 pm

    We could go down the rabbit hole like Jim R says but I don’t see people volunteering to get shot with .22 mag to prove its inadequacy. My primary concern is that any way we cut it you get rimfire reliability. Of course higher end ammo helps with this issue but does not entirely eliminate it.

    While a 30rd pistol is very tempting and would be a hoot at the range; I am not exactly comfortable with a semi auto rimfire for defense. Now an 8-9 shot revolver of the lightweight variety like an LCR or S&W Aluminum frame might be a useful gun for some people.

  4. SiGraybeard says:
    November 15, 2014 at 6:59 pm

    It’s an impressive looking demo, but one thing bothers me. Are all of those holes from 22WMR? Neither 9 nor 357 magnum shot from a handgun penetrated the plate? Nothing else punched through?

    I’m not saying I think it’s fake, just that I’d expect the 22 magnum holes to be little round holes about the size of the 22LR dimple. Instead the 22WMR holes look enormous.

    Neither 9mm +P or 357 Magnum penetrating the plate is somewhat of a surprise to me. Coincidentally, I shot both of those today; 9 from an XD subcompact and 357Mag from a S&W J frame. Both of them bark considerably louder than the 22 Magnum – but I’ve only fired 22WMR from one of those North American miniature SA revolvers.

    • Oleg Volk says:
      November 15, 2014 at 7:02 pm

      NAA mini is louder than a 22wmr rifle — muzzle is closer to you, exit pressure is higher, and cylinder gap also contributes a lot.

      That’s how the holes looked. 22Mag bullets lost their jackets in the process but not their cores.

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