Reflections Upon .22 Caliber Handguns

I'm not much into hiking or backpacking per se but ever since I was a kid, I have enjoyed knocking about in the woods whenever the opportunity arose. Long ago, I found the companionship of a .22 to be convenient for dispatching snakes and other vermin and the source of many fun, impromptu plinking sessions. At first, my .22 of choice was limited to the only one available: an old Remington Model 33 single shot rifle that had been handed down from my great grandfather. A few years later, it was upgraded to a Ruger 10/22 and at the age of fifteen, I passed the point of no return, acquiring my first .22 handgun as a birthday present. Since then, I have tried to keep some type of a .22 pistol or revolver on hand and I have had the opportunity to own and shoot many good ones and a couple of bad ones.

My first handgun was a New Model Ruger Single Six, a convertible chambered in .22 Long Rifle with an extra cylinder for the substantially more powerful .22 Magnum cartridge. This single action revolver came from Montgomery Ward in May of 1982, just prior to my fifteenth birthday and being presented with that yellow and black box, emblazoned with the Sturm, Ruger logo, was one of the most exciting moments of my life. After getting it into my hands, I could barely wait to shoot it. At the time, I was a decent shot with a .22 rifle and I naturally assumed that I would shoot this new revolver equally well. Suffice it to say that, though I encountered a learning curve that was only cured by a lot of practice and a liberal supply of ammunition, I was thereafter hooked on handguns.

My next .22 caliber handgun came just a couple of years later, a beautiful Smith & Wesson Model 651 in .22 WMR that was also purchased from Montgomery Ward. This light and handy, double action kit gun, with a four inch barrel, was much less bulky than the six and one half inch Single Six and it could have promised great potential, had it not had an atrocious trigger and been prone to consistently misfire on one chamber. As a result, it spent much of its time just sitting pretty in its dark blue Smith and Wesson box and in time, I discovered a Charter Arms Pathfinder in .22 Long Rifle to be a more reliable, compact companion for the woods. With it's three inch barrel, it also carried conveniently in my hip pocket.

One day, I entered a gun store and saw a used Beretta 70S in .22 Long Rifle. I picked it up, fell in love with it on the spot, and made arrangements to acquire it. A .22 Long Rifle built on a .380 ACP platform, it had a bulky thumb rest grip and an adjustable rear sight, which made it more importable in the eyes of the BATF. An attractive, exceedingly accurate, rather compact pistol, it replaced the Pathfinder, becoming my back pocket pistol for the woods. As a matter of fact, for awhile, it was the only .22 caliber handgun that I bothered to shoot and it flawlessly digested thousands of rounds of ammunition.

Back then, I was convinced that a revolver was more reliable than a semi-automatic pistol, so I decided to test the Beretta 70S to see just how long it would remain reliable without regular cleaning. .22 rimfire cartridges are notoriously nasty due to "dirty", heavily fouling powders and outside lubricated bullets so I felt that I would be getting jams after a few hundred rounds. Over a period of time, I shot the little Beretta, put it away, and shot it some more. The action began to feel gritty and the chamber got nasty, but it continued to function reliably. I grew weary of my test, losing count after 3,000 rounds. When the little pistol refused to fail, I gave it the good cleaning that it well deserved.

I started regularly shooting centerfire revolvers and I began reloading and casting my own bullets in order to feed them. For awhile, I felt that I had outgrown my .22s and some, including the wonderful little Beretta, were foolishly traded to acquire bigger and better things. One day, I came to the realization that I was spending more time pulling the handle of a Lyman turret press than I was pulling a trigger and I decided that a full sized .22 caliber revolver would not be bad to practice with. So, I bought a Smith & Wesson Model 18 with a four inch barrel, and a couple of speed loaders and began shooting drills with it.

The Model 18 was an excellent revolver that handled like its more powerful, K-Frame counterparts, such as the famous Combat Masterpiece, and provided the legendary accuracy of the Model 17. It perfectly fit my "Border Patrol" holster, the type popularized by Bill Jordan, and its speed loaders were right at home in the pouch that typically carried those for a .38 Special or .357 Magnum. Efficiently speed loading a .22 revolver can be quite a challenge due to the small chambers so the practice that the Model 18 provided proved to valuable on the combat course.

Shooting the Model 18 provided the realization that the .22 was more than just a plinker or a toy for the woods. With this in mind, I bought a Ruger Government Model Target and tried my hand at some Bullseye shooting. Bullseye requires much precision and rigid methodology and with the coaching of a distinguished, elderly gentleman who once competed at Camp Perry, my Ruger and I, with some high dollar Eley ammunition, were holding our own in an environment filled with High Standards and Smith & Wesson Model 41s. This experience refined my shooting but I ultimately found it tedious and boring so I took up shooting bowling pins with a Ruger GP-100 in .357 Magnum and once again put my .22s on the back burner.

Fortunes sometimes change and a once impressive gun collection had to be pared down and the reloading presses put into storage. Shooting became limited to occasional practice with centerfire defensive pistols. One day, I stumbled upon an Armscorp P-22, an Argentine copy of the Colt Woodsman, for $150. I looked it over and turned my nose up at it. A short time later, it went on sale for $125 and I thought "what the heck?" I bought it and some cheap ammo and I was pleasantly surprised. It jammed occasionally, probably due to the rather fragile magazines, but the accuracy was astounding for such a cheap pistol and I was once again shooting a .22 on a regular basis.

A friend of mine owns a large piece of land and after spending some time shooting on it, I wanted a compact .22 that I could drop in my pocket and carry conveniently when I went exploring. I came across some pistols that had been seized by a law enforcement agency and then sold to a gun store. The prices were quite attractive and I bought a Beretta 950 BS in .22 Short and a Beretta 21 A in .22 Long Rifle. The Beretta 950 BS delivered amazing accuracy from a pistol that could be eclipsed by a pack of cigarettes. In comparison, the larger Beretta 21A was more accurate but its chunky profile made it less appealing than its smaller cousin when it was slipped into a front pants pocket.

While I was satisfied with both Berettas, I stumbled upon a little money and, perhaps recalling the Charter Arms Pathfinder and the Beretta 70S, I became enamored with a Smith and Wesson Model 317. Selling the Beretta 21 A to help fund the transaction, I purchased one at an exorbitant retail price. Tucking away nicely in my hip pocket, I felt that its ultra light weight, adjustable sights, and J-Frame size would make it a perfect companion in the woods. Instead, its mediocre accuracy and tendency to misfire on two cylinders, with every ammunition that I tried, led me to regret selling the Beretta 21 A. So, I began regularly carrying the 950 BS on my excursions and the Smith & Wesson Model 317 quickly found a new home.

I have currently reached a point where I am without a .22 caliber handgun and I am shopping for another one. After being a pistol shooter for nearly thirty years, I have come to regard a quality .22 as a necessity and I will soon purchase another one. I have shot several Ruger 22/45s, which provide a lot of bang for the buck, and I have set my sights on one. However, if I stumble across a Beretta 70 S at a reasonable price, I will jump on it without thinking twice. Who knows, I might try something else altogether different and add to the list of .22 caliber handguns that I have found to be enjoyable over the years.

The .22 for Defense

In Defensive Firearms for Tight Budgets, I mentioned that handguns and rifles chambered for the .22 Long Rifle cartridge were not ideal for defense but could be pressed into service in an emergency. Since the suitability of a .22 as a primary weapon for defense is hotly debated with strong opinions on both sides of the aisle, I wanted to address this subject more fully.

On one hand, the modest little .22 has killed its fair share of people and game over the years and it has been used successfully by assassins, poachers, and citizens of every station for purposes that far exceed its limitations. On the other hand, its rimfire primer is more subject to failure than centerfire primers and its humble ballistics cannot be depended upon to produce a one shot stop on either a human assailant or a large, aggressive animal. Yet, ever since Smith and Wesson introduced the Model 1 in 1857, small .22 caliber handguns have been rather popular, despite their limitations, for those desiring a light and unobtrusive repeating firearm for defense.

Many of these handguns have been (and still are) quite inexpensive in comparison to larger, more powerful firearms, which makes them easier to acquire and their modest recoil makes them rather easy to control. One of my favorites, the Beretta 950 BS, in .22 Short, is no longer in production but they are often found used for around $150. I have found them to be quite satisfactory for carrying in a trouser pocket. The accompanying photograph shows eight shots fired from a Beretta 950 BS at seven yards (twenty-one feet), offhand.

If a .22 Long Rifle (or the less powerful .22 Short) is used for defense, its limitations must be understood. While accuracy is important in any defensive situation, it is critical when relying upon small, relatively slow .22 caliber bullets. A single, well placed shot may not immediately stop a determined attacker and a round carelessly lobbed towards center mass will be even less likely to end a confrontation; thus, multiple well placed shots in rapid succession may be necessary. Personally, if possible, I would eschew center mass with a .22 and deliver my rounds to the assailant's face, particularly the area between the eyebrows and the cheeks. Penetration to the brain would be an added bonus but at the very least, a blinded attacker will be less effective in carrying out his assault.

While it is prudent to be able to quickly clear the action and chamber another round with any semi-automatic that is used for defensive purposes, it is especially critical with a .22 because rimfire primers are more prone to misfires than are centerfire primers. Some semi-automatic pistols in .22 caliber, like the Beretta 950 BS and the Beretta Bobcat do not have extractors. Though they are well made pistols and I am quite fond of both, a misfire with either at an inopportune time could prove fatal since clearing the action requires tipping the barrel to eject the bad cartridge before another cartridge can be chambered; this is a more time consuming process than simply racking the slide. Perhaps a double strike will detonate the offensive cartridge in such an instance but I have never trusted a cartridge after it has failed once.

Having a firearm readily available and being able to consistently hit the target with it are two absolute necessities if one intends to successfully use a gun for self defense. While .22s are not ideal defensive weapons, they are affordable, available in easily carried configurations, and their ammo is cheap enough to allow regular practice. By understanding their limitations and applying good marksmanship skills, the .22 rimfire can prove useful for defense. Though I have heard many state that they would not stake their life on a .22, I have seen many owners of $1,000 plus Government Models in .45 ACP demonstrate that they would be far better served by carrying a club for defense due to poor marksmanship skills, little commitment to practice, and sensitivity to recoil.