Can someone die if fired with a .22 caliber rifle?

Question

Currently have a 12ga and a .22 caliber marlin model 60 rifle. However the shotgun is to big for my wife and she knows how to handle the .22 caliber but for protection purposes is it enough to stop a criminal...it does have 15 shots.......?

Answer 1

A .22 can be lethal but more than likely not.

A .22 is by no means a defensive weapon....do not put your loved ones lives in a situation where a .22 is the only thing between them and harm.

Get your wife comfortable with the 12ga or buy a handgun of at least 9mm or .38cal. AND PRACTICE!!!!


EDIT:
You folks who are using all this caution about being prosecuted for killing an intruder, stop and listen to the ignorance you are spouting off.....

A guy breaks into your home, you assume he's there to do you harm because he probably is. Kill him and deal with any possible prosecution later. It's much better to be charged with killing a criminal than to be tied up and watch you wife and daughter raped and beaten. I know a guy this happened to and he wishes he would have had a gun.

EDIT: A .22 is not even in the same class as an M16 .223. Total lack of information on firearms.

The MYTH that a .22 will go through a bullet-proof vest or that it "bounces around inside the head/body" is just hogwash. Yes, .22s are used by hit men, but the muzzle is placed below the ear at contact range.

Answer 2

A .22 caliber rifle or pistol will kill a human with one shot if the aim is correct and sometimes when just hitting the mass of the body. In many cases just the gun shot will scare the individual away but do not count on that always being the situation. Just make sure your wife practices with the gun and can hit a target in the dark and is able to hip fire with accuracy.

Be careful about when using deadly force to stop an intruder. Where I am from the use of deadly force is only allowed by the home owner if the intruder has a weapon and pursues you to the farthest point in your home away from the point of entry and you have no other alternative. Check with your local police department about using a gun for home defense in order to keep you and your wife in the clear. Another thing is make sure your wife shoots to kill because if she just wounds the intruder you and her both can be sued for the injury the bullet causes, the medical cost and for an income for the rest of the intruders life.

I am not an anti-gun person, I am a realist and a Criminal Justice Major. Unfortunately the laws that are written to protect us also protect the criminal.

Answer 3

Make no mistake, the .22 rifle, pistol or revolver are... Deadly. Worse still, the .22 tends to have only enough energy to penetrate the human torso then bounce around in there wrecking all kinds of havoc with the internal organs. The only problem with a .22 as a defensive weapon is that it might not stop a determined aggressor quickly enough.

See about getting her either a .38 Special revolver with personal defense loads or possibly a .9mm Glock Model 19 (again, loaded with quality defensive ammo). In a pinch your .22 will work. Remember, any bullet will go through dry wall so always use caution and not point a gun at anything you/she is not willing to destroy.

H

Answer 4

If you want something better for home defense for the wife, try a 20ga or .410 shotgun.

Yes, the .22 can bring down an intruder, but as others said, it requires much more marksmanship than a shotgun.

I have the same rifle in pre-safety, so it holds 18+1. The advantage to these semi-auto guns is that you can really spray with them. Shooting from the hip would be a lot easier with a laser sight; they can be had on eBay for about $20.

Answer 5

Yes and no! A head shot using .22 cal. is about the ONLY way to guarantee a kill in that caliber. Any other place is just a pain in the A$$!!!! Plus, I am fairly certain that rifles cannot be used as a concealed weapon! Only semi-automatic pistols and revolvers to my knowledge. I personally use a .40cal. S & W Sigma 2nd generation myself and have had no problems nor any complaints with this caliber. I do have to say though that 10mm is a bit better though!

Answer 6

The .22LR will definitely kill an assailant. What it isn't so good at doing is discouraging them from further action, i.e. it's not guaranteed to stop them right away, but if the .22LR is all you've got, then it's what you use.

The best way to stop an assailant with a .22LR is to shoot often and shoot accurately. If your rifle functions reliably with them, load it with hypervelocity hollow-points like the CCI Stinger or the Remington Yellow Jacket.

If home-defense is a real concern for you, and you're looking for an easy handling gun, then it may be worth the time of you and your wife to take a look at the old standby, the .357 Magnum double-action revolver, as it shoots both easy-handling .38 Special, as well as .357 Magnum loads, and both are better medicine against dangerous assailants than the .22LR is, since it takes fewer bullets to discourage an assailant from further action, and having fewer holes and bullet fragments in the bad guy makes it easier for surgeons afterwards to successfully treat him, which means less much less legal liability in the long-run.

Answer 7

I have seen individuals die from a BB gun in my ER. It comes down to a matter of where the bullet impacts the body. Just remember if your going to pull a gun you must be prepared to use it as one police officer has told me...because if not then your at risk for the criminal taking the gun from her and using it against her. I own a 22g (8 long shot) and I feel confident if aimed at the chest I will stop the perp!! Head moves to much and abdomen causes more of a problem later with infection but might not stop someone from attacking if they are shot there. Remember that owning a gun does not give you the right to take someones life or cause harm in most states...if you attend the police course on guns (which is costly) they train you on appropriate times to fire your gun and will general help with any legal representation of training if you have an incident and are brought up on charges. More legal issues with the use of a gun then you probably realize and I recommend that you check with your local law enforcement in regards to this also.

Answer 8

If some one shot me fifteen times with a .22 I think I'd stop. But yes a .22 can be very fatal, in fact more so than other rounds. Ive even heard of them penetrating bullet proof vests. Its not that is moving that fast, but that its small and can penetrate the fibers of the vest.

Answer 9

.22 caliber is very lethal in regards to interior damage due to its high richochet capability. The problem with the shells as a self-defense mechanism is that it has very,very low shock capability. Shocking the central nervous system of your threat and having them live through it for trial is much better than having to shoot them 15 times and risk thm hurting you in the process or speculation by a grand jury. Going to a grand jury is mandatory after any shooting or self-defense with a lethal weapon.

Answer 10

It will kill, but it will not reliably stop. The possibility, no matter the degree, of killing your murderer is not especially assuring. If you're stuck in a high-crime area, perhaps you could find her a coach gun or a short pump gun. You could cut the stock down to fit if she had her own gun. I personally think the coach guns are great for ladies who aren't particularly interested in firearms. Two short 12-bore bbls. offers plenty of stopping power, and they're very intuitive, needing very little training for proper use.