The next video is not going to be popular with many, but I would submit the fact that mafia hit-men long preferred .22s for their assassinations. A big part of that was, admittedly, because of the comparatively lesser noise report of that ammunition and the obviously unwanted attention attracted by a louder firearm; but, it was also because the .22 caliber round is known to bounce-around inside people’s skulls, making minced-meat out of their brains. It can be very lethal with either proper shot-placement and/or multiple shots. A .22 in a home invader’s leg probably isn’t gonna save your life, but 7 of them in the guy’s chest probably will. A shotgun is still the best home defense gun, in my opinion, but some folks aren’t physically-capable of firing a shotgun or a high-caliber handgun, so we need to look at other possibilities.
A bit of bad language in some of the videos below, so beware.
http://www.backwoodssurvivalblog.com/2013/01/shtf-10-reasons-to-own-22lr-firearm-and.html
Brilliant for bunnies, but for size I would use a PPK with hollow points for home defense.
.22LR hollow points randomly inaccurate nearly as much as .22shorts.
Inaccurate? Watch this shot, 175 yards with the pistol upside down, I love this guy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X9xSCtZVLg
If you can’t find a 22 rifle check this guy out, I know him, it’s me. Don’t pay any attention to the title , I had my reasons. http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=326245886
When the final gun grabs occur, the people at your door will be in body armor. A .22 LR with a 30 rd mag will do nothing, unless you are skilled to put all bullets into the faces and hands of your targets (I witnessed a skilled cop do the latter: a single .357 Mag bullet shot the gun out of the baddie’s hand). I used to hit running bunny’s at 50 yds with a .22 LR, and always reflected on how much easier a target a man would be. The .22 LR has it’s uses, since there is no recoil. A pistol with .22 shorts would be good for walk-by “work”. For SHTF, a .22-250 would be a good choice. Work up loads that attain 4000 fps, and that little bullet will melt through ceramic body armor. Using a milspec scope, zero it at 150 yds, and you have a flat shooter past 300 yds (3 football fields). I used to shoot a Rem 700 in this caliber, with no noticeable kick (at least compared to a .308 or .300 Win Mag). This is a true multipurpose round. I took a pronghorn at approx 300 yds, and he barely made 20 yds before dropping dead. I would save my .22 LR for small game, and unarmored assailants, and the .22-250 for the more difficult targets.