My daughter and I were shooting my Marlin .22 rifle the other day. She was having a blast just pulling the trigger and blasting away rapid fire
Was she
hitting anything on purpose ? If she were able to put all 15 or so rounds on a paper plate set at 7 yds in, say, 3 seconds, that'd be more meaningful regarding self defense.
I got to thinking that if there were a .22 handgun that could hold and reliably feed 20+ rounds it might make a potential self-defense weapon, particularly for the extremely recoil adverse.
Anything that someone can hit with is a "potential self defense weapon" but the larger you go, the better chance you have. If you cannot go larger, then the more precise you need to be. Quick shots on target are key, no matter what the caliber.
I was imagining myself on the receiving end of my daughter's onslaught, and I know 20 rounds of rapid fire .22 would certainly cause me to reorder my to-do list. And isn't that ultimately what defensive carry is all about, making the bad guy stop doing what he is doing?
But you're not some big burly, drugged up attacker bent on causing harm. As I just said, the smaller you go, the more precise you need to be. If a .22 is chosen for whatever reason, then face/throat shots would work much better than spraying a volley all over the place.
Killing is not the same as stopping. If one were able to put 20 rounds into a 350 lb guy named Bubba who's strung out on drugs, he well may die as a result...........but when? Before or after he rapes/kills the girl?
My general rule concerning a self defense gun: Go with the largest caliber you can control.
(I may start a thread about what "control" means.....)