Smallest Effective Caliber for Self-defense

[cmhbob]

What is the smallest caliber gun you trust to protect yourself? My personal favorite defense gun has always been a Beretta Jetfire in 22 short.

Over all the years I've been hiking I never leave without it in my pocket. Of course we all know too the first rule when hiking in the wilderness is to use the "Buddy System". For those of you who may be unfamiliar with this it means you NEVER hike alone, you bring a friend or companion, even an in-law, that way if something happens there is someone to go get help.

I remember one time hiking with my brother-in-law in northern Alberta. Out of nowhere came this huge brown bear and man was she mad. We must have been near one of her cubs. Anyway, if I had not had my little Jetfire I'd sure not be here today.

Just one shot to my brother-in-law's knee cap and I was able to escape by just walking at a brisk pace.

 

[Steven Harder]

Yer' just another flippin' criminal . . .








Everyone knows it's against the law to feed the bears! :stop:

 

[bfreak72]

ha ha good one


a 22 is always a very effective my wife carry's one everywhere she goes

 

[Firefighterchen]

To answer the first question: A .22 since that is the smallest caliber I own. If it is in my hands, I trust it will do it's job if I do my job.

 

[DFI]

Shot placement will trump caliber every single time...

Any caliber will do the job if you place enough rounds where they have to go. Here's an informative article that addresses that very subject...
Link Removed

 

[james48g]

DFI, Enjoyed the Survival Blog article, thanks for posting it.

 

[jg1967]

Good story, chuckle. Personally the smallest I go is 380 ACP and 9mm in my EDC.

 

[geezer117]

When you say smallest, I think of the gun, not the cartridge. I always carry the NAA revolver in .22 magnum. It is so small and light, it drops into my pocket and I forget about it the rest of the day. The .22 magnum at close range is an effective choice. It is very loud, so it has that advantage. I equipped it with a laser sight, and I can put five into center of mass as fast as I can fire, at seven yards. I carry it in a cut-down sunglasses case.

Now, when I know I'm going away from the neighborhood, I change to the .32 KelTec with laser, pocket carry. Because these two are so small and light, they are always with me whatever I'm wearing, I can hit with them, and I'm confident in them. That's 95% of the battle right there.

 

[gregory_england]

Not smart hiker!!!

Aren't handguns illegal in Canada? Especially for foreigners? Not to mention you would have had to cross the border at a boarder crossing unless you went by boat and then hikes over to Alberta. I'm with the other guy, your a law breaker who jeopardizes the rights of the rest of us with you not so smart actions, then to top it off you blog about it like your bragging. Ever heard of bear mace? Just saying, I'd like to take a sidearm on hunts up there too- but it's illegal!

 

[twilightsfury]

Funny cmhbob. DFI, I read that article and it was very informative. thank you for posting it.

 

[Stan45]

12 gauge with slugs

 

[localgirl]

Aren't handguns illegal in Canada? Especially for foreigners? Not to mention you would have had to cross the border at a boarder crossing unless you went by boat and then hikes over to Alberta. I'm with the other guy, your a law breaker who jeopardizes the rights of the rest of us with you not so smart actions, then to top it off you blog about it like your bragging. Ever heard of bear mace? Just saying, I'd like to take a sidearm on hunts up there too- but it's illegal!

Omigosh! It's joke! Like round here, we say take your fat or unfit friends hiking. You never have to worry about the grizzlies so long as you can faster than your friend!

 

[Firefighterchen]

Aren't handguns illegal in Canada? Especially for foreigners? Not to mention you would have had to cross the border at a boarder crossing unless you went by boat and then hikes over to Alberta. I'm with the other guy, your a law breaker who jeopardizes the rights of the rest of us with you not so smart actions, then to top it off you blog about it like your bragging. Ever heard of bear mace? Just saying, I'd like to take a sidearm on hunts up there too- but it's illegal!

did you really not understand the story in the OP?...sigh... who again is detrimental to our rights? Also, you do realize the other guy knew it was a joke?

 

[wuzfuz]

I recognized immediately that cm bob was joking, but some would be slow enough to think he was being serious. Personally, I would never go below .380 ACP, or as it is known in Europe, 9 mm Kurz The .22 can kill, but it is a lousy stopping round. The .22, especially in the short loading is even less than the .25 ACP. The Chairman, Jeff Cooper, trained OSS agents in WWIIten had female agents inquire about carrying a .25 auto. I loved his response. If it makes you feel better, carry it, but don 't load it. If you load it, you are likely to draw it, and if you draw it, you are likely to fire it. If you fire it, you might hit someone, and if you do, and they find out about it, they will be madder than hell.