The “Better than Nothing” Factor.

[YAMAHASAVAGE]

Although ugly as sin, for those with arthritis or similar conditions, consider the double barrel Thunderstruck. You can use two fingers to pull the trigger and shoot two rounds of.22 mag at the same time.

Eight round capacity. It’s a blast to shoot.

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

Since the O.P. also suggested this gun would serve as home defense in an apartment, I say that senior citizens people with weak hands or newbies who are extremely recoil shy should consider a semi automatic 22 magnum rifle.

Rossi has a .22 WMR rifle that is very light weight. It sells new for just under 300 bucks. It uses 10 round quick detachable magazines.

Youvcould easily have the barrel bobbed down to 16 inches, and, if it were my gun in a home defense role, I would also cut 1.5 inches off the butt stock and attach a set of high visibility fiber optic sights --the kind that you might find intended for mounting on a shotgun to turn it into a turkey gun or slug gun .

10 rounds of 40 grain copper jacketed hollow points screaming out of that barrel at 2000 ft./s would put a hurting on the bad guy. And on the gun like this you could train yourself to shoot 5 rounds in about 1.5 seconds into a bad guys's chest.

 

[greg vess]

My wife has little hand strength and has decided she can most comfortably and accurately shoot a little Ruger SR22.
We’ve tried her on a lot of different platforms and calibers and either the gun is too heavy, recoil too great, or action too stiff for her to work.
She says 10 solid hit of .22 have got to be better than any number of larger caliber misses.
I’m still good with .45 auto.

I had a SR22 and you could unload the mag in the head of a silhouette so fast it would make your head spin and never miss at that.

 

[greg vess]

View attachment 4710484View attachment 4710485

Since the O.P. also suggested this gun would serve as home defense in an apartment, I say that senior citizens people with weak hands or newbies who are extremely recoil shy should consider a semi automatic 22 magnum rifle.

Rossi has a .22 WMR rifle that is very light weight. It sells new for just under 300 bucks. It uses 10 round quick detachable magazines.

Youvcould easily have the barrel bobbed down to 16 inches, and, if it were my gun in a home defense role, I would also cut 1.5 inches off the butt stock and attach a set of high visibility fiber optic sights --the kind that you might find intended for mounting on a shotgun to turn it into a turkey gun or slug gun .

10 rounds of 40 grain copper jacketed hollow points screaming out of that barrel at 2000 ft./s would put a hurting on the bad guy. And on the gun like this you could train yourself to shoot 5 rounds in about 1.5 seconds into a bad guys's chest.

Got one in 22 mag. Shoots smooth and trigger is not to bad it isn't great but it isnt the worse I've seen. Also budget friendly. A two for!

 

[Boogar Presley]

I wouldn't want to get shot by a Red Ryder BB gun let alone something using gun powder as a propellant

 

[lostchild]

I wouldn't want to get shot by a Red Ryder BB gun let alone something using gun powder as a propellant

Wait, you never had bb gun wars as a kid?

 

[greg vess]

What about a 22mag revoler with a real good trigger job. I know almost went deft when coming back from fishing and the driver slammed on the brakes to shoot at a turkey that crossed the road. He shot just outside the door. We were both digging in our ears for five minutes. Holy Moses that was the loudest pistol well second loudest I've heard. I think it was a Ruger with interchangeable cylinders. First loudest was a Ruger Super black hawk in 44 mag. I lost 10% of my hearing permanently from that SOB. On second thought maybe not the best idea.

 

[gh1950]

I haven't read all the other responses, but I'll throw out some thoughts.

.22 rimfire ammo is too unreliable for self defense. No further discussion necessary.

I'm not aware of any good .32 ACP handgun for carry. The options are either tiny, hard-to-shoot-well pocket guns, or heavy blow-back technically obsolete designs (PPK and copies). Beretta might make (or have made) something suitable. I don't pretend to keep up with every new gun option though. And in any case, you'd be better off with .380 where there are a lot more ammo options. What I would want is something in .32 that's like...

...the S&W M&P .380 EZ. Good trigger, good sights, long enough barrel length to get good performance from the .380 cartridge, lightweight, thin, affordable. And of course designed for folks with weaker hand strength. Since it's sold like hotcakes since day one, I have to assume other manufacturers will come out with similar designs.

My relatives and in-laws now have four of the EZs. All love them. I expect I'll be picking one up someday too. But I have a few more years.

If it doesn't have to be an autoloader, there are some revolver options in smaller calibers though-- SP101 in .32 comes to mind.

32 used to be a weapon of war. I believe 32 to be a viable caliber but wouldn't carry one myself because of better options available. 9mm wont make you any deader.

The only 32 caliber I would carry is .327 Federal. .32 ACP..meh.

I have several .32 S&W that I occasionally carry. Up until WW II. it was considered a standard police caliber, and .32 ACP was the standard for military sidearms in many European armies (granted that in those armies the sidearm was more a badge of rank).

I don't think the every situation requires maximum firepower. One of my little .32s can get me through a day of fishing just fine.

I've had people pooh pooh the .32 S&W, and I've offered them the opportunity to let me shoot them with it at 7 yards, and no one has taken me up on it yet.

I'm not getting in a debate - certainly it's not "ideal" for all situations, but there are many situations where it is "good enough".

The fallacy of all these "what's the best pistol caliber" discussions, is that there are only about 3 common pistol calibers that can reliably disable a person with one shot that's not to the central nervous system or brain, and the effectiveness of a handgun will always come down the effectiveness of the shooter.

My little .32 nickle plated I frames are just the cutest things you have ever seen, and will fit in any pocket,

I might add that "back in the day" when I starting working, the "thutty two" was the caliber of choice among certain "sporting elements" because of it's small size and concealabiliy, but demonstrated lethality.


Footnote:

I have purchased a Diamonback 9mm that's in the same size class as my .32s. I'm giving it a work out on reliability because it feels like a cap gun. My LGS says they have had no problems with it, so I'm keeping an open mind. Sure doesn't have a S&W trigger on it though.

 

[mattp38]

View attachment 4710484View attachment 4710485

Since the O.P. also suggested this gun would serve as home defense in an apartment, I say that senior citizens people with weak hands or newbies who are extremely recoil shy should consider a semi automatic 22 magnum rifle.

Rossi has a .22 WMR rifle that is very light weight. It sells new for just under 300 bucks. It uses 10 round quick detachable magazines.

Youvcould easily have the barrel bobbed down to 16 inches, and, if it were my gun in a home defense role, I would also cut 1.5 inches off the butt stock and attach a set of high visibility fiber optic sights --the kind that you might find intended for mounting on a shotgun to turn it into a turkey gun or slug gun .

10 rounds of 40 grain copper jacketed hollow points screaming out of that barrel at 2000 ft./s would put a hurting on the bad guy. And on the gun like this you could train yourself to shoot 5 rounds in about 1.5 seconds into a bad guys's chest.

Nice thread revival!