The Lowly Little Rimfire

It's time once again to take a little break away from the insanity of politics, which often generates more heat than light, and at BEST, is just an exercise in futility.

So I'm just gonna write a little gun post......which.....when you THINK about it, is still "politically related" (or probably WILL be, before this is all over & done with).

Whether you're a gun person or not, it's hard to imagine that there is ANYONE out there who has not shot a 22 at least once in their lifetime. The cartridge and the rifles & pistols chambered for it, have seemingly been around forever. With the coming of the 17-caliber, the little 22 is no longer the smallest caliber, but undoubtedly remains the most popular.

The 22 is usually the FIRST one we ever shoot, and if we decide to OWN a gun in our lives....it's usually the caliber that most of us start out with. Especailly the ladies, who can get out there and "plink" pop cans and such, without having to deal with any intimidating recoil, which is negligent at best, with a 22.

I can't imagine a gun collection WITHOUT a 22 somewhere in it (or several). Some of us guys who collect, shoot, hunt, etc, admittedly (and c'mon guys, you know it's true).....get INTO this "macho" thing every now and then, and invest in some fairly heavy-calibered stuff, "just because"

Example......the little old tried & true 30-30 lever actions continue to take more deer every year in this country than any other rifle, but I have seen guys dole out $1,700 or so for a big 378 Weatherby Magnum and use that "dragon-slayer" in the fall to hunt mule deer!

Hey....whatever "floats your boat......"

I own some heavy stuff myself. I generally carry one of the big magnum pistols with me, such as the one of the 357's or 44's (in a rare moment of "cogneto" I only had a little 380 Walther the other night in the park, so as not to "spook" anyone).

I have rifles you could hunt in AFRICA with, including a 458 Winchester that will try to kick you from here to Grandview! All of my World War II rifles are 30-caliber & up, and most of my pistols range from 38 to 45 caliber.

But to me, there is nothing more enjoyable than kicking around out in the "weeds" on a calm pleasant day with a little scoped 22 rifle, hunting the "ever dangerous" little "whistle-pigs" and jack-rabbits................or.......just a pleasant afternoon of bouncing pop cans around (that come HOME with us afterward), with my wife or grand daughter.

Both wife & grand daughter have 22's own their own, and Donna even has her own 357.

But 22's are a lot of fun......and you can shoot them all day long without bruising your shoulder OR your wallet! (22 ammo is relatively cheap compared with all the other calibers).

You still, of course have to give them all the respect of the BIGGER stuff. The 22 is little, but it'll kill a PERSON in a MINUTE! (Sirhan Sirhan killed Bobby Kennedy with a 22).

Many surgeons have reported that 22 WOUNDS are usually more difficult to treat than LARGER calibers. The bullet is so small, that it doesn't always just blow a clean hole through someone-------those little 36-grain slugs sometimes will hit a rib and get deflected through 3 or 4 OTHER organs and lodged themselves a long way from the initial entry hole.

The "lowly little 22 rimfire" can often prove to be a better caliber than one might think, and while I would never recommend one for self-defense, I WOULD have to include one in a "survival pack" when the time comes. A 22 in competent hands will provide small game, if you're out in the woods in a survival situation, they don't make a lot of noise. Because the cartridges are small, you can easily carry a LOT of them......AND........because the cartridges are small, so is the gun, so IT doesn't take up much room either.

If we had to evacuate out of here for awhile, there are a few "necessary select" guns that are going with us, and you can BET that ONE of them will be a 22.

"THE NUMBERS GAME" can sometimes be deceiving. As a rule, the more caliber, the more it costs, and not everyone has the on-hand money to walk in and fork-over 6 or 7 hundred for a 357 Smith & Wesson or Ruger, so even a SMALL pistol is "better than nothing."

I've had people ask me about the little 25 automatic. It's bigger than the 22, so it MUST be better, right? (and they're relatively cheap)............well, this is one of those areas where "bigger" ISN'T "better!"

The 25 DOES shoot a slightly larger bullet, but the cartridges are VERY short, not much powder, so it has NOWHERE NEAR the speed, range or penetration of the 22. It is nowhere near as good. Period.

A 25 makes a good paperweight, but will not reliably incapacitate ANYTHING. Oh, I suppose if you had nothing ELSE, you might EMPTY THE MAGAZINE into somebody and buy enough time to make it to your car............!

This is not to say that the 25 is USELESS. If your attacker was only wearing a t-shirt, and you managed to put one BETWEEN his ribs and into the heart, you could stop him with a 25. But you just can't do it reliably.

In a way, the 22 is a lot like the old VW Beetle--------it ain't God's gift to humanity, but it's a lot better than people THINK it is.

And guys.......if you invite your wife or girlfriend to go out and shoot with you, hoping she'll get to like it and go out with you OFTEN to share our hobby........start her OUT with a 22.

I know a guy back in Omaha, Nebraska who was stationed right HERE with me back in the 70's. We used to go out and shoot 44 Magnums together. He had a Smith & Wesson Model 29 and I was shooting a Ruger Super Blackhawk at the time.

He was dating a WAF here, and took her out into the sticks someplace to shoot. She had never shot ANYTHING.....not even a 22..........

Well, a 44 Magnum is a handful of pistol if you aren't used to it, how to hold it properly-----stance------grip------breath control......and as I understand it, when she touched it off, it flew out of her hands and just missed taking part of her forehead with it!

He couldn't understand why she wouldn't go out and shoot with him again after that!

When Donna started shooting with me, SHE started with the 22's.....after THAT she worked up the scale when SHE felt comfortable with it.......9mm........38 Special........357 and she's even taken a magazine or two with the 45 automatic. That's pretty much the extent of her "comfort zone", so she'll get no trigger time with the more powerful pistols.

And while she will occasionally take a turn with whatever I'm shooting at the time, (depending on caliber)........most of HER powder-burning is done in 22 caliber. And she enjoys it. She'll shoot until the box is empty, then open up another one!

So if ya want your gal to shoot & enjoy, don't try to "impress" her with the BIG BOOM effect right off the bat, or you'll end up shooting by yourself.

As she became more and more familiar with it.....it was HER idea to have a bigger pistol for herself, and she picked out that Smith & Wesson "Ladysmith" I wrote about sometime back. To ME, it's a good feeling just knowing that she shoots it well, and if I was out of town for some reason & some dork decided to break in, he'd have a lot more to contend with, than just some "dainty little defenseless wife"

HE'LL be wishing the cops were there!

But gettin' back to the little 22............it's a little gun that can fill a lot of roles........from an enjoyable afternoon of plinking diet Pepsi cans......to providing meat over a campfire, if it came to it and you were hard-pressed.

They also make a 22 Magnum.....both in rifles and pistols. Little longer cartridge case....more speed & power, although not always quite as accurate. As most handloaders know, there comes a point over the range spectrum, where the ultra-fast loads tend to "drive" rather than to "place" on a target, and few calibers if any, group their best running at "full throttle."

The 22......the "lowly little rimfire".............it's actually a "lot of bang for the buck, as they say."

PS..............and THIS post shouldn't open up any "can of worms" anywhere!!