Brutal! His take down of Winchester Silvertip it is. Harrell is good at eventually getting down to brass tacks (the first 10:30 is him shooting 5 rounds each of 4 different .22 LR through 3 different guns over a chronograph, I skipped over that. After each shot he turns with a dramatic “Shatneresque” pause and announces the number in feet per second). The gist of the video was that the “optimization” of the Silvertip for handguns was all marketing hype. Those 3 other rounds on the board (mini-mags, Stinger and Yellow Jacket) all outperformed it. And in most cases at a lot less cost.

The point of this post was not so much about this ammo, but the concept of the .22 LR round as a defensive round in general. There is a very vocal cadre on YouTube that vehemently hates (with every fiber of their being) the idea of using it as a self-defense round. Its like dang, let it go. If somebody wants to use it, let ’em use it. To me their argument is from the wrong perspective. They simply look at the diameter of the bullet and say it is too small. Do they think the human body is as tough and rugged as a moose? I can assure them its not.

Killing a human is quite easy. There cannot be a mammal with a thinner hide and a more flimsy skeletal frame. Not to mention as a defensive round you have to throw in the “fear factor”, you start shooting at a human with that loud bang and their flight response kicks in. They’re not going to hang around to find out if you’re shooting a “respectable” caliber at them or not (it has to be above .380 you cad!). They keep saying things like, “If you shoot them with a .22 you’ll just make them angry!” Or the time and again dis-proven argument, “A winter coat will stop a .22!” My main hope is that someone new to shooting will not buy into this stuff.

As a doctor will invariably say, “Emergency Rooms are filled with .22 gunshot victims who never make it home.” I tend more to believe another YouTube video where a guy explains as a teenager he accidentally shot himself in the foot with a .22. He said it was the most painful thing he had ever experienced and put him on the ground screaming. I say all this because a .22 is a very smooth shooter. The lack of recoil makes it a very accurate weapon. And they generally are infinitely concealable. Where it fails isn’t in the diameter of the bullet, its the less than reliable ignition of the cartridge. That’s where a .25 acp is better. Its also a very smooth shooter, but it has reliable centerfire ignition. Wouldn’t you know it, there may not be any current production .25’s on the market!

The idea that a .22 round is just going to bounce off an assailant is ridiculous. These guys may be great with guns, but they don’t get how frail the human body is.

[All this is irrelevant, as neither the Silvertip or a similar round the Federal Punch is even available! The GD ammo manufacturers have found it more profitable to play the shortage game.]