Velocity of a 22LR .vs. 22 WMR out of snub nose

[rocky_taco]

Looking for a CCW gun for my dad.  He's "old" :-) and just had surgery on his right wrist.  He has to wear a brace and has limited wrist motion from a titanium "spider" that was screwed into his wrist after the removal of a couple little bones in the hand.  Obviously he can't handle any recoil so a 38 special is out of the question.  I'm looking at S&W 22's and while I think the 22 mag would be a better choice stopping power wise, I'm not sure the velocity out of a short barrel will be significantly more than a 22 LR... if that is the case, I would tend to lean toward the 22LR...  But, if the 22 mag is significantly better for self defense, I think he could handle it.

So, the question:  What is better for an old fart with a bad wrist taking into consideration stopping power from a S&W snub nose... a 22LR or a 22 mag? 

[Win 73]

I used to have a NAA mini revolver in .22 magnum.  I ran a comparison test between it and a Beretta Minx in .22 short and an Iver Johnson TP22 in .22 lr.  The testing medium was standard 1 inch pine boards cut to fit in a slotted frame.  The results amazed me.  The .22 lr penetrated the most.  Guess which penetrated least?.......The .22 mag!  That's right, even the .22 short penetrated more than the .22 mag!  Granted, the mini revolver was the 1 inch barrel model.  I even called CCI and asked them about it.  They told me the .22 mag was designed as  a rifle cartridge and used a slow burning powder.  That short barrel just didn't allow it to develop adequate velocity.  From what I was able to determine at the time (about 10 years ago), it took about a four inch barrel for the magnum to equal the long rifle.  In a longer barrel, especially in a rifle, the magnum is considerably more powerful than the long rifle.

[rocky_taco]

S&W 317 in 22LR it is.  Thanks for the info.  I was kind of wondering if a snub was long enough to burn the extra powder in a 22mag.  Now I just have to figure out a good self defence 22LR ammo...   Not exactly something I ever thought I'd be looking in to.  But, I'm sure my dad will apreciate it..

[Win 73]

I have a 317.  I got it for my wife.  She doesn't like the recoil of even my .38.  But she shoots the 317 just fine.  I figure eight rounds of a good .22 lr should do the job for her.

[rocky_taco]

  I figure eight rounds of a good .22 lr should do the job for her.

What's the best 22LR ammo you have found for defense?

[Win 73]

Since the 317 is an eight shot, I would recommend alternating four high velocity hollowpoints like Stingers and four 40 grain solids.  I think that would give the best combination of expansion and penetration possible.  With a .22 you never shoot just once in a self defense situation.  You might even need to empty it.  With a .22 you need to practice a lot because shot placement becomes even more important.

[randyb]

How about a .32 Tomcat?  No real recoil, better ballistics out of a short barrel and the pop-up barrel would make loading easier.

[S.S.]

There is a round called a Quick shock that is quite impressive.
It splits into 3 (normally) pieces on impact and produces 3 different
wound channels. It will leave multiple exit wounds on rabbit sized game
so the fragments penetrate pretty well. However, I do not know how clothing
will effect this on a person?

[44 Man]

The quick shok would be fine on game, but for defence, I would prefer bullet wt. and penetration.  40 grainer it is!  44 Man

[Del]

If you've already decided on the S&W 317 in .22 lr, I'll save my .22lr & .22 mag chronograph data for another time.

Ammo suggestions for your dad's revolver:
Winchester Power Points - these have proven VERY effective on critters, noticably better performance then other .22lr ammo.
CCI Stingers - has a fairly long history of being a hard hitting .22lr round
Winchester Silhouette - a 42 grn SWC profile .22 lr ammo, also pretty darn effective on critters (have a S&W revolver that prefers this)

best of luck!
Del