.22LR vs .32 ACP?

[Model12Win]

Which is the better fighting cartridge in a small auto?

Some say the .22 is better. Others say the .32 ACP is better.

Needless to say, both are pretty weak but which one would you rather have in your pocket?

Keep in mind this is for pocket sized guns, not rifles.

Thoughts?

[JMag1]

Neither is a fighting cartridge, but the .32 is more likely to get the job done at personal space distances. Centerfire cartridges are much more reliable in ignition, too.


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[JERRYS.]

center fire over rim fire.

[briandg]

In a tiny little striker fired pistol with very little mass in spring and firing pin you run a chance of light strikes. A primer is thought to be far more reliable than a rimfire ignition. If you buy one that has sloppy tolerances you are at risk for misfires.

Think back, how often have you had misfires with .22lr? How often have you had misfires with a centerfire hand gun?

Then you have the dead obvious point that the .32 is probably going to do more damage in most cases.

I would also like to point out that neither of them are within my personal acceptable limits.

There are people who believe that doing some damage is better than none at all, and that is good enough. That putting a hole in someone is somehow all that matters, and that the situation will sort itself out somehow.

That just isn't true enough. a guy with a big knife can do as much, maybe more damage to his opponent. What would you have, a six inch blade with 1 inch of width?

If you look around, ask, try to find authoritative answers, you are going to hear that they are both capable of going deeply into the body, but only because they are smooth and small. They are going to do so little damage as they pass that the pain of the shot could possibly even go unnoticed.

If you look at it from the perspective of neither one is capable of doing serious, disabling damage, the only question is what will be more reliable and that will be the .32.

[Sgt127]

No brainer. .32 acp. Reliable center fire round vs rimfire. I’ll even take .25 over .22 LR. And, there’s very little difference in bullet diameter between those two but, Center fire wins.

[44 AMP]

Which is the better fighting cartridge in a small auto?

Sorry, I can't say, I've never been able to get mine to fight each other!

Most of your answers will probably point out how neither is good enough, and you need something else, something bigger, etc. Which, I feel, is true, but tis not answering your question.

Ok, here's my take on the answer. First off, staying with either the .22 or the .32 and saving the "you need something bigger" for another discussion.

#1) FORGET POWER
neither round is significantly more powerful than the other. Arguing over a handful of ft/lbs is just an argument with no practical effect on the target.

#2) bullets; Size does matter, but size alone isn't decisive. Both can be had with hollowpoints, BUT expansion from a pocket pistol is ...problematic. If your HP opens up, wonderful, but don't count on it happening when you need it most. Murphy is alive and still in business. AND, most .32 ammo you find on the shelves is FMJ. Which, in some ways is actually a good thing, and in other ways, ...not so much.

#3) FORGET all the bullcrap about a .22 "bouncing around and doing terrific damage. It MAY happen, but its a random thing, and not something you can count on.

#4) now we get to the things that DO matter...and the big one here is RELIABILITY. For a defensive round, the most important thing is not how big, or how fast, it is, or isn't.

The most important thing is that it FEEDS and fires as close to 100% of the time as possible. IF the round doesn't feed reliably, then all else is moot. Even ignition reliability (as mentioned by others) isn't as important, because if the round doesn't get into the chamber, firing isn't happening.

There is nothing else on earth as prone to jamming as .22LR semi auto pistols. And, prone to misfires if it does feed. And, the pocket pistols are the worst offenders in this regard, generally. Ammo matters and the gun matters. And if they don't have a love/love relationship with each other, (which can happen but you've usually got to kiss a lot of frogs before finding the Prince), then its a poor choice for defensive use. Lots of .22s will run ok, or even well on a particular brand of ammo, and choke on a different one.

SO, since neither round is going to win the fight from power alone, what matters most is that your gun AND ammo, put a hole where you want it, WHEN you need it, EVERY SINGLE TIME.

A .32, being centerfire, and using jacketed bullets is more likely to do that than a .22LR. Putting that hole where you want it is dependent on A)the gun working reliably, and B) your ability to use it well enough.

Small pocket guns generally have little or no sights, and considerably less than match grade triggers. Balanced against the expected range of use, which is close, very close, or contact!

Both the .22 and the .32 are able to kill, but their ability to stop an attacker short of DRT is less than stellar. Everything jams, everything can misfire, but the .22 is more likely to, than the .32, and for that reason alone, the .32 is a better choice for personal defense.

My personal .32 ACP is a Nazi marked Mauser HSc. It is bigger than many current pocket .32s, and proportional to its size, it weighs as much as a Tiger tank! I chose it over smaller, lighter guns because #1) I have it , and #2) when all else fails its a hefty impact weapon!

So, between a .22 and a .32, I choose the .32 but only because it is more likely to feed and fire when you need it most, not because of any significant difference in down range effect.

Hope this helps.

[CDW4ME]

Which caliber offers bullets that penetrate 12-18'' and consistently expand?

Why "bet your life" on a caliber / bullet that doesn't perform well, I won't.

There are pocket 380's and 9mm, both of which offer bullets (380 has a couple) that meet 12-18'' and consistently expand.

[seeker_two]

To throw a variable in the mix, what if the .22lr is in a revolver (LCR, NAA Mini] instead of a semiautomatic?

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[pblanc]

I would probably go with the .22 lr revolver. I have very few misfires these days with quality 22 lr ammunition. With bricks of bulk pack ammo, I expect 2 or 3 with every brick.

[FITASC]

If you can fit a .32 in your pocket, you can fit a .380

[tallball]

I would carry the 32 over the 22 every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

But I DO carry a similarly-sized 380... because it's similarly sized.

[Roamin_Wade]

Yea, I'd have to go with the 22LR. A .22LR is deadly. Plus, with the smaller diameter it has the best chances of going in further. I would prefer it be in a revolver, like an LCR, etc..

[TailGator]

Think back, how often have you had misfires with .22lr? How often have you had misfires with a centerfire hand gun?

I know you meant this rhetorically, but my answer is that they have been about even when the quality of ammo was even. I know I'm going against the grain, but in recent years, I have had just as many misfires with center fire as rim fire with cheap plinking ammo, and just as few with higher quality ammo that someone might use for defensive ammo.

I don't use .22LR in self defense situations. It is just a fun range round for me. And honestly, this isn't hard data, this is an estimate based on the recollections of one old fart, but my reasons for not carrying .22LR for defense do not include concerns about ignition.

In this case I would choose .32 over .22 because it is just short of a third bigger in diameter, and heavier by a similar margin. Shot placement is highly likely to be more important than cartridge performance between these two, though.

[ttarp]

They are going to do so little damage as they pass that the pain of the shot could possibly even go unnoticed.

I highly doubt this would happen unless the one being shot is on some serious drugs, or has enough adrenaline pumping that he likely wouldn't notice larger calibers either. But if thats what you want to believe...

Why "bet your life" on a caliber / bullet that doesn't perform well, I won't.

"Betting your life" on a particular handgun, caliber, or bullet, is not a good mentality regardless of what situation or circumstances you're in. You should always entertain the possibility you won't be able to use your favored self defense weapon, or that it won't in fact be as effective as you expected it to be, whether it be a .22LR or .50AE.

Thats my two cents which nobody asked for, based on theory rather than experience, worth exactly what you paid for it.

[Aguila Blanca]

I continue to marvel at the fact that many people on the Internet seem to be incapable of answering simple, black-and-white, binary questions without haring off into their own prejudices and ignoring the actual question. In this case, the question is very much binary: .22 or .32? We don't know the OP's reason(s) for asking that question, so despite the best of intentions we don't know if any of the non-responsive answers are or are not of any potential benefit to him.

I respectfully submit that, if you feel you simply must indulge in editorializing outside of the scope of the question -- at least answer the question first, and then veer off into the editorial.

I voted for the .32.

[mk70ss]

Centerfire ammo is generally less likely to fail to fire than rimfire ammo.

[Roamin_Wade]

That's funny, Aguila. You said all that and then ended up doing just like everyone else. You answered the binary question lastly...

[K_Mac]

I respectfully submit that, if you feel you simply must indulge in editorializing outside of the scope of the question -- at least answer the question first, and then veer off into the editorial.

Well said.

I'll take the .32.

[Archie]

This reminds me of the question, Would one prefer a sword or a spear against a lion? Frankly, I'd prefer an A10 Warthog, but...

Okay. From my knowledge, a .32 ACP RNJ (standard) round will penetrate deeper than a .22 long rifle round from a similar length barrel handgun. Again from my knowledge, the .32 ACP will more reliably penetrate a human skull. So I'd prefer the .32 ACP.

What do I normally carry? A Lightweight Commander in .45 ACP, preferably with Federal Hydra-shoc ammunition. (Yes, I know Hydra-shoc has been superseded, but it still works as good as ever, it shoots to the sights in my carry gun and I have some 800 or so rounds).

[luger fan]

Like engine size bigger is better.

[HighValleyRanch]

LOL, only 2 votes for .22!
I voted .32 acp

[Onward Allusion]

Think back, how often have you had misfires with .22lr? How often have you had misfires with a centerfire hand gun?

Every friggin time I go to the range to shoot more than a couple of hundred rounds of 22 LR, I've had failure-to-fires. Every time and that's with revolvers, semi-auto pistols and rifles. The only type of firearm that I don't recall having FTF's with are bolt actions but I never shoot more than 50 to 100 rounds through bolt actions.

I voted 32 ACP.

[cocojo]

The 32 is very underrated. Many Police agencies used the 32 for many years effectively. It is better than the 22 but a well placed shot with either will ruin someones day. I see some here suggest the 380 but then recommend ball ammo for defense. It has been shown that the 32 in fmj makes a nastier wound than the 380 ball for ball. The 32 tumbles badly in the body and because of it doesn't over penetrate. The 380 penetrates too deep with fmj’s causeing less damage with a through and through with no tumbling. There are plenty of video’s on the 32 showing the tumbling effect. Now don't get me wrong, the 380 is a better cartridge with jhp’s, it has a larger diameter and because its rimless no worries of rim lock.

[Cheapshooter]

380

[Drm50]

I wouldn't worry about it. If you have top shelf pistol and top shelf ammo the
22lr or 32acp will get the job done. I have around 50 handguns, most 6" S&Ws
from 22-44mg-45 and target competition autos 9mm-38sp WC & 45acp. All
these are big and heavy guns. The only gut buster I own is a Walther PP in
32acp. I'm not planning on an airdrop into combat, but am confident I can make
a bad guy sick to death with the PP at SD ranges. I had a Beretta m21 Bobcat
22lr than was very dependable pistol. I wouldn't be afraid to depend on it either.
Since we are talking 22lr & 32acp that's all I have to say on the subject. You can
"What if" this kind of thing forever, with no real answer.