Which Ruger IV For Home Defense?

[kenny53]

Gorfildel
I have a MK II with 5 ten round magazines. On my nightstand every night is a M&P 45 with 17 rounds of 185 gr +p hollow points. But if I was to use my MK II I
would fill it with CCI Stingers. I don't think it matters what Ruger MK you use, they are going to work, just use the best ammo you can.

[Mal H]

Originally Posted by Glorfindel

"I have a 22/45 Lite and Mrs. McGee has a 22/45 Target. I love both pistols, but there's no question about which I shoot more accurately. Mrs. McGee's target model."

Exactly the advice I was looking for.

And why is there no Quote function here?

As you can see, there is a quote feature. Click on the bottom right icon (looks like a quill and a sheet of paper). That will take you to the Quick Reply box at the bottom. There you need to check off the Option "Quote message in reply?". The quote will not be shown (a bug in my opinion), but it will be in the post you submit after pressing the "Post Quick Reply" button.

[I will delete this post after you acknowledge seeing it since it is off topic for this thread.]

[stinkeypete]

what if I told you that Antifa threatened the town I live in last week?

I would like to see the press release on that assertion because it seems extraordinary to me.

[Spats McGee]

Originally Posted by Glorfindel

....My wife likes light recoil, and I have a wrist injury that makes shooting my Ruger LCR and .357 Mag painful.....

Have you tried one of the .38 reduced recoil loads? Something like this: https://www.federalpremium.com/handg...PD38HS3+H.html

[GarandTd]

I have a mkIII 22-45 target that I am very fond of. It is quite accurate, but does experience failures occasionally. I have a 2moa red dot mounted on the included rail. The tactical versions may suit your purposes better.

Some ammo is better than others, but even the best has failures.

Another post mentioned the S&W M&P22c. I also have this pistol. It is accurate enough for defensive use and, while not failure free, is pretty reliable.

I personally wouldn't choose 22lr for self defense, but to each, their own. Good luck.

[wild cat mccane]

As a professional in data, I take issue with someone saying they've "studied the data." Ie, there isn't real data. It's all anecdotal information.

All Ruger IV are the same. That's the answer to the "which" of the question. All are functionally the same with different barrels that matter not at all.

[zoo]

This has probably been said a billion times before on gun forums. If I really did have to use a .22 for self defense, I'd prefer a ten round revolver over a ten round semi auto.

I guess I would simply have to suck it up and take a dump in my pants should I then have to reload.

[Mike38]

I would not focus on head shots at all. Center of mass only. There aren't too many people that will continue an attack after they are the recipients of 10 rounds of .22 LR in about 5 seconds.

[rodfac]

An exhaustive study proved the .22LR as effective as anything for defense in terms of the critical metric of # of shots to disable an intruder.

We differ on that point of view...as WCMcCane pointed out, there is no "data" in the supplied link, just anecdotal snippets.

Were I you, I'd follow the example of 100,000+ LEO professionals in this country who daily depend on a more appropriate caliber choice. Relying on "head shots" while under stress defending your home and family is fantasy. Best regards, Rod

[ghbucky]

I'm going to just weigh in that .22LR ammo is the last thing I would ever want to depend on to defend my family with.

The only .22LR I own is a S&W K frame six shooter. And I don't shoot it often because it is a PITA to load after about 3 cylinders (the gunk from .22 makes the cylinders so tight its hard to force the rounds in).

I've had good reliability in general when I've shot with it, but one box of Remington misfired probably one out of three rounds. Remington ended up replacing it. But you'll never know if the rounds you've loaded will fire until you fire them.

And I would most definitely go with a revolver for exactly that reason. Auto loader .22s are nightmares when they mis-feed. Under stress... no thank you sir!

If I was determined to use .22 for home defense, I think I'd go with multiple, accessible revolvers. Forget reloading.. throw the empty at them and grab the next one.

[edit] Here's another caliber option that would actually be a much better HD gun: an AR .223. You are still working with a .22 round with very little recoil, but you have much more reliable ammo and feeding options with 30 round mags (assuming they are legal for you)

[zoo]

Or if you really want to stop your intruder, a 300 or 350 AR pistol. Ain't going to be no running off to die and firing rounds at you as they go. Unlikely after getting hit with a round of one of those rather than a .223 or 5.56.

Of course you and the family are going to have to learn sign language afterward.

[Skans]

I hate .22lr pistols - they jam a lot. .22 revolvers either have too heavy of a trigger pull or are SA, and not something I'd consider for defense. I suppose of the OP has to have a .22 pistol, I'd probably be looking at a decent used Ruger Mark II.

[Doc TH]

Glorfindel: since you have decided on a 22 lr semiauto pistol as most appropriate for your purposes, I would disregard all the comments about the superiority of other calibers & loadings as superior to the .22 as well-meaning but irrelevant opinions. We might all agree (but probably not) that 12 gauge 00 buck is (or #4, #1, et al.) most effective for in home use based upon terminal effect, overpenetration, danger to bystanders or neighbors, etc,. etc.
Read Bill DeShivs comments.
What disturbs me is the repeated claims that ALL 22 lr ammo is unreliable. In the past I participated in bullseye competition on a U.S. Navy team. Anyone who competes at high levels knows that very serious competitors will not tolerate ammunition wherein a failure to perform could cost them potential national or even international competitive ranking. I NEVER lost a point because of ammo failure. Even with using common CCI ammo, I have NEVER had a malfunction in my Beretta pistol, and over 30 years had ONE FTF in my Ruger MK II. In formal and casual shooting I have NEVER had a failure shooting Eley or Lapua 22 lr ammunition. If this is a concern, I suggest practice with the cheap stuff and use the more costly competitive-oriented ammunition for defense.
I believe your choice is very reaonable.

[Hal]

What disturbs me is the repeated claims that ALL 22 lr ammo is unreliable

I wonder about that also.
I've mentioned before & I'll mention again.
Years ago I belonged to two gun ranges. I would shoot several times a week.
Together with my wife, we would chew through tens of thousands of rounds on .22 lr.
My best estimate of how many rounds I put through my Ruger .22/45 was around 100,000 rounds that year alone.
I can't recall any of the name brand bulk ammo giving me anything but reliable results.
- Federal
- Remington - both Thunderbolts & Golden Bullets
- Winchester Wildcats
-Winchester X-perts would jam - however that was due to the 36 grain hollow point being too short to chamber in the Ruger. They worked just fine in my wife's Buckmark Mirco & her Winchester Trapper.

[Warhammer]

My suggestion would be to do more study that reading a single article written by someone who went into his "study" with a point to prove. Any study can be set up to provide the expected results. And this one is prime example. It's methodology is MASSIVELY flawed ("...I kept rake of stopping power results from every shooting I could find.") and the author is looking for a favored result from the beginning.

As for a HD gun for the recoil sensitive or disabled. If a handgun is the preference, look at the S&W M&P Shield EZ in .380. It's literally designed for shooters in your situation.

If you haven't considered a pistol caliber carbine or PCC-like pistol with a brace, you might look into the likes of the CZ Scorpion or the Stribog. They shoot soft, have 20-30 round magazines, fire a cartridge that was actually designed to take down a human, and the addition contact points (off hand grips the mag well, chin/cheek weld on the brace) make them more stable to hold than a handgun.

In short, there are much better choices for the recoil sensitive/disabled than going with a .22LR handgun. If you are closed off to other advice and have already made up your mind, then I wish you luck finding the right handgun. I'd suggest finding a good range with a large rental selection and trying out several different models.

[kymasabe]

I dont have an answer to your question but I have a comment on low recoil ammo:
Magtech makes a .38 special short, Sportsmans Guide sells it, and recoil is remarkably low. First time I shot it I would have sworn was a squib load, opened the gun and poked a pencil down the barrel to make the round left the chamber. Might be an option for your .357 if you're recoil sensitive.
Good luck with you .22LR selection.
PS...the tactical gets my vote.

[CDW4ME]

22 lr testing in gel by Lucky Gunner:
https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/poc...-test-results/

There are 22 lr loads that penetrate 12'' but they are still .22 - no expansion.

22lr (32/380) Is not what I'm going to bet my life on.

[Metric]

It's pretty clear that a single shot from a .357 magnum is going to be more effective than a single shot from .22LR, all else being equal. But not as much as everyone thinks. If you're a much better shot with a .22LR, that difference could easily mean it's a better choice for you.

And yeah, it's not difficult to find premium .22 ammo that is extremely reliable and penetrates well. It's also not difficult to find a reliable .22 handgun. But it's also very easy to find unreliable ones, meaning that the whole enterprise it not for the minimum-effort shooter.

As with anything else, if you know what you're doing, you'll be fine. But you actually do have to know what you're doing. The Israeli Mossad and Sky Marshals did. Ask Mordechai Rachamim.

[IZZY]

I'm no big shot. In fact I'm a short dude with my own issues, and I suppose about 1/2 way from being banned on the re-incarnated TFL.

I appreciate you have a wrist injury. I also appreciate some people ( your wife) are recoil sensitive.

People here seem to actually CARE about your safety and well being...and while not all are answering you question directly, they are giving of their time to try and steer you away from what they consider a "bad option".

My experience with a circa 1999 mfg. Ruger MKII is that when you have good primers and hot and premium ammo it usually works...but if I could choose ANY other caliber for the recoil sensitive/ injured it would be a .32 ACP ( 7.65) in a service size gun (Walther PP or bigger), using hot FMJ loaded to European specs.

I lost bagging a racoon eating my guinea fowl because my 22 Marlin had a misfire...thankfully only my livestock suffered and not my family.

I hoe you explore other options, but If you do go with .22, a Ruger 10/22 has 25 round factory mags that work. I wish you the best of luck, and the best luck would be NOT to need it.

[PocketCamera]

as fun as we are with caliber issues, it was proven in world war one, that a 8x57 mauser FMJ to the FORE HEAD was not always capable of killing the person hit. it would mess them up in bizaare ways, but many men were sent back to the british empire with unpleasant brain damage and symptoms...

and i think we all agree that an 8x57 to the forehead is a LOT more useful then a 22 rimfire to the chest when it comes to incapacitate someone.

[Cheapshooter]

How many bad guys keep going after taking a .22LR HP in the face or head? Not many.

All of them that don't just stand there like a paper target!
Some serious rethinking needed.

[GarandTd]

Those of you claiming that no 22lr has ever given problems are damned lucky IMO. I've experienced a malfunction with almost every brand I've ever tried, some with multiple failures in a single box of ammo. I'll readily admit there are brands I've not tried, but of the ones I have, there have been failures. When it comes to center fire cartridges, I have had one failure. It was a 9mm Tulammo round. That is the only one out of thousands of 9mm, and 380 acp.

Those discrediting the "all 22lr is unreliable" are just as questionable as those saying it's unreliable.

[zoo]

You know I would actually like to hear the story of anyone who had to defend themselves with a .22lr Ruger Mark III or IV and how that panned out for them.

[Kevin Rohrer]

Wow. Where to start?

^^This^^

There is wayyy too much wrong here to waste time trying to correct someone who can't be corrected.

[Blindstitch]

zoo

You know I would actually like to hear the story of anyone who had to defend themselves with a .22lr Ruger Mark III or IV and how that panned out for them.

Call this guy up. I sat on his jury. He's doing double life so he shouldn't be hard to find. Pretty sure it was a mark 3 but all the witness could remember is that it was a 10 round ruger 22 he was pretending to sell before he shot them. If I remember right the medical examiner said most shots with to the body with two exceptions. One traveled longways through and arm and another in a male member.

https://www.fox6now.com/news/charged...-milwaukee-men