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OK, I got the Mark III mainly for plinking and target shooting (no match stuff, just fun).

I'll be getting another gun later, larger whose main function will be self protection.

So in the meantime, this Mark III is going to have to fill the bill. I don't foresee any need for it, I mean I live in a pretty quiet area.

But.... what would be your choice of ammo for this gun, for self protection??

MicroGuy wrote:OK, I got the Mark III mainly for plinking and target shooting...
... what would be your choice of ammo for this gun, for self protection??

the issue of .22 for "protection" comes up often on most all boards...
the responses cover the spectrum...
but since YOU asked... I'd load the MK3 with the same ammo that I
was accustomed to shooting at the range... no need for some different
brand/spec of ammo to be just a tad different in RimSize or Bullet-surface
that would cause a "jam" or Fail-to-Feed just when I needed it...
so... dance with the one that brung-ya ...
To be specific.. I find that CCI-MiniMags are just about the best all-around
.22 ammo for any .22LR firearm... perhaps not the "best" for any specific
firearm or the most 'accurate' for experienced target shooting...
but a reliable ammo. I've read postings by ER-attendants that have
"shooting victims" come in with 'a hole in them' from a 9mm, .38, .45...
other victims come in with a little puncture wound and a little .22 bullet
has wondered around in their abdomen poking holes in multiple internal
body parts... just that the 'stopping power' of a .22 takes a couple days,
not a couple seconds.

Most Law-Enforcement seem to believe you need a couple handguns
with a caliber that begins with a "4"... but they have a job that places
them in contact with folks that are expecting them and prepared...
Not to diminish the need for 'stopping power'... but many/most incidents
where someone is trying a sneak-attack is counting on YOU/ME being
a "sheep" and un-prepared... so, just having any 'gun' will surprise the
"perp" ...

but to be practical... you cannot defend yourself with a firearm that
you don't know how to use... there is NO THINK TIME !!
your reflexes will do what you have practiced.
That said... any burglar in my house will be repelled by just how
much sh*t I can expell in a fearsome moment...
I may be trying to get my .38 Revolver by the bed...
or the .45acp in a nearby drawer... or the 12ga from behind the door...
When I said "sh*t"... I did mean the brown runny stuff... when I'm skeart!

If you have a range where you can shoot... asked a different person
each trip where there is a 'self protection' handgun course around...
hopefully, you will get different answers... as not all classes/instructors
will be best for you... Concealed-Licenses are not 'self defense',
they are courses to instruct you on the applicable laws about having
a handgun in your possession... not "how to use it".

sorry if this was not the answer you expected...
self-defense is not about "owning something"...
it's how your gut reacts in a crisis.

If I lived in a neighborhood, worked in an area or had surroundings
that I felt compelled to carry a "big gun" for my daily protection,
my first purchase would likely be a home in a better neighborhood...
It would likely contribute more to my future safety than the
caliber of a gun I owned... and just might not have at my side at
the moment it was needed...

good luck.

Great post, Toy, as usual. There was a brief period of time in my life where the only handgun I owned was a .22 (Ruger Standard Model) and I would certainly have used it to defend myself if it came to that. Like you, I think the CCI Mini-Mags would be the best choice for a good, reliable round. There's no doubt that people have been killed by .22s at close range but I sure wouldn't want to stake my life on it. As you mentioned, I'm pretty partial to a caliber that begins with a 4 (as in .45). And when I carry, that's what's in the chamber.

Toy, I thought Texans never got Skeert.
I carry an SA 18911 Micrro Compact every day, not because I live in a b ad neighborhood but for the same reason I carry a spare tire on my vehicle. Ir is better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
And yes, I do carry it cocked and locked and ready to rock. One of the guys at the club asked me when he caught sight of it cocked, is tat loaded, told him yes and that if I did not want to cerry it loaded I would just carry a Rock which is lot less expensive.

Thanks for the answer,

That's pretty much what I was thinking. I know a .22 isn't going to really have that much stopping power, but I can unload a clip pretty quickly.

So how much difference can there be between a .45 and 10 .22's? May not kill 'em right off, but it will take 'em off their feet and give them something else to think about.

But last night the thought of using tracers came to me. Can you imagine that? It hits and just keeps burning for a couple more seconds.

But I was just wondering in general, if there was a particular type of ammo that would be better than anything else.

I got to thinking about it, because elsewhere, somebody mentioned they would only use subsonic for protection, and was wondering if that was the case and why it would be better.

And it would be in the house only, I'm not about to start carrying this thing around with me. And I live in a pretty good area, so it's not something I would expect anyway.

But the spare tire analogy is a good one, nice to be prepared for what may come your way.