22LR vs 45 for conceal carry

OK guys I know there is no competition between the 2 and I dont want it to be that way.

But I need to make a decision. And these are my only 2 choices. WHY? Because I refuse to buy and stock another caliber.

I now have my CHL. I am thinking of carrying 22LR as my conceal weapon since I can carry my 45 on my hip if needed after Jan 1st.

Or do I sell my full size 45 (which I love) and buy a compact 45 (which I will probably love) to carry and be an all around pistol and never mind a carry 22?

I personally like the idea of carrying just 1 pistol for muscle memory. But what say the guys that have gone thru this and made their decisions based on experience. Thanks guys for your input!!

Seems to me that 22lr is an impotent round for CC. I don't think you are considering shooting squirrels with whatever you use as CC. CC is for protection. What will 22lr protect you (decisively) against?

22LR would be my gun of last resort for a CC firearm. They will kill someone, but a 45 will do it ALOT quicker with less rounds.

Of the two, .45.

A self-defense weapon is not for covenience or fun. It is to stop a threat to you or a loved one's life. A .22 is a poor choice for that purpose.

8 or 9 rounds of a CCI mini mag or higher velocity 22LR is definitely a lethal round especially with the ability to have quick and accurate follow up shots. No doubt it is capable of protection in my mind. No it wont win a tactical gun battle but it is hard to decide on how tactically I need to be prepared. defend against 1 2 3 or 5 people?

Is it better to have one primary weapon vs 2? I think that is my biggest dilemma in my mind. I just dont see myself carrying a full size 45 everywhere I go that is why I was thinking of the small 22

I'd keep both, save for a compact 45 and then carry and extra mag.

I'd rather stop the threat with one well placed shot, not several.. That's just me..

Work on this problem and the rest will come easy. If your carry gun is not comfortable ,your in for many hours of discomfort .

I have several full size 1911's but I carry a Colt Defender. It's easy to carry, quite comfortable really. With the spare mag I don't worry about round count. Work with it a bit and 75 foot is
deadly

No to the .22 !

Kahr CW45, and forget the mouse gun.

^^This^^

Springfield XDs .45 ACP, and get East to build you a holster. Lately I have carried mine all day long and was not inconveinienced at all. Small little package holding 5 + 1 rounds of .45

I think I miss worded my question guys. I am not looking to compare 45 and 22. I am looking to compare is it better to have

-22lr pocket pistol and full size 45 and switch between them as carry weapons

or

- sell my full size 45 and buy a 45 compact and just have 1 weapon to carry at all times

thanks

Sell and buy carry 45.

This thread reminds me of the conversation I had in one of my dealers with a DPD UC Narc, when I was looking at a "hideout" piece or a carry gun when I was doing Pawn Shop Cash Collections, and carrying way too much cash by the end of the day. My dealer, Ed House at Texas Gun's in Richardson was closing out some small Beretta's and small frame Colt Dectectives.

The Narc sez, when I asked to see a 25ACP Beretta for my wife's night stand shooter, She 's gonna shoot some fool with that and Pizz him off, and he'll beat her to death with it...and pointed to a pair of matching Colt Dective 38Spl's except one was blue and other was bright Nickel...and said them right there are your ticket...the bright Nickel for you and the blue gun for her...and pulled out his own bright nickel shooter out his back pocket. Sez every AH in sight can SEE this'un when I pull it and KNOW I'm gonna use it on whoever it's pointed at....and scatters folks like cockroaches. I got his message that you get One Chance to disable someone intent on doing you harm, and regardless if he's drunk stoned or whatever...you got One Chance to get away, or protect your self. PCP was big in those days, in the mid 1970's...and I was making bank Deposits of $5k to $25K a day from the 20-30+ Pawn Shops I called on regularly every week.

I wound up with a tuned LWT Colt Combat Commander 45ACP I wore in the small of my back ...and a very highly tuned S&W M60 in my boot with .75lb letoff SA & just under 2lbs DA that still lives on MY night stand....40 years later.
Ron

Why do you refuse to have another caliber ? 9mm is most popular for CCW and you can buy multiple different brands in the 9mm . I CCW a Ruger LC9s . I have another Taurus PT24/7 Pro DS but it's too big for proper CCW in the summer but when winter comes and a coat is worn it can be alright . My other for veh protection is a Rossi .357 magnum 3" barrel . Now if you like the .45 better in caliber size then by all means sell the .22 and buy a compact .45 or keep the .22 for BU and still buy a compact .45 .

Taurus makes a nice little .45 compact but will cost you more than other calibers available . The little .380 compact is getting to be a very popular small compact for CCW and it will definitely do it's job . Like mentioned above a .22 will kill but if you don't hit the right place a big person can take a dozen shots before they go down . Me personally I will never carry a .22 for my CCW unless I have no other choice but I would never fell comfortable with it .

JFYI , even tho OC in Texas will be legal come Jan 1st , just remember it will make you a target easier by anti-gun people , second by LEOs' , and possibly by some bad guy just waiting to get you in the right place to jump you and take it away from you , then what are you going to do with no gun ?? I know many will want to exercise their rights but my CCW purpose is ONLY for protecting myself and my family when they are with me . Nothing else so I don't want the attraction for an opportunist to make trouble for me . Having a CHL does not give you permission to envolve yourself where it shouldn't be and you have no rights to go looking for trouble cause if you do it's guaranteed to find you !

Don't sell the 22, keep practicing with it, defensive handgun skills are highly perishable. Shooting one box of big bore handgun and two boxes of 22, was what I did weekly, when I was carrying daily.

Sell the full size 45 and buy a compact if those are your only two options. 22 is too small for CCW.

My primary CCW is a 380. That's the minimum I consider adequate for this discussion. You don't have to "buy and stock" another caliber to have one for CC. Two boxes to confirm reliability and a box of self defense ammo and you're good to go. I shoot my 380 less than once a year, but I'm confident at any distance I could possibly want to use it at, and it's incredibly easy to conceal. I find all 45s & 40s and most 9s too large to comfortably conceal.

Some good advice here guys and thank. I have been leaning towards the compact 45 and I think you guys verified it for me.

I dont plan on carrying much and I would only carry open when hunting. the reason I got my CHL is because I want to carry a pistol legally while hunting the national forests. The compact 45 I have in mind can carry a 10 round mag like my full size and and 8 rd mag for concealment. So it should be a perfect switch from full size to compact and I probably should have bought it instead of my current full size pistol. I dont feel comfortable carrying a gun around just yet. But I have a feeling that will change over time especially if I have a smaller weapon that will be easier to conceal.

yes I refuse to buy another caliber

223/556 1000 plus rounds
30-06 260 rounds
22lr 1000 plus rounds
45 380 rounds

I dont need more calibers I need more bullets in my current calibers. Those 4 rounds will cover every situation from hunting to defense to SHTF.

If your going to OC while hunting why not just OC your full size .45 in a OWB holster ? That should not be a problem . And if you don't plan to carry much I can't see why you would even mess with worrying about a smaller compact at all . If you carry as much as I do then get a compact with a proper concealable holster . On weekends when I'm out I use a Sneaky Pete Holster , very convenient ! When I'm at church I wear a high riding holster on a belt at 4'oclock with a dress coat . You can buy either one I mentioned for whatever small compact you decide to buy if you do buy . Here are a couple links .

In the Sneaky Pete you can get clip or belt loop type . I prefer the clips , hold great and I can remove when I need to take it off easily : http://www.sneakypeteholsters.com/

On my high rider I actually bought from Ruger cause of the Ruger design but it's made by Mitch Rosen which makes excellent holsters . You can order from the available online much cheaper or they can make you one but nearly twice the price too . But they are of the same leather and design . Just choose your weapon : http://www.mitchrosen.com/products/holsters/

That is the debate within myself Ron. Carry open and just have a 22 as a pocket pistol or. But the more I think about it. The compact just is more versatile to be able to carry concealed and open especially with being able to use full size 10 rd mags in the compact. I will probably use the full size this hunting season and see what happens but I do see myself buying a compact and getting rid of my full size pistol. It just makes sense and it gives me both options. And I dont need 2 pistols. Just 1 really reliable and accurate pistol is all I need.

With the way things are going in todays world having a concealed gun isnt a bad idea. Especially here in Houston where there are lots of criminals. I do need to start working on concealed holsters once I get the compact going

thanks again guys.

I'd look at the Ruger commander-sized 1911. I'd love to have one.

FWIW, those calibers are inadequate for self defense for me. There is no compact 45 that I wouldn't at least sometimes be leaving at home due to size compared to my kel tec 380.

I never choose the "Go home in a box" option myself, it seems counter-productive. Smallest thing I would ever carry personally would be a 380 loaded with the 90 grain Hornady XTP. If you won't add another cartridge to your lineup, then I guess the option is to swap the full size 45 to a compact that you will actually carry. But I would never intentionally rely on a .22. Too many of the bad guys you might possibly have to use it against could be jacked up on something. So many examples of these kind guys being very hard to stop even with proven loads and calibers. There is no reason to handicap yourself right off the bat. JMO.

In a bubble I too have thought about carrying a 22. I say all the time my number one intention/hope if God forbid I have to pull out my piece is the create a situation where I can find an escape. Call me what ever u want, but standing around to recreate the OK corral is not my thing. That's why personally the 9mm vs 45 for stopping power doesn't do it for me. On that note is why I always considered a 22 as well.

The main reason why I decided against a 22, and in your case go 45, is purely reliability based. I've had too many semi 22 pistols have cycling problems. And don't tell me it's the pistols because I have multiple and they, even the venerable ruger mark 3, and they've all had cycle problems at some point to varying degrees of fequency. Not only that, I've have far more 22 ammo simy not fire even through my bolt rifle.
I inherently have much more reliability faith in any 45 system (ammo + gun) than any 22 system.

thanks redneck sound advice and my thinking exactly shoot and scoot even with a 45!!

I might stick around with my AR in my hand.

reliability is #1 in picking out any self defense gun and 22's can be a little finicky for sure

I am glad you thought of that!

it is a clear choice GO BIG!