Some disclaimers on my part seem to be in order:

I've carried a M1911 45 ACP for a little over 30 years; usually my personal one. These days I feed it a steady diet of Rem 230gr Golden Sabers because my pistol likes them so much. I started shooting a M1911 exactly 41 years ago (I will never forget that heady time! I was just a kid and it was FUN with WWII and WWI surplus ammo - no misfires, even with WWI ammo.) I trust my M1911 and what I can do with it.

I carry a Redhawk (first model) 44 Rem Mag or a very heavily loaded Blackhawk 45 Colt on forays into the wilds and have done so for the same amount of time (not quite as long for the Redhawk, as it was not around 30 years ago). I have cleanly taken much game with the Blackhawk, but never seem to have the Redhawk with me when opportunity presents itself. I trust my Blackhawk and what I can do with it, and am confident of the (unproven to me) 44 Rem Mag out of my Redhawk.

I have hunted and taken large dangerous game and completely understand (and have used) the break-down shot on the front shoulders. That takes more precise shot placement than some realize and I know from a VERY exciting experience that only breaking one of the two shoulders (impossible angle) does NOT accomplish the job <img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> - I almost got whacked that time.

Sometimes I carry a semi-auto 22 - but never for anything more than small game, and if in wild country, it is secondary to a shoulder arm. I totally agree with everyone who wrote that it is not a good choice for a self-defense caliber. I knew a man who had killed many people with a 22 lr pistol. He thought it was peachy and for decades afterwards carried a small high quality 22 lr chambered semi auto exclusively. He was an amazing shot with it. I say I knew him, because he's been missing for a few years now. The best theory is that his body is at the bottom of an abandoned mine shaft - he confused effectiveness as (what amounts to) an assasination weapon with effectiveness in a confrontation (I'm sure of that part, from many conversations with him). He had some pretty nasty enemies in the form of a regional drug running group of locals. (His locale, not mine.)

I've never shot a PERSON with a 22. The only person I know who had and others I have read agree that with a 22 lr, the definitely lethal shot is a close range heart shot. The (few) pundits who discuss it claim that the best bet in a confrontation is to place as many shots as possible in the center of torso, and that jives with what I've been told is the most reliable shot on a person with a 22. Lethality does not have to equal incapacitating, of course - that's just not very probable with a 22. I understand all that.

I do not believe that the 22 has enough frontal area, velocity, momentum, energy, Taylor KO, or whatever theory one believes in to be effective at disabling an attacker with non-lethal hits. It MAY disable an attacker in sufficiently short order with lethal hits, albeit probably not instantly. As best as I have been able to determine, the only RELIABLE lethal hit is the heart. I'm sure that there are other bad places, like under the chin and angled back (contact shot), maybe an orbital shot that angles up, and possibly even a vertebrae shot, although that would take luck in getting betwwen two vertibrae - 22 doesn't have enough pizazz on an adult to smash thru a heavy bone. Torso hits obviously have a higher probablility of hitting vitals like heart, liver, and lungs.

<shrug> That's all just a bunch of hot air from me, 'cause like I wrote, I've never shot a person with a 22. I'd rather have a 22 and a good knife than just the knife, tho. And best of all, I'd greatly prefer to never have to point a weapon at anyone again. One does what one must do, according to the situation.

Hope that clarifies where I was coming from! My original intent was to give the best answer I could to Molf's serious question. In any event, my absolutely last post on this topic, as I have no additional information to share on this topic.

Regards,

Tom