First post here, thought I'd pick a good topic-
Theories on SD calibers are like a-holes, everyone has one. I agree with the idea that .22LR is a decent little carry gun. I've seen enough on the terminal ballistics of the 5.56mm slug to understand that even at modest velocities, its going to foul someone up very badly if they get one in them. Having been shot by an idiot farm kid with a Ruger 10-22 at nearly 100m distance in the calf, I'll vouch for the fact that they hurt like #### even when you dont get hit in a vital area.
The "big kal" guys around here base their ideas on combat and doped up berzerkers....I dont know about you, but I dont live in the game "Grand Theft Auto". I dont go places where I'm going to be encountering any nine foot tall meth heads bent on gutting me like a fish, and if I do go somewhere that I'm bound to encounter them, I've got an Uzi that fits real nice in a shoulder bag. I also didnt get my CCW permit with the idea of going into combat with my CCW weapon. The biggest gun I carry in civilization is an aged Chinese Type 51-I Tokarev that came back a bit at a time from my Uncle in SEA many years ago.
The most you'll probably ever encounter is a walk-in on a convienience store robbery, or wind up in a mugging, or some other like-situation where someone tries to strong arm you or threatens you. In that case when you've decided your best course of action is to flash some steel, 90% of the time you've ended the situation right there. The remaining 10% of the time if you actually have to shoot, again, 99% of the time once the perp feels his skin becoming violently compromised, even if its just a .22, he'll get scared as #### and either surrender or try and get the #### away from you ASAFP. That remaining 1/100 guy will either be some junkie, or wearing a kevlar, in which case a 9mm or a .45 or even a .357 would be little protection anyhow for center mass shots, and the .22LR will have just as much success off his head or apendages as the bigger lead would.
I dont carry a hand cannon or a wunder-nine because I'm not that great of a shot with my dominant hand and I'm sure as #### not going to consider switch-hitting in a stressfull situation. In said situation I want something small, light, but that will give me the greatest chance of a vital hit in rapid fire because I dont care what the (as my SRDS would say) craphouse lawyers here say, I'm going to unload on that perp no matter what I'm carrying. Dead men press no lawsuits, and if it can be proven he was attacking you, their families will have a #### of a time doing it too...