If a 22 mag for bear defense…

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Aug 14, 2013
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What about a 5.7x28?
Is it nearly as easy to shoot as a pmr-30?
How is penetration compared to 9mm?
Is there an adequate bullet for this round to not ricochet off a skull?


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Lawnboi

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So I own a m&p 22 mag, and currently have possession to shoot the m&p 5.7. I’d consider the 5.7 for a carry/ defense gun. Problem is that it’s expensive to shoot and train with.

The 22 mag is a home defense gun for my wife, it’s been reliable so far, is stupid easy to shoot. I’m not a huge fan of the plastic magazines, other than that I can’t complain. 40 grain gold dots and a 30 round mag would make me more scared than 10 rounds of 9mm in her hands.

The 5.7 recoil is near identical. These guns are stupid easy to shoot. The mags on the 5.7 don’t worry me.

Currently I’m shooting the 5.7 and 22 mag to decide what’s going to go where and if I would ever carry any of them compared to normally carrying 9mm.
 

BLJ

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So I own a m&p 22 mag, and currently have possession to shoot the m&p 5.7. I’d consider the 5.7 for a carry/ defense gun. Problem is that it’s expensive to shoot and train with.

The 22 mag is a home defense gun for my wife, it’s been reliable so far, is stupid easy to shoot. I’m not a huge fan of the plastic magazines, other than that I can’t complain. 40 grain gold dots and a 30 round mag would make me more scared than 10 rounds of 9mm in her hands.

The 5.7 recoil is near identical. These guns are stupid easy to shoot. The mags on the 5.7 don’t worry me.

Currently I’m shooting the 5.7 and 22 mag to decide what’s going to go where and if I would ever carry any of them compared to normally carrying 9mm.
I’m interested in any more information on the M&P 22 mag. Thanks.
 

BLJ

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Reliability up to your current round count. Overall impressions. Accuracy.
Also your wife’s thoughts. I’ve thought about something similar for us as well.
Is it temperamental to cleaning or lack there of? Picky in regards to ammo?

If OP objects to the sidetrack, you can PM as well. Thanks.
 

Lawnboi

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Reliability up to your current round count. Overall impressions. Accuracy.
Also your wife’s thoughts. I’ve thought about something similar for us as well.
Is it temperamental to cleaning or lack there of? Picky in regards to ammo?

If OP objects to the sidetrack, you can PM as well. Thanks.

It dosnt feel like a rimfire pistol. For a poly framed gun it feels very good. I’m impressed enough with the platform that I’d consider another, though probably get a 5.7, I’ll add why below. It’s very easy to handle and shoot, I can shoot this better than any other poly framed pistol iv ever owned. Same can be said for my wife. It’s accurate enough that I’d consider grabbing it for varmints and not have any worry about hitting a fox at 25 yards for back yard predator duty. It’s easy to shoot fast and has an awesome trigger as well. 30 round magazine, with an extra in the bedside safe leaves us with 60 rounds ready. Slide is easy to rack, my wife has no issues with operating the pistol.


I currently have 300 rounds through the gun. Mostly gold dots and Hornady CD. The gun had some hiccups in the first hundred, like lots of handguns do, but has been flawless the last few times shot it. I have yet to clean it, though I’m sure will have to eventually as it’s partially gas operated.

My only hang up on the guns is the mags. They are a little finicky to load. I’m assuming most reliability issues with this pistol will come down to the mags. They are plastic and with 30 rimmed cartridges in there they take a little patience and attention to get loaded. That said I havnt had mag issue in the last 250 rounds. So I cant say it’s a problem yet, just something I’m keeping an eye on.

Alternatively the 5.7 is the exact same platform, and the mags are metal and give me a little more confidence, nice stiff spring, metal. The 5.7 recoil is near exactly that of the 22 mag, everything else about the pistols is near identical. If I were purchasing another I would get a 5.7, I’d feel a little more comfortable with centerfire reliability and a more robust magazine. I’d have zero concern carrying the 5.7 all the time if that’s what I had. That said I don’t regret the 22 mag, got 750 rounds coming to hopefully get my wife up to speed. Worst case it becomes a training gun for the 5.7 I will probably end up with eventually.

As for how she likes it. She’s not a pistol fan, she dosnt like shooting them and that shows especially when putting a subcompact 9mm in her hand. She has shot the 22 mag and while shooting a pistol isn’t fun for her, she can actually hit stuff with it fairly easily. Currently debating on getting her an optic on it or not. I’ll have a lot more to say in a few months about it, we had a couple situations that have lead to my wife wanting to be a little more comfortable with a pistol, and she’s showing more interest in becoming proficient. This is the pistol I plan on her training with.
 
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Maverick1

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What about a 5.7x28?
Is it nearly as easy to shoot as a pmr-30?
How is penetration compared to 9mm?
Is there an adequate bullet for this round to not ricochet off a skull?


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A rimfire for bear defense? Be sure to file down the front sight…..
 

TheCougar

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I shot the 5.7 and 22WMR this week, side by side. The 22wmr was the PMR-30 and the 5.7 was the ruger. The 5.7 does have more recoil, but it’s a negligible difference for an adult. I did see a difference with my kids shooting, however. I’ll double down on what @Lawnboi said about the PMR-30 22 mags. They are POS and we had tons of misfeeds. Perhaps it was user error, but we shot 1000 rounds of ammo without a single misfeed in any other pistol. It was a major turn off for a bear pistol to have it jam so many times.
 
OP
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Sidetracks are great. I listened to Forms argument for a .22 mag for Bear defense and it makes sense to me, though I have to constantly remind myself why it makes sense. So, if lots of shots, minimal recoil, and adequate penetration is what matters, why not improve on those? We lose magazine capacity with something like the 5.7, keep the minimal recoil, and I bet(?) increase penetration. Things like reliability, bullet selection, and cost to shoot become larger questions.


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180ls1

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I think you're on the right track. Generally speaking, these guys who pack compact 10mm will struggle to get lethal hits.
 

BLJ

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@Mattphillips18 the cost to shoot is the big one for me.
If I can afford ammo I can afford to practice. The more I practice, the more ammo I need.
This is the big reason I shoot rimfire as much as I do. Cheap.
 

Formidilosus

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I shot the 5.7 and 22WMR this week, side by side. The 22wmr was the PMR-30 and the 5.7 was the ruger. The 5.7 does have more recoil, but it’s a negligible difference for an adult. I did see a difference with my kids shooting, however. I’ll double down on what @Lawnboi said about the PMR-30 22 mags. They are POS and we had tons of misfeeds. Perhaps it was user error, but we shot 1000 rounds of ammo without a single misfeed in any other pistol. It was a major turn off for a bear pistol to have it jam so many times.

How old is the PMR? The first few years they were very finicky; the last 7-8 I have shot and seen shot heavily are not at all- but you do have to use quality ammo and load the mag correctly.
 

TheCougar

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How old is the PMR? The first few years they were very finicky; the last 7-8 I have shot and seen shot heavily are not at all- but you do have to use quality ammo and load the mag correctly.
Can’t say, it wasn’t mine. The mag was a PITA to load, and I wonder if it was operator error. We tried multiple loading techniques and still had issues. The bullet would partially feed and get jammed at an upward angle on the feed ramp.
 

Lawnboi

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I shot the 5.7 and 22WMR this week, side by side. The 22wmr was the PMR-30 and the 5.7 was the ruger. The 5.7 does have more recoil, but it’s a negligible difference for an adult. I did see a difference with my kids shooting, however. I’ll double down on what @Lawnboi said about the PMR-30 22 mags. They are POS and we had tons of misfeeds. Perhaps it was user error, but we shot 1000 rounds of ammo without a single misfeed in any other pistol. It was a major turn off for a bear pistol to have it jam so many times.
I’m speaking only to the m&p 22 mag and m&p 5.7.

I couldn’t do a pmr…. Just feels like a toy.

I don’t know how much of a difference it plays but the m&p 22 mag and 5.7 both have gas ports and a barrel sleeve, some gas is used for ejection, don’t know if that helps with recoil, but they feel the same. The m&p also has a very low bore axis, and fairly trim slide. I’m not a big pistol shooter but these guns are stupid easy to shoot.

The only other 5.7 Iv shot is the FN… that thing is a piece of junk imo. Clunky plastic not very user friendly controls, trigger sucks.
 

Lawnboi

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Sidetracks are great. I listened to Forms argument for a .22 mag for Bear defense and it makes sense to me, though I have to constantly remind myself why it makes sense. So, if lots of shots, minimal recoil, and adequate penetration is what matters, why not improve on those? We lose magazine capacity with something like the 5.7, keep the minimal recoil, and I bet(?) increase penetration. Things like reliability, bullet selection, and cost to shoot become larger questions.


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22 +1 in the s&w 5.7. I can rip off 22 rounds pretty quick but still seems like the gun should have been empty 8 rounds ago when shooting it.
 

TheCougar

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I’m speaking only to the m&p 22 mag and m&p 5.7.

I couldn’t do a pmr…. Just feels like a toy.

I don’t know how much of a difference it plays but the m&p 22 mag and 5.7 both have gas ports and a barrel sleeve, some gas is used for ejection, don’t know if that helps with recoil, but they feel the same. The m&p also has a very low bore axis, and fairly trim slide. I’m not a big pistol shooter but these guns are stupid easy to shoot.

The only other 5.7 Iv shot is the FN… that thing is a piece of junk imo. Clunky plastic not very user friendly controls, trigger sucks.
It does feel like a toy…
 
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