.22 Short or LR?

[TruthTellers]

Like many, I have a list of guns I want to buy, there's the main list and the secondary list that varies depending on how I feel. Years ago I got the 1.6" long barrel .22 Mag/LR combo and at the time I didn't realize that the grip of the Magnum models was much larger than the LR or Short models, not too mention more weight. Since then I've had an interest in the smaller, lighter minis and my habit is I usually buy two guns per transfer to save a bit on the fee and lately the .22 Short has got my attention.

I understand the Short is going to have less power than the LR, that said I know enough to know that the effective target in a defense situation is to aim for the head as neither the Short or LR is sufficiently powerful enough that a center mass hit may not do the job. My figuring is if I'm aiming at the head, face, and neck that there's not enough difference in power to make a difference between the two.

So what this really comes down to is: with the 1.1" inch barrel (not the longer 1.6") does the extra half an inch of length of the LR model make that much difference in carrying or shooting vs the Short?

The entire goal here is to have a smaller NAA than the Magnum model I currently have that has the longer barrel.

[Gun1]

Believe it or not it does. 1/2 inch sounds negligible, but in the pocket you can definitely feel the difference. I'm also very weight sensitive so I can feel the .5 oz difference as well. Additionally, the .22 Short fits inside a cigarette box whereas the .22 LR does not. However, only the .22 LR fits inside the NAA belt buckle. But to answer your question you can definitely feel the size difference, at least I can. Visually it's not even that noticeable being only 1/2" but you can definitely feel it inside a pocket. The .22 Short just disappears, the .22 LR almost dissappears.

[OV-1D]

  Heck if needed you can carry both concealed in your hand that I've done a few times . Up close they are just as formable and deadly as a 45 and will get the point across quickly and almost quietly , even silently ,if pushed into places .

[OLD and GRUMPY]

Several things.#1- Thick skull. If you don't hit him dead center short may just go around the  brain box.Follow the bone and come out the back side of his head. Will just piss him off. #2- I gave up my .22LR that I LOVED because In my big hand It would not fire. Could not trust her in a fight. Trigger fell in a finger joint  that no matter how hard I pulled the hammer would not drop. Yes I know. Big grips will fix this. BUT! Bight me.  That defeats the whole point of SMALL! She now is owned by a tiny lady with hands that fit.Will work for her.  Short is even smaller. I WANT ONE to try.

[Canoeal]

Even LRs vs mag makes a difference as does barrel length. I chose a a BW for my firsr because of that. My second was a Wasp 1 5/8" if I needed something smaller. No I am not trusting LRs or shorts, primarily because I can't even hold on to them...

[Gun1]

Several things.#1- Thick skull. If you don't hit him dead center short may just go around the  brain box.Follow the bone and come out the back side of his head. Will just piss him off. #2- I gave up my .22LR that I LOVED because In my big hand It would not fire. Could not trust her in a fight. Trigger fell in a finger joint  that no matter how hard I pulled the hammer would not drop. Yes I know. Big grips will fix this. BUT! Bight me.  That defeats the whole point of SMALL! She now is owned by a tiny lady with hands that fit.Will work for her.  Short is even smaller. I WANT ONE to try.

The .22 Short and the .22 LR actually share the same grip. They're also the same width and height, it's just the length that's shorter because the cartridge is shorter. Now the .22 WMG that's significantly larger and it's thicker, taller, and of course longer; the grips are also bigger.

[TruthTellers]

Compare the penetration here to 80% of the ammo tested in the .22 LR.

.22 Short
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoQlZC9DFyQ

.22 LR
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyR1K92pyq4

I thought about this and went back and forth on it, thought I would go with the .22 LR due to ammo availability, but then I realized I shoot less than a brick thru my .22 Mag/LR mini, so the extra $20 on .22 Short isn't breaking the bank. Still, maybe the power of LR would be the way to go, then talking with others apparently keyholing is an issue with the .22 LR model and a keyholing bullet is an inefficient penetrator, but that person has never seen a keyhole with the .22 Short.

So, now I'm swinging back to .22 Short and seeing that 8 inches is a possibility with the .22 Short and keyholes aren't a concern or as big of one with the Short, I've decided to go with the Short model. My goal was small size and it doesn't get any smaller than the Short, plus it checks the unique box that always tickles my fancy.