.22 Trainers

[Alan de Enfield]

How 'lethal' is your little .22 No7, No8 or No9 ?

Can it penetrate 3 layers of clothing and 9" of meat at 300 yards ?

Read on and be impressed :

Lethality of the 22LR- Results! - Sniper's Hide Forums

Information

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[Alfred]

Suppressed .22 rifles were considered for sentry removal before the DeLise carbine was developed, and a suppressed High Standard .22 pistol was in US inventory well into the cold war era.

Head shots with a .22 aren't nearly as certain as you'd think, several local yahoos have survived point blank head shots from .22 and .25 rifles or pistols. One off duty cop was shot in the head with the barrel pressed against his temple. At an angle apparently because the bullet skittered between flesh and skull circling his head and coming out the opposite side. He was a nieghbor of a friend and he showed us the wounds the next day.
Another fellow tried suicide by placing the muzzle of a long barreled .22 rifle between his eyes and pressing the trigger with his big toe. The bullet penetrated his skull and zipped between the halves of his brain flattening against the back of his skull but causing no permanent damage.

A .22 WMR on the otherhand can cause some pretty impressive wounds, especially in hollow point form. Energy level is about that of a .380.

The .22 is a well known man killer, but its rep depends more on internal bleeding or infection, a friend died of infection from a relatively minor wound when his .22 deringer slipped from a jacket pocket while he was boarding his fishing boat. The gun landed on the hammer, a common problem with deringers due to the butt heavy design, and the bullet struck his breastbone and followed the bone coming out his neck. If not for infection from the outside lubricated bullet he'd have survived with barely a mark.

I figure that suppressed or not a bullet should be of enough energy to kill or render unconcious immediately. No advantage to suppressors if the target is squaling like a panther or trashing around squirting blood all over his mates. They are bound to know somethings amiss.

[Bindi2]

It is called bullet placement a quiet killer

[JB White]

Under certain circumstances the 22 LR will also penetrate certain kevlar vests with ease at distance. This being the internet I'd rather not jeopardize the lives of patrolmen who may be wearing one. I won't go into specific detail. The fellow who had worn that vest throughout the previous year was quite shocked to see it for himself.