My first “real” gun was a Ruger 10/22, which shoots 22 long rifle, while my first concealed carry pistol was a Smith & Wesson 9mm Shield.
My grandfather owns a varmint gun chambered in 22 Mag, which we often shot growing up.
To say I have a lot of experience with both calibers as a gun owner is an understatement.
I believe each caliber has its proper place, and both should be in your gun safe.
However, that doesn’t mean they should be used for the same reasons. Each round outshines the other in specific instances.
As we compare the .22 vs. 9mm, you’ll see why I believe everyone should own both for different scenarios, but if I were forced to choose just one, it’d be the 9mm because of its reloadability and higher knockdown power.
.22 vs. 9mm
The 22 and 9mm were created for different purposes, so these rounds are very dissimilar.
For instance, the 22 caliber is a rimfire cartridge, while the 9mm is a centerfire cartridge which makes reloading the 9mm possible, unlike 22 brass.
The bullets of a 9mm Luger are much larger than a 22, which means their trajectories and recoil will vary.
Let’s get into the meat and potatoes of the 22 vs. 9mm comparison.
Cartridge Specs
We will discuss a few different cartridges for the 22 caliber, the 22LR, 22WMR, and 22 Short, but we’ll focus on the two most common rounds, the 22 Long Rifle and the 22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire.
The 22 Long is the most common round and what most of us grew up shooting. The bullet diameter is 0.2255″, and the base diameter is 0.226″.
The case length makes up 0.613″ of the overall 1″ length of a 22LR. The max pressure (SAAMI) is 24,000 psi.
The beefed-up version of the 22 LR is the 22 WMR. The bullet diameter is slightly smaller at 0.224″, and the base diameter is larger at 0.242″.
If you have zero experience with these cartridges, you might think they’d be easy to mix up.
However, the 22 WMR has an overall length of 1.35″ with the case length making up 1.055″ of the overall length, so they’re easily distinguishable. The max pressure (SAAMI) is 23,206 psi.
The 22 Short, as you can guess, is shorter than the other cartridges. The overall length is only 0.695″, and the bullet diameter is smaller at 0.222″.
The 22 Short isn’t as common, so we will focus on the 22LR and 22WMR for the rest of the article.
The 9mm bullet diameter is 0.355″, and the base diameter is 0.391″. The case length of the 9mm makes up 0.754″ of the 1.169″ overall size of the round.
The max pressure (SAAMI) of the 9mm is 35,000 psi, over 10,000 pounds per square inch more than the 22LR.
Recoil
Felt recoil is determined by the weight of the gun and the bullet weight.
So no matter how you slice it, the 9mm will have more recoil because it needs a larger cartridge with more capacity to fire the larger bullet.
The 22 Short will have the least amount of recoil, but the 22 Long Rifle and 22 Mag hardly have any recoil.
This is why so many shooters are introduced to firearms using a 22 caliber. If you have a child or adult reluctant to shoot because they’re afraid of the recoil, then the 22 is the best way to help them see there’s nothing with which to be concerned.
With that said, the 9mm Luger is not a high-recoil caliber. The 4-8 ft-lbs of recoil is a great “next step up” for the new shooter because it’s still easy to get follow-up shots off in a semi-auto.
The experienced shooter will have no problem handling a 9mm pistol while target shooting.
If you’re solely focused on feeling less recoil, then it’s no contest the 22 caliber wins.
Trajectory
The bullet’s trajectory is the path that it takes to the target. The track is an arch because of gravity.
We prefer flat-shooting rounds because they require less adjusting as the distance to the target increases.
Neither caliber was designed for long-range shooting, so each one has a poor trajectory.
The 9mm drops over 12″ at 100 yards; in comparison, we can zero in, meaning virtually no drop, a 22 WMR at 100 yards, but at 200 yds, the bullet drops 16.5″. The 22 LR has a shorter range than the WMR; at 150 yds, it has 11 inches of drop.
The 9mm was designed for handguns, so a 100-yard shot is not recommended.
The 22 vs. 9mm trajectory contest is easily won by the 22, but it’s most often shot from a rifle, so we expected this outcome.
Accuracy
Accuracy depends on many factors, including the gun, optics, shooter, and quality of rounds.
Most shooters will find the .22 caliber to be more accurate than the 9mm because of the less recoil and flatter trajectory.
Stopping Power
Stopping power is an immeasurable term that most firearms enthusiasts use. When speaking of stopping power, we often mean the ability of the round to stop a threat immediately.
Bullet selection greatly factors into the debate, but a larger bullet will generally have more stopping power.
A hollow-point bullet will have more stopping power than a Full Metal Jacket (FMJ) of the same caliber.
The stopping power of the 22 Long Rifle doesn’t compare to the larger 9mm.
The 9mm easily wins the section.
Hunting
Growing up, I hunted rabbits and squirrels with a Ruger 10/22 22 LR. It could take out a coyote with a well-placed shot, but I would recommend stepping up to a 22 WMR for coyotes and groundhogs.
Attempting to take any game larger than a coyote with a 22 is illegal in most states.
I have never personally hunted with 9mm ammo, nor would I recommend it to anyone. Still, a 9mm Luger has the capabilities in close range to take down a deer if you’re in a desperate situation.
These calibers weren’t intended for big game hunting, but the 22 has a slight advantage for small game hunting situations.
Self-Defense and Home Defense
Most people will agree that the 9mm is the better-concealed carry and home-defense option because it has more stopping power and is just as easy to conceal.
The only advantage the 22 has on the 9mm is magazine capacity, but a Glock 19 9mm has a standard magazine capacity of 15+1 up to a 33+1, so there’s not much of an advantage here either.
I’m grabbing my 9mm self-defense round over my 22 LR or 22 WMR.
Ammo & Gun Cost & Availability
Because so many shooters enjoy both calibers, ammo and gun availability are exceptionally high compared with many other calibers.
Manufacturers like Glock and Ruger offer both calibers chambered in a pistol, while companies like Henry, Winchester, and Remington offer 22 LR and 22 WMR rifles.
The 9mm is found in a carbine; that’s a lot of fun to shoot.
Gun cost varies significantly from manufacturer to manufacturer and pistol vs. rifle, but both calibers offer guns at all price ranges.
The price of ammo is where the 22 LR separates itself from the competition. It’s often the cheapest ammo you can purchase. 22 WMR is usually 2-3 times the price of 22 LR because fewer manufacturers make it.
9mm is also typically two times the cost of 22 LR, but that’s expected since it requires a larger bullet, case, a primer, and more gunpowder.
Buying in bulk is always smart, make sure to check out our stock of 9mm bulk ammo and bulk 22lr ammo.
Reloading
Reloading is the best way to control the controllable variables. It’s also an excellent way to save money on ammo.
Handloading 9mm rounds is very common, which makes finding all the essentials difficult in times of low product availability. This also means 9mm primers, bullets, and gunpowder will be some of the first back in stock.
While handloading 22 LR is not impossible, it’s much more hassle, and your options are minimal. Only a couple of companies offer reloading equipment for 22 LR.
Since they’re rimfire cartridges, they require a special powder that a typical shipping process can’t ship. Though it is much cheaper, reloaded 22 is less reliable than factory ammo.
If you enjoy reloading, 9mm ammo is the way to go since the equipment is much easier to obtain.
9mm vs 22 Ballistics
The team at Ammo.com has crafted the ballistics charts for the 9mm and 22 Long Rifle and 22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire.
9mm Ballistics Chart
Note: This information comes from the manufacturer and is for informational purposes only. The actual ballistics obtained with your firearm can vary considerably from the advertised ballistics. Also, ballistics can vary from lot to lot with the same brand and type load.
.22 Ballistics Chart
Note: This information comes from the manufacturer and is for informational purposes only. The actual ballistics obtained with your firearm can vary considerably from the advertised ballistics. Also, ballistics can vary from lot to lot with the same brand and type load.
A Brief .22 History
The Stevens Arms Company began developing the 22 LR rimfire round from the case of the 22 Long and the 40-grain bullet of the 22 Extra long in the late 1800s.
In the last 130+ years, it has skyrocketed to the most popular round with few competitors because of its low recoil and inexpensive rounds.
The 22 LR has been chambered in almost every gun imaginable with a wide variety of bullet weights from 20-60gr with muzzle velocities ranging between 575 to 1,700 fps.
Bare lead, copper plated, full metal jacket, hollow point, and No. 12 snake shotshells all make up the varieties of bullets available in 22 LR.
Released by Winchester Repeating Arms in 1959, the 22 WMR is also known as the 22 Mag, .22 Magnum, 22 MRF, and .22 WMRF.
It was developed by elongating the anemic .22 WRF cartridge to fire a 40-grain bullet at 2,000 fps.
Today, most 22 WMR loads fire bullets weighing 30-50 grains around 1,900 FPS.
A Brief 9mm History
The 9x19mm Luger is, known as the 9x19mm, 9mm Parabellum, or simply the 9mm, was developed by the Austrian gunsmith Georg Luger in 1901.
The 9mm Parabellum is derived from the 7.65x21mm Parabellum, Luger’s previous design.
After World War I and World War II, 9mm became a popular cartridge amongst military and law enforcement in Europe. However, it didn’t become common in the US until the 1980s when the US Army adopted the Beretta M9 Service Pistol.
The 9mm Luger erupted in the United States in the ’80s and ’90s when Glock introduced the Glock 17 and the Sig Sauer P226 hit the market. More recently, the Springfield XD and Smith & Wesson M&P have continued to spread the popularity of the 9x19mm to the concealed carry community.
Final Shots: 22 Caliber vs 9mm
As we can see when comparing the 22 vs 9mm, both calibers have their place in history and are very popular for different reasons. That’s why I believe both should have their place in your gun safe.
However, if you can’t convince your significant other about the benefits of owning both rounds, I would stick with the 9mm.
Its low recoil, higher stopping power, availability of reloading supplies, and versatility make it the better round.
You can’t go wrong with 22LR ammo for a day of plinking, and varmints don’t stand a chance at 100 yards with the 22 WMR and good shot placement.
.22 vs 9mm: Should It Be a Debate? originally appeared in The Resistance Library at Ammo.com.
This is like comparing a Corvette to a Silverado.
Stupid.
More like a mosquito to an eagle.
Hardly…more like a Camry to an Accord.
Different tools in the tool box.
If you had to pick one pick 22lr you can carry far far more ammo and all you need is a 10/22 and a mark 2 ruger and you’re set.
.22 LR stingers had plenty of stopping power. Don’t know if they still make them. Also easy to get more accurate follow-up shots off with a .22 LR. Even .22 Shorts have their uses, they are subsonic for one thing. Out of a long barrelled rifle they make no more noise than a pellet gun.
The CCI Stinger is still manufactured. It’s a 32 gr Copper Plated Hollow Point bullet advertised at 1640 FPS.
Unfortunately for the .22 short it is falling by the wayside as most .22 firearms manufactures are not designing their firearms for .22 short. I use to shoot squirrels with a Rem .22 Short HP in my bolt action Marlin 25. Nice round and more silent than the LR.
We used shoot frogs with 22 shorts ..great round and did little damage to the frog… whole lot easier than gigging.
We use to go gigging when we went to visit my uncle in PA. He had a dairy farm, and his neighbor (also a farmer, but not sure what) had a pond chock full of bullfrogs. Pretty sure it was dad who was pushing the hunt, so the uncle welded up a gig out of some big d nails.
A lot of fun getting a mess of them. I remember watching them twitch and asking why they did. Uncle told me the frog in the pot thing, but swore later he never did.
Good eating for sure.
Good one. I’ve never shot anything with a 22lr I ain’t had to go pop pop pop pop with. Can’t say the same with a 9mm mak or 9mm luger. All with either of them it only took one pop.
Edit. I did shoot a sparrow one time, about the first time I ever used a 22lr rifle the boarder said I could play with when I was around 9 or 10. Only then I had shot up till then was my red ryder BB gun. I took aim at this sparrow that was setting on the telegraph wire of the RR tracks we lived next to and squeezed off a round. Didn’t really expect to hit it, and climbed through the brush to see if I had. And when I found it I had cored out from the back side to the front side. That was the only critter I have ever shoot with a one pop 22lr.
I had an old, very successful gunsmith explain the difference betwixt a .45 and a 9mm to me once, year’n ago. He said, that if you shoot a man with a 9mm he’ll crawl away and bleed to death, but if shot with a .45 , you get to watch him die…I never forget that somewhat brutal comparison betwixt the calibers and sold my TZ 75 very soon after.
Yeah, there is no doubt there is more stopping power in a 45. But that old boy in the taco shop might have been on to something in regard to critters crawling off to die.
Good tune.
I think this explains the difference, even if the cartridge is not the same.
22’s especially shorts have one huge advantage over other rounds and that is noise. A 22 short shot from a single fire rifle is often as quiet as a bb gun.
Bought a couple 22 pellet guns a year or so back, and have been pretty impressed with them for dispatching small critters. Usually it is the son in-law that does the killing, but I shot a rat the other day that the daughter trapped in a live cage, and it was done in one (I usually drowned coons and such I catch in live traps, but daughter 2of4 wasn’t having any of it. Sucks oldest daughter and hubby moved out). And they are as quiet as a BB gun. Ammo is probably more easy to come by too.
Can’t recall the last time I seen a box of 22 short, but it isn’t something I look for, but it seems like it should be pretty close to the 22r. Use the 22 pellet gun way more now than a 22lr.
Checking around for a pellet rifle myself. Probably go with .17.
Just make sure it is suited for what you have in mind.
Popping stray dogs in the butt and general plinking off the back deck. .22 pellet would be ok too. I killed a neighbor’s dog once with a .22 Short CB out of the Marlin. At the distance I thought I’d just pop it in the butt. It went home and died. Probably why I’ll go with the .17 in a pellet rifle. 🙂
Just saying, any breakdown in society is probably going to resemble Northern Ireland more than Mosul.
The ability to keep your location unknown is key to getting away to fight another day.
“Retire”
Become a recluse
Trust no one
Think incognito
Become a master of disguises
Man up and get a real handgun 45 ACP or 44 Magnum.
A 9mm is a Star Trek phaser on stun.
I have several 45 acp, but I do like the 9mm I have just as well. Generally you get more capacity with the 9mm in a smaller package. Not to mention much more manageable in 9mm.
I have a llama double stack 45 “1911” and that thing is huge and heavy. You could beat somebody senseless with it fer sure. I was always getting made carrying concealed back when it wasn’t so fashionable.
Now I can’t say the same for the Sar k2 I have. They are a double stack also. Even though they take the same mag as the llama (paraord etc), they are way more manageable and a delight to shoot. But that does seem to be the norm with the cz format, whether in 45 or 9mm. The k2p 9mm (17+1) I have are even more of a delight to shoot.
I liked the cz format so well I bought us all one in both 9mm and 45 back when they were a steal. You can still get a good deal on the 9mm variants, but the 45 ones have been a very good investment almost 2x, and will likely continue upward.
Why not compare 9mm against .380??
.22 is not in the same league.
Should it be a debate? No
I have 22LR and 9mm pistols and rifles. My 9mm hand gun cartridge is interchangeable with my 9mm carbine.
Still not good for hunting, but do like standardization of ammo.
Exactly. I picked up a mint Marlin camp carbine in 9mm. What a fun gun and can accept 30 round stick mags in the Smith 59 series.
a camp 9 with 147grain bullets and a “can” fitted to the barrel will take down a deer (headshot) without disturbing anyone near by. barrel end is tapered so it takes some work to get the alignment correct.
I’d like to see an article about .38 SPL self defense ammo. I could build a case why the age old .38 SPL 158gr solid lead wadcutter and semi-wadcutter make very suitable rounds for self defense. Both are still around yet pricey and like so many other firearms related subjects have fallen by the wayside. .38 SPL is still popular although the semi-autos rule the roost in sales and use.
I love .38/.357 and strictly use hollow points. Also use a slide action rifle in .357/.38 Little known: I reload 9mm in .357 cases for some extra zip. 9mm is .356
Ruger makes a 357 magnum with a extra 9mm cylinder. so it shoots 3 different rounds (38 also of course)
Interesting.
https://ruger.com/products/newModelBlackhawkConvertible/models.html
S&W started making a 9mm revolver some years ago. One model holds 9 rounds. Really nice. The Ruger would resolve 9mm in revolver plus bonus for two other rounds.
I carry a Ruger LCR in .38spl, five rounds of quickly available and reliable effective self defence and easily carried.
A well placed shot is a very good thing.
Indeed.
I’ve killed whitetail deer with a .22 pistol…so there’s that. I wouldn’t want one pointed at me.
I know people who have jumped out of trees with a knife and killed deer too, but do you want to bet you life on being able to do it when the chips are down? Like maybe you and yours are about to starve and you have a shot at the only critter you have seen in months and it is a deer? Or that bear seems to thinks you are lunch? Etc.
Certainly using a proper hunting cartridge is no guarantee either, but it sure goes a long way in getting the job done.
“I know people who have jumped out of trees with a knife and killed deer too” You know people who have said they did …an injured whitetail deer will hurt your ass…take my word for it.
And I’m not claiming .22 is a great round for self defense , but it will kill. Doubt it at your own peril.
No, this dude actually did it. I related it back in the day and people since have claimed they did.
There is no doubt 22lr will kill, and I certainly have killed critters with it, dogs and raccoons mostly, but they have never died clean and took more than one shot (which is why I don’t do it anymore). I can also kill things with the 22 pellet gun, and even watched guys kill hogs with a 22 pellet gun, but it was never as clean as using something more suited to the job.
Like I said before, I’ve killed critters (mainly dogs) with even 9mm in one shot, and they always died quick and clean.
Placement. A 22 to the base of the skull kills clean’n quick. So patience is key when hunting with small caliber ammunition.
I’ve had nothing but clean kills with a 22 …if you haven’t , I’d recommend you work on your aim.
Yeah. We head Grouse at 30 yards with .22.
Anatomy and shot placement. Blow a hole in the carotid artery and things die pretty quick. Hit the heart, same. Lungs, slightly longer.
However for larger game hunting, I use the heaviest, highest energy cartridge for any gun. I hate tracking down a kill. I want it to fall within a couple of yards of where I hit it.
Mostly use 12ga. slugs for hunting now. Have to get closer, but nothing goes more than 2 steps before dropping. My days of shooting at 400+ yards are over. Too far to walk to get the kill.
LOL
I knew guys who’d brag about downing a moose at 700 yards. Even then I was fit I was asking WTF would you do that??? Now you have to walk thru brush and bramble, 700 yrds and pack the damn thing back thru all that. Its going to be 4 – 5 trips minimum. And it usually involved walking around a swamp or back up a hill.
Meanwhile, I tramp at the very most 50 – 70 yards off a gravel roadway and bag a moose usually within 30 – 40 yards from the road. If I don’t get one there my buddy sitting out on the road takes one when I flush’m out and they cross the road.
My guide buddy had clients that would not shoot anything at LESS than 500 yards. Europeans with $20,000 rifle packages.
But the guides had to go get the kill while the clients drank brandy and ate caviar.
Must be nice to be THAT rich.
Hard to get bad shot placement at a couple feet away.
I remember as a younger guy with younger eyes shooting squirrels in the eyeball with my Marlin 25 bolt action with 4x Simmons scope. Still shoot it but the eyes are older and the scope ain’t what it use to be 35 years ago. Took the scope off and I can consistently hit a 3″ spinning target at 66 yrds. with open sights never touched for 35 years. Measured it, lol Marlin rocks.
Had one of these rugers, a Mark2 , if memory serves right. A work horse, tougher to disassemble and clean but it put a LOT of rounds thru and always on target.
Pretty sure my dad had one. Probably still does I’ve never known him to do much selling or trading. He seems to like it fairly well. I learned to shoot pistol with a .22 revolver (not sure if it was lr, I suspect it was, but it wasn’t mine and was to young to know the difference anyways) back in the day. Neighbor owned it and we would line up pop cans (real ones) and play army shooting them. He lost that revolver one day when we were out riding horses. Not sure how it fell out of his holster, but he never did find it. I suspect it didn’t lay on the ground long.
One thing I would like to have yet is a 22lr pistol. Mainly for training the grandson and daughters, but they are fun to shoot.
A few years back I bought another 22 pistol. A sig 1911 22LR. It has the same weight and size of a full sized 1911 – 45. The reason I bought it was because it was nearly identical to my old full sized 45acp.
The difference being I can still go out and shoot all day and retain all the muscle memory and skills with a full size and not have to take out a second mortgage to pay for the ammo. I’ll take out one of the other calibers with more bark’n recoil for that reason, to keep up practicing regaining target thats missing with 22’s. But its a lot cheaper this way. I love shoot’n so this is a compromise and still retain skills.
That would be sweet. I bought one of those DPMS SBR BB Air Rifles for the same reason, that the manual of arms are the same as an AR. That is one of the other things too that is cool about bb and (smaller) pellet, is you can shoot them in the house without to much worry. A 22lr, yeah maybe power wise, but not sound wise.
I built a suppressor out of 3/4 inch EMT and used washers and aluminum screen for baffle material, used 3/4 pvc for spacers. About 8in long and muffled the sound down to the crack from the bullet going supersonic. I used subsonic 22lr and all you could hear was the click of the pin going forward to strike the rim. it was fun building and playing around with it, learned a lot.
See ‘Oil filter suppressor” on youtube.
A male threaded copper pipe fitting tapped snug onto the barrel. Screw on oil filter. First shot puts the accurate hole in the filter. Enlarge slightly.
Bulky but functional and nobody gets arrested for carrying oil filters. There are some very long and thin ones used on motorcycles and industrial equipment. Lots of choice for something suitable.
Yeah, for inside you would still have the smoke to deal with. Great for being sneaky though. They have been giving some fellers troubles over those solvent traps, though certainly not the same as oil filters.
Try aiming with one attached. If you can’t even see wat you are shooting at its kinda pointless to use then. You would literally have to jam it against the target to hit it. Not mention the weight either.
those are drinking straws, illegal in commiefornia
Oh yeah, wanted to say that little 22lr revolver wasn’t like one of these cowboy single actions you see today. Not sure who made it (maybe ruger, I doubt he would have bought something cheap), but it was a snub nose double action, which at the time was pretty good being that revolvers were still in pretty good use. I didn’t know any different at the time but we were taking some fairly long shots with it when we were shooting those cans, being a pretty short barrel as it was.
An absolute pleasure to shoot.
Colt made a .22 revolver that shot Short, Long or LR. I know someone that has one handed down through family. My heart bleeds, would I ever enjoy that revolver but not for the big price if you can find one. Discontinued actually quite a number of years ago.
In recent years having no .22 handgun I settled for a Heritage Arms Roughrider in 6-1/2″ barrel. Not the Colt mentioned and only shoots LR.
I have been looking at the heritage ones for awhile now too.
Price on them is certainly right.
Not a Colt. 1000 rounds through mine in three years.
Classic.
Seems the usual arguments surface. Don’t use this use this instead. Get a real gun, get a 45. blah blah blah
You don’t use a sledge hammer to drive nails. You don’t use vice grips to monkey wrench nuts’n bolts unless you rounded them off. Like any tool there are specific uses and times to use these tools. 22’s are no different.
Lots of what if scenario’s get played out here as well. Whats good in your area may not be so good in mine. If I need range and killing, then a 22 probably isn’t the choice to make on anything larger than a racoon. But if I need stealth moreso then the 22 is easier to conceal.
Tools, use the one that fits.
You’ll get no argument from me.