The lethality of .22's

Seriously.
My camping gun when the kids were little was a Mossburg 500 with alternating double-ought shot and slugs.
I know it wouldn't kill 1200 pounds of pissed off grizzly especially with me using it but it would slow the damned thing down enough for my family to get away and that's all that mattered.

 

I previously posted this, but it's good story.

A friend of ours is a geologist, and she participated in field studies when she was in college. Their group was sent to a remote location, somewhere in Alaska IIRC, and they were provided with a 12 gauge shotgun loaded with slugs. One day they went out but someone forgot the shotgun. They encountered a large bear, and the three of them stood in a group and yelled and waved their arms. Fortunately it worked; the bear looked them over for a few seconds, and decided to move away. They never again forgot the shotgun.

 

There's a long standing joke up here about the tourist who wants to go hiking and see the bears.
The native tries to convince them that it's not a good idea but the tourist having seen one too many Disney movie insists.
"Okay then, you'll need to sew these bells onto your clothes." the native says handing over a big box of tiny bells.
"So this will keep me safe?"
"No, but we'll be able to identify your remains from the bells in bear scat."

 

For home defense I prefer handguns:

The .357, loaded with SJHPs, is my first choice and it's kept within very easy reach of our bed.
The .38, loaded with +P SJHPs, is second.
The .22 semi-atomatic, kept loaded 10+1, is third.
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I like this old joke:

A veteran hiking guide and a newbie hiker encounter a large bear.

"We can try running," suggests the guide.
The newbie says, "I've heard running the worst thing that you can do."
"Not if I outrun you," replies the guide.

 

Resurrecting this fun debate is the obscure desire to have a backup gun and how modern ammunition has made the .22 Magnum nearly as effective as a .38 Spec JHP.

Hornady's Critical Defense and Speer's Gold Dot .22 Magnum "short barrel" ammo is designed for handguns and gives impressive results.

Major revolver manufacturers--Ruger and S&W--are making J-frame sized guns that can be effective pocket / backup guns.

Articles:

ActiveResponseTraining - What about the .22 Magnum?
BreachBangClear - Holdout Revolvers from NAA