11 year old boy in Palmview, Texas (right along the border with Mexico) uses a .22 rifle to protect himself and his mother from a home-invasion. Story here.
The homeowner said she and her 11-year-old son were in bed when she heard banging on the front main entrance door.
She got up to check and she saw two Hispanic males men masks and armed with handguns walking towards her.
To leave your safe, defensible area to go investigate? That’s a judgment call. General rule is it’s better to stay where you are, arm yourself, call the police, and hunker down. But sometimes going out is what the situation calls for. And in this case, the situation revealed two Mexican males in masks with guns. There’s nothing in the story that says why these men were or might have been in the house, but for sure that’s a “up to no good” situation.
The masked man kept telling her to open the door and she would not open the door.
DUH! What was she supposed to do? “You didn’t say the magic word!” Geez….. 🙂
Her son had a 22 cal. Rifle and shot back at the alleged robbers.
The woman waited, opened the door, saw that the suspects were no longer there and called 911.
A .22 isn’t my first choice, but something is better than nothing.
Deputies said Border Patrol agents detained two Mexican nationals who were found in the area.
So, they’re illegal aliens. Not surprising, given it’s a border town.
Makes you wonder what the context was for this home invasion, and I’m not going to hazard any sort of a guess. For all I know the woman could be in the wrong as well. I point out this story because:
- A .22 in the hand beats 3 violent criminals trying to bang down your door in the middle of the night. Sorry, no restraining orders, strongly worded letters, or a little understanding would have been of much use here.
- A child had access to a readily dischargable firearm, and I guess thank God he did.
- You have to fight to live.
Stuff From Hsoi 
A 22 rifle is quite a bit different from a 22 handgun; it has a lot higher velocity. 22 rifles are used to poach more deer than just about any other single caliber. They are quiet, almost no recoil, and a head shot will drop a deer. My great-grandfather used a 22 rifle (I presently own it) to drop mule deer, and my dad actually took out a black bear with it when he was in his teens. It’s all in shot placement.
Oh I don’t deny the glory of the .22. Is it ideal for home defense? I don’t think it’s ideal, but it’s certainly better than nothing and obviously effective.
And it’s all about shot placement no matter what you’re shooting.
Hell, I am very seriously considering one of these http://www.gunkings.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=81&products_id=1053 for a home-defense application. Slide a silencer into that pre-built over-sized flash-suppressor, and you have a silenced, carbine-length rifle that has no recoil and no appreciable sound signature. Not only is it a great training tool for the “real” AR upper, but in the middle of the night with no hearing protection, it can result in 25 holes in someone, no matter how small those holes might be.
Sure, I would probably go for the 870 myself, but something tells me the lack of noise and kick means my wife (a fan of neither) would be more willing to use, and train with, this particular tool. The right kind of .22 round can have as much power as a .380, and while I surely would prefer something larger, any hole in a bad guy is better than no hole.
That’s my point: I’d rather have something someone is willing to shoot and train with. Doesn’t matter how big your blaster is if they won’t use it. Wife and Kids can all manage the 20 gauge (well, Youngest hasn’t tried it yet and it may be difficult for him) but there’s no question it’s a bit of work and darn loud. Plus after just a bit of practice the shoulders of the little ones start to say “no mas”.
So back to that other thread… another reason for considering the Hi-Point Carbine. 🙂