So I wanted to mention that Caldwell's light system is not very good. This is the second one I have had because the original quit working and Caldwell replaced it, now the replacement does not work. After some investigation by messing with all of it, basically the on/off switches are faulty. I just direct wired around the switch and they work fine, you just have to unplug the power unit rather than turn it off. If you happen to have two power units you could just use one per light bar too if you wanted to not do any wire cutting. I got it working and on a different video (The Argument is OVER! 💩9mm Does NOT and CANNOT Rival 💣.357 Magnum! (😔Even with 9mm +P+😪) I had issues at first with test reads that day, THEN I hooked up the lights I spliced together and had no misreads in that video. I hope this info might help someone.

Remember folks A wise man once said a hit with a 22 is always better than a Miss with a 44

Couple of things Sam 1.) I and many others really appreciate the time and effort you put into these productions - not everyone, but I suspect a lot of people realize the work involved in making these videos, and that isn't even including the cost or the time. It is a LOT of work to put out quality content such as what you do. 2.) I know it has to be very frustrating, but I hate to see you get defensive over the chronograph. Folks seem to expect a "Hollywood" version of everything. One of the best parts about your videos are when things don't go as planned - seems more real and honest to me. And, maybe I am being naive here, but those that choose to point those things out are (hopefully) just trying to help. Thanks for what you do Sam, and especially HOW you do it!

This is basically my edc rig. Only a ruger lcp 2 22lr loaded with the federal punch. Not because im crippled up, or recoil sensitive. It is so compact i can carry it with zero changes to anything i did before i carried every day, i had to make it reliable but thats another story, it is reliable, and i can hit with it. Seeing this test confirmed what ive thought all along. The 22 is grossly underestimated by most. Are there more capable cartridges out there? Yes, almost all of them. Will this fit alot of peoples needs and allow them to have tools on their person to defend themselves if need be? Yes. I have caught so much crap for being a big burly man with a mouse gun in my pocket i am might near surgical with, from my friends with their 45’s, 357’s, 9mm’s in the glove box of their truck or 5 hours away in their nightstand. It blows my mind. Sure its not macho or even beastly, but ive never seen anyone shot by one having a good day, or doing too much of anything other than seeking medical treatment, or taking the environmental temperature challenge.

Good job reviewing the .22 for self-defense! I carried a Ruger SR.22 for a long time!

I made a mistake with my .38 Special penetration quotes at 7:57 and 10:05. I got the first one right when I said 18" as it stopped at 16" in gel and adding the MDF would make it 18", but without the MDF it penetrated a straight 19" and had enough to punch the jug, so I will still say that one was 21". Even though the diameter of the recovered MDF bullet was smaller than the plain gel bullet, the MDF bullet (which you cannot see from the top), had a much more deformed nose so I think this accounts for the "three inch" difference instead of "2 inch". We also should probably deduct the 1/4" of MDF off, but I sort of left that part alone as adding 1/4" to everything makes it a lot more complicated than it needs to be for an amount that's not even note worthy.

A friend gave me a modern reprint of Maj Julian Hatcher’s Pistols and Revolvers and Their Use. It came out in 1927 and had a lot of famous tests that couldn’t be repeated today. They shot cadavers and measured the swing of a limb and steers at a slaughterhouse. It most certainly dealt with the stopping power of small and large bore handguns of the day, but in dealing with leathality, he mentioned the .22lr as not necessarily a “stopper”, but an almost certain killer in the border fighting over bootleg liquor during prohibition. The remote areas and medicine of the day made pulling out someone’s intestines and plugging holes was not something easily survived! I don’t want someone mag dumping a 10-22 on me out in front of the best hospital in the country today!

Great test and comparison! After you pointed it out I do see the similarity between the two bullet designs. Very interesting. Impressed by the velocity numbers for the Punch out of the Bobcat. Also, you hitting at 25 yards with both guns - nice. I need to find some Punch for my 21A. Thanks for this test.

Great video.... I like your quote : "it's better to have a skill and not need it than to need a skill and not have it". I feel the same way: "proper planning prevents poor performance" Slainte 🇺🇲🇮🇪

You might want to try comparing this .22 ammo to a few popular .22 loads. Thanks for posting.

Cci stingers have been around since the early 80s or before. Also federal yellow jackets. Aguila has been making hyper velocity ammo for some time as well

Once in a blue moon I would see Remington Viper ammunition for sale, but not for a very long time. The Viper ammo seems to have preceeded the new Federal load by a large margin.

Another great and educational video! My view on the 22 has definitely changed a little bit thanks to this awesome video. Keep up the great work and thank you!

As usual another outstanding experiment. I like that you’re not so absolutely anti .22 lr for self defense. My wife will occasionally carry her .22 with me and my .357 edc. We’ve always felt that getting hit with a few unexpected .22’s would definitely change an assailant’s plan for that day. My only hang up with a .22 as a stand alone defensive round is that rimfire reliability. Sure, I’ve shot 400 to 500 rounds in a row without a failure to fire, but there’s always that 1 and if it happens to be the 1 that counts, the result could be quite the pickle. Keep up your fine work and I look forward to seeing what you try next.

Your 1041 fps with those 22 Punch from the 2.4" barrel pretty well confirms my 1084 fps average from the Ruger's 2.75" barrel.

Your ability to consistantly hit the 1 or 2 inch hold to put your second and third shots into your gel is crazy. You haven't missed any on all the videos I watch! Now, the bullet doesn't always do what you want it to, but, the initial impact of the round is spot on. I still think you are crazy when you shot your water jugs in winter. Because I can feel the cold water hitting me while freezing cold. Lol. Great video with some unexpected results in my mind. Was not thinking such small bullet would pass through the 4 layers of denim and the 3 inches of gel and 1/4 inch board and end up with 13 inches of penetration. 29 grains just did seem in my mind have enough mass to push past all that. So I learned something for sure.

Sam; Any testing is valuable as it adds to the collective knowledge. I conclude that some are better than others, any are better than nothing, and most are good enough. Just for us old dogs perhaps you could try some 158 RNL 38 Spl standard nostalgia loads.

Thanks for testing the merits of 22 LR personal defense.

Glad you did this. Both are great rounds. I am planning on adding my ruger lcrx 357 with 38 special loads to my rotation. My 22lrs will be for super light carry during exercise sessions and when I get too old to shoot 9mm or 38.

Wow! Eye opening validation of the right 22LR ammo and the options for damage factor. A fast trigger and a heavy round speaks the talk and delivers. talk to my 25 round mag of 22LR!

I had to smile when you said it's better to have the skill and not need it than to need it and not have it. From the time I was a small boy my dad taught me the exact same thing. He called it "the camping rule". Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

Great test Sam. If you were looking for a 22lr round for self defense I think this would be a good one and I've always liked semi wadcutters and wadcutters out of the 38 special. Especially the ones not rated for +p ammo. Both of these work well.

I had a very high FTE and FTF rate in my Beretta 21A with Federal Punch. I gave up and went back to CCI Mini Mags. Glad to see it worked for you.

Great video. Thanks for showing the new Federal 22 load. Glad to see it cycled well, albeit the one FTF. Looking to use with M&P 22 and 22 Compact. Subscribed.

In my limited experience of shooting, if I were relying on a rimfire cartridge for self defence I would prefer a revolver. I'm a sports shooter (.22) and have had occasional failures to eject, feed.

Something I never see with these gel test of pocket pistols is shots right against the gel to simulate a 'get off me' like scenario.

I love your videos I get excited when I get the notifications.

Really liking these new versions of your tests. Great watch

My go-to carry load for the Bobcat was the Remington 40-grain golden bullet solid. I don’t know the velocities or how well they would have penetrated; but the Golden Bullet was reliable and relatively accurate from the Bobcat. I had also fired a number of bricks of REM Viper hyper velocity down the pipe. It too was reliable, but I figured a little too strong when a rolled pin on my first 21A started working out in the first mag or two of a range session. I ended up getting a 2nd Bobcat because of that. There was a CCI load, probably the Stinger that didn’t work well, but I found these little guns to be reliable when I kept the chambers brushed out ever 50 rounds or so. I don’t know the status of the Remington Golden Bullet at this time, and most of us are just happy with whatever ammo we can get.

Beretta Bobcat is a wicked fun little gun and super easy to carry. Thank you for a great presentation.

That Taurus is our bedside table gun, and my wife's ccw. Never fails to fire, and can handle any ammo it is fed. At just over 200 bucks. Every home needs one like it.

The 22 penetration is right in the zone. The 38 SWC was good too see. A heavier Keith Type SWC (typically about 173 gr at probably 800-850 fps from a 4" or longer barrel) is known as a good game bullet and is often used for hunting or animal defense. It is said that SWC's and WC's have a tendency to crush tissue rather than just pushibg through it as RN bullets do, thus making them more effective. I would think that a good SWC cast somewhat soft would be effective at medium velocity. There are SWCHP bullet moulds out there too. And of course we know that the 38+p LSWCHP has been stopping bad guys since 1972. Any 22, even the 22 WMR, is not the first choice for self defense, but you may not have a choice. Lots of people carry 22's as kit/trail/tackle box guns. So the Punch looks like a good choice for that.

Great test as always. Good to know that if you do have one of these pocket .22s you're not losing performance over a full length barrel.

Wife’s had a Bobcat since 1990, CCI stingers have been the round of choice.

Another most excellent video! Thank you for the quality…

You make so many video. I freaking love it! Thank you!!

Here’s ballistics for people. My wife and more or less all her friends are in the world of trauma. They get people just as dead when shot by a 22lr as they do shot by a 45. Getting shot is getting shot. In the grand scheme of things when talking about bullet size, the smallest bullet size compared to the largest is, what, 1/16 of an inch? I’m not really worried about that. If you own a 22lr for self defense. Get ammo. Shoot it. Understand it. If you own a 45. I promise you won’t shoot it nearly as much as the person shooting with a 22lr. 500 rounds for $40 Or 500 rounds for $550.

Always a good video. Thanks for the work you put into the shooting comparisons and finalizing a video results. Take care.

Elmer Keith came up with the best hand gun bullet I'm glad a 22 Long Rifle is using a SWC you got to love it thx.

Definitely need to get some punch for my 21A. That’s my gym gun and it’s an extremely easy carry option for any scenario.

Winchester has also started making Silvertips in 22lr! I’d love to see a video on those if you can get them!

Great video. I noticed at 9:16 you tried to fire a round and nothing happens. Then you realized that the safty was still on. I can't tell you how many times I've seen experienced shooters, who would swear that they would never do that under a stressful situation, because they train. Even if you train constantly, which most people won't or can't, we are still flawed human beings and make mistakes especially under stress. Before any keyboard commandos start typing train train train, ask yourself, "do i know anyone who is overweight, doesn't exercise enough or doesn't eat well enough?" People don't always do what they should. In my humble opinion, I only carry Da/SA revolvers or semi's with no external safty. My edc is a Beretta px4 storm with decock only. I'm not telling anyone what they should carry, just something to think about. Keep the great videos coming 👍

Thanks again. Appreciate your videos and your quick replies. Have a great night.

You have the best theme song than all the other gun channels!

Bro good at his measurements always been impressed by that even when you did just water jugs his figures 99% of the time matched what rounds did in gel

When I heard that Federal had come out with .22 "self-defense ammo" I was expecting something a little more exotic.

What's that .38 loaded with, coal! Damn smokey cartridge!!

I frequently carry North American Arms mini-revolver in .22Mag (Pug and Ranger II). I use Speer GD for short barrel. Both guns and the round are extremely handy for what they are designed to do: “get off me” self-protection. Believe me, no one want 3 .22Mag heading through center chest and 2 rounds at your face.

Thank you for the quality work/testing.

Two of the best rounds on earth.

4:10. Ricochet nearly took out the camera.

Thanks for taking the time to do this, very useful info.

I am suprised your semi-auto fed the punch, works great in revolver.

Magnum versus lightweight...lol. I love .22 revolvers though. Thank you!

Very interesting results from both those loads. It would be interesting to see the punch bullet loaded in .22 mag.

We got 30 - 40 lbs. bobcats on the creek here and that’s about as big a critter as I would try to run off with a 22 handgun . But hey in self defense mode it might save your neck . From what testing and hunting I’ve done over the years I would shoot twice and call it one hit . Short of hitting cns or a sweet spot I suspect it might take multiple rounds to equal the old 38

The .22 has a surprising amount of muzzle flash

...if it rings when you hit it - it's a "GONGGG!!!"

I wonder why you did chose a 22 auto not a 22 snubnose. Especially with rimfire I would prefer a revolver.

If a .22LR can be used for personal/home defense then my semiautomatic/full automatic.25 caliber LCS SK-19 could be used in a pinch also. It has 19 rounds of 38.5 grain HP slugs that it pushes @ 1000 FPS @ 85 FPE. It is regulated and is filled to 3650 PSI. never leaks, and shoots the same constant speed within 8 FPS over 50 shots. Granted the .22 or even the .38 is a hell of a lot cheaper option and doesn’t cost 2.1K$ but still….I wouldn’t want hit with it for sure or anything for that matter.

I left in the middle of Hickok45's Max 9 video to watch this. Just sayin'!

25 ACP test request with punch ?, great video, thanks Sam.

This is one of the best videos you have ever done. Thank you so much !!

Good test. I never expected the 22's to do so well.

'A little different in size!'like comparing a puma running after you with a Bengal Tiger!mind either way you might be doomed although a Tiger will greatly increase the chance of expiring!

You might want to try .38 spc semi wadcutter hollow points they should illuminate any over penetration issuses.

I love my 38 special. I prefer to carry mi 4" barrel 38 but I have a snub nose for work and have the 38+P HST rounds that look like hollow point wad cutters. I would love to see a test of those. They are made for short barreled guns.

That 38 is clearly hydrophobic and froze as soon as he saw the water jugs!

Hey Sam. well IF WE wanted to WE could open up a huge can of Worms. IMHO the .22lr has a place in self defense BOTH in Handguns and Rifles. The new Federal Punch seems to have been slightly Inspired by the CCI Stinger. I do think a swc profile is FAR superior to a Hollow Point in .22lr! In fact when I bought my wife a Walther p22 back in the day I loaded it exclusively with cci Mini mag SOLIDS. In fact that Walther HATED any other .22lr load. My favorite ,38 special loads for defense are (do not laugh) the 148 mid range wadcutter and the 158 grain swc hollowpoint +p. Still coming in a CLOSE second is ANY semi wadcutter. The reasons are obvious. Incidentally Jimmy Cirillo of the NYPD stakeout squad started experimenting with cast projectiles in .38 caliber that very extremely similar to the wasp waisted Pellets used in airguns except he cast em HARD! the results were amazing. They would not only impart energy better when they connected with even a piece of a target they were devastating!

I get the chronograph thing. I've got the same one. It works fine then a cloud goes over or a butterfly flaps it's wings and it's a no go. I kinda miss the juggernaut box.

impressed with the kinetic hitting power of these .22lr loads......

CCI minimags,get them.

👍 that was good shooting at 25yd for little guns. I’m looking forward to trying some of the Punch in my Browning Camp.

Just tested Velocitor & Mini mag 40gr RN , out of 10/22 & SIG P229 22 Lr . A Ruger 25 rd mag loaded for many months with 20 rds of Vel , when I loaded a round out of the mag , the other bullets didn't rise up , a slap on the mag & they moved up . It shot very well with all the rounds + 25 rounds of mini mag from a Ruger 25 rd mag that was unloaded for a long time . The SIG shot 19 rounds of Vel from mags left loaded for 3 weeks , ONE round mis fired , it fired when reloaded . Then 19 rounds of Mini mag > 100% . For carry or small game , both would be fine ! Feeding was 100% wall to wall .

Those chronographs can be finicky about lighting. Mine completely failed to read once because I was using it indoors under a fluorescent light that apparently had a tiny bit of transformer flicker. I moved it to an incandescent light and it worked fine.

chronys dont like silver color shinny projectiles, i had them since 1995 and they are fussy with them silver type colors including bbs from air guns even with sensor windows clean, other then that being to close with smoke from gun or CO2 from airguns can sometimes mess up readings

The lsraeli hit squad used a Beretta model 71 pistol in .22 LR.. must be effective, considering a plethora of handguns in various calibers at their disposal and they chose this combination

It would be interesting to see how this ammo performs out of a snubnose revolver, like a Ruger LCR. Speaking of which, don't know if you used one in .22, people say that the trigger is much worse than in centerfire versions, like the .327 you carry. I am curious how much worse it is, and would it impede normal operation by an average person (older, woman, etc).

A lot of chronys wont pickup shiny lead pistol bullets. Try coloring them with a marker

How is the trigger pull on the .22? My S&W .38 kicks like a SOB and as I get older, it has become too much for me.

What a great vid to watch as I rebuild my jank ass Umarex pump.

Also surprised how far the Punch penetrated the gel. Cool test.

Great vid & test. Thanks👍!

Man, I saw a little Berretta Bobcat like that about a week before I bought the Ruger LCP II in 22 LR, and I almost bought it. Still looks like fun.

My Taurus PT-22 likes Punch and shoots it very well. I carry it as a 2nd gun occasionally or when its difficult to conceal something bigger.

I "liked" before watching the vid. This better be good. ETA: LOVED THE VID!!

Two things in the video I noticed about using a semi-auto for self-defense -- 1) failure to feed and 2) safety switch on. The S&W 43C might fill the self-defense role a little better. Also, to minimize overpenetration with the .38 SPL, I use COR®BON’s DPX® +P all-copper hollow point, 110 gr., 1050 fps (from a snub nose), 269 fpe. Nice round, but not fun to shoot from a 15 oz handgun.

I ordered a box of this for my ruger Wrangler....nice to have a box to complement my other calibers in case SHTF and I have to give to somone else!!!😀

When cronos first came out, less than ideal lighting resulted in misreads. Solution was to cast artificial light on the screens. Don't know how practical that would be for you, but since you are shooting in the timber, that might be the issue.

I'm liken' that 22 for my back up

You have upset the chipmunk,🤣 I hear that little bastard chirping almost the whole time.

I'd like to see someone test 500 rounds of Federal Punch and see if they all ignited, or if they had any misfires. Compared to say 500 Mini Mags.

1050 fps (+ or - 10) fps is about right with barreta compared to other youtube channels readings, flat nose 22 getting the job done in a mouse gun at about 71 ft/lbs of energy, and the shooting at 25 yards was good, my Ruger LCRx 22 mag 1.87" barrel using Hornady V max 30 grain comparable in weight to 22 lr punch and stinger does around 1330 fps 117 ft/lbs, that is smoking fast and fireball at night size of softball, just the noise of that V max going off in a defense situation will scare someone as she tends to sound louder then its caliber size making people fear it, in some ways its loud bark and fireball can be just as bad as its bite

I'm not that into small guns . The reason I tested more in the last years , is to find what would work best for new " non shooters " , very part time shooters .. just in case !! You know what I'm talking about !!!

Great testing Sam. Sorry to hear the chrony. Good test either way. 🎩☯️♠️

What on earth makes these things penetrate so far? Tool and Targets has been running Punch test and has been getting the same results. Amazing stuff.

Excellent video!, thanks for this bro! 👍🏽

G'day and thanks for the video m8 I was really curious see see what .22lr punch was capable of. I don't think anybody has done a video as good as this testing punch. Seb Australia 🇦🇺

Not averse to .22, but I'll stick to minimags or if I want to ramp it up, CCI 40 grain Velocitors.

Punch is fine for a revolver, but it has not been very reliable in my 22 LR semi-autos, Ruger and Walther.