It’s a very bad idea. Run, or use pepper spray, or a taser, where the scenario allows for deploying less-than-lethal. ALL firearms are classified as lethal weapons. Consequently, you will be judged in a court of law as if you were willing to take someone’s life, and with snake shot you’ll suffer the severe consequences should you permanently blind an assailant who was not intent on doing you grevious bodily harm. It’s wise to be equipped with less-than-lethal self-defense options fitting to varying scenarios, however, a citizen would be wise to only deploy a firearm when the adversary has demonstrated clear intent, capability & imminence of assaulting you with grievous & deadly force. And it’s then when you’ll want to deploy the most potent firearm & load available to you to neutralize that threat. .22s loaded with birdshot would be at the bottom of the list.

Dead men can’t sue. You don’t employ a firearm to be less than lethal. It’s a proportion of force that should be the last solution to a problem, not “encouraged” to be the first.

Perfect defense ammo…..if you’re being attacked by garter snakes

It's like throwing Skittles at them

If you are forced to pull your weapon. It's pointless to be less than lethal.

There called snake shot , I use them when hunting rattle snake's.

I have a feeling that legally your better off using regular bullets

DON'T USE THIS AS A MACE REPLACEMENT.....

100% No! 1 you will still be charged the same as a deadly weapon. 2 it won't stop the threat.

It’s lethal….. just “less lethal” 😂

I carry a 22 pistol on my property while out and about doing work. First round is one of those rat shots. Then it's 9 rounds of Remmington golds. My biggest worry on my property is rattlesnakes and cotton mouths, but we also have some slightly bigger and sometimes methed out problems. I'm more worried about a snake though

Main issue would be that there’s not enough force behind them to be fired from anything semiautomatic, great point though

To the fools who would actually carry this for self-defense and think it's lethal, you're going to win a Darwin award.

You may as well throw cereal at them. I mean unless a mouse is going to rob you.

There called rat shot in the south

I do not recommend non lethal for anyone aside from law enforcement. The police are intended to bring in criminals, that’s their job. If you are not law enforcement, it is not your job to make sure your attacker sees a trial. Law enforcement use “less lethal” as they call it to detain uncooperative suspects. As a civilian, if someone walks away, you let them. If you’re drawing a weapon, it’s because your life is in danger. Not because you are detaining someone. That’s why cops carry both. When it turns to their lives being in danger, they switch from tasers, pepper spray and beanbags to rifles and sidearms. Just my thoughts.

Unless your using a revolver, they wont function a semi auto, and from a rifle that stuff bounces off cardboard from about 5 feet away, so by the time somebody is close enough for that to do any damage at all, they are too close.

Get this kid a lawyer

thats why i use ratshot 50 bmg

Anyone who has used one of these shotshells knows that for one: they lack the power to even attempt to stop anything, and two: you can't reliably get out a followup shot due to the lack of power unless you are using a revolver. Hell, these things don't even generate enough gas to at least sound scary.

That ammo is more expensive than most 9mm. A well placed shot of cheap 22lr is most definitely lethal, it just takes longer to end an altercation. If you're going to carry you need to have something that packs a punch. Any firearm could be a deterrent but unless you're a sharpshooter you might want something that strikes fear in the hearts of the big bad scaries. That being said I love 22lr it's a very useful round in my line of work.

If you're involved in that scenario and don't end up killing them they'll probably Sue you

pigeon killers!! lol haven't shot these since I was a kid putting holes in the barn lol

I considered them as well. They didn’t cycle the pistol I was carrying, so follow up shots would jam. Shot shells are meant for use in rifles. Not saying your pistol wouldn’t cycle them, just throughly test them. Then there is a legal area. I want to say in my CCDW course they mentioned something about it. Just carry a decent hollow point in your 22lr. My go to carry is CCi Stingers. Same company that make those shot shells.

"Not totally lethal" 😂

If you want a cheaper 2 in 1 lethal non lethal get a small doubble action 22 with 6 shots load 2 spred loads than 4 hollow points

It's a great thought, but OC spray, and tasers are legal as a form of non-lethal defense. firearms are not in non-lethal defense situations..

The firearm comes out when you're about to face death or serious bodily harm. Stop the threat as quickly and decisively as possible. Train for accurate shot placement and use adequate ft lbs of energy to stop the threat. 22LR (shot shells or not) is not practical for a man-sized threat.

“They have a lethality about them” 😂

Tasers have been proven not to be non-lethal several times.

If you're in a position where you have to shoot someone... do it right the first time and not use this. 45 acp or 10mm is a solid choice with HP/JHP/ SJHP projectiles...+P is icing on the cake...+P+ is sketchy...due to how hydrostatic shock and the mechanical effects of these types of bullets are directly affected by muzzle velocity...etc. including different amounts of pressure they produce.

The 22 caliber is and forever will be the most lethal

They have their place. User decides. Know your weapon well long before you need it.

They don't even kill my sparrows.

Problem is, it will cause injury, potentially severe.

They're fabulous when you trip over a rattlesnake this time of year.

I’m waiting for someone to make a 4 bore revolver for my daily carry

In a self defense situation, you want lethal, nothing else. Shoot to stop the threat, do not shoot to deter

You don't want to be shot at close range with those you will be in the doctor's office for an hour getting those picked out there's no guarantee they will get all😂😂

I use them for fishing when snakes pull up in a silly manor

My thoughts are in self-defense one story is better in court than 2 stories

Bad idea. Pointing a gun at someone is a threat of lethal force, regardless of what it's loaded with. If the bad guy fears for his life, he might shoot or stab you with something that is actually lethal, while you're stuck defending yourself with an ineffective cloud of dust. It might blind him if you're lucky, but it has no stopping power at all.

Your not totally lethal part, reminded of the princess bride. “There’s a difference between mostly dead, and all dead.”

Good luck in the civil trial.

Self defense isn't intended to kill self defense is to deter attacks

Most carry sized .22s are already limited on capacity, you don’t have enough capacity to serve warning shots or anything that’s a less lethal deterrence. If you’re gonna carry a .22, get the hottest hp you can find. Federal punch will suffice.

The Department of Corrections does use number 7 steel shot as less than leather rounds. But, it's used within a very specific range on lower ligament. I wouldn't trust that 22 rad shot personally. Not to mention the legal battle you'd have.

Just don't go for the head ,throat,heart,longs,stomach. Haha😂

To quote my favorite Ranger: “Go for the eyes boo. Go for the eyes!”

If you're going to point a firearm at someone... You better freaking mean it!

I was going to mention Timothy gramin, who was a police officer who had pulled over a suspicious vehicle which had ties to a bank robbery. Tim was immediately engaged by the suspect long story short the bank robber sustained over 14 gunshot wound related injuries including multiple to his heart and respiratory system, Tim was carrying a 40 cal, had received multiple gunshot wounds himself, had only three rounds left out of all the ammunition that he was required to carry with him at the end of the fire fight. The moral of this story is shot placement, because only a headshot to bank robber ended the engagement. So if you're going to carry a 22lr, aim for the head and be sure to be packing ammunition that's capable of penetrating a human skull. 22 rat shot was intended for spiders

A full auto .22 loaded with these would be the real pepper spray

Interesting question but i don’t see much advantage in combat or in court If you want lethal stick with regular 22lr. If you want less lethal stick with the mace with taser as backup. If you just want to shoot warning shots stick with blanks

Bad idea. A lawyer once told me if you ever have to shoot someone then you are best to kill them. Dead men don't testify real good. But you must believe that your life is in emanate danger or you will go to jail. But it is a better fight than being libel for the perpetrators injuries and possibly jail time.

Pulling out a real gun, You're going to escalate a possible verbal or open hand altercation to a deadly force senerino. A concealed carrier or police officer is going to see the real gun an act accordingly.

No No No No No No No No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no. No one has ever won a court case by saying I wanted to shoot them gently.

In the eyes of the law, using a firearm is considered a use of deadly force. It doesn't matter if you shoot them in the foot, or if they live. It's still a use of deadly force. A good lawyer can use that against you with the following arguments. "You just used snakeshot because you are sadistic and were hoping to horribly scare and mame my client" or "If the threat that my client posed didn't warrant the use of deadly force, then how could you be justified in your use of a deadly weapon against them?" Long story short, don't shoot people unless they are a real, immediate, and imminent deadly threat.

It’s definitely gunna blind them and chip all their teeth. I’m sure it would work but, chances are they are gunna sue you for damages in hospital bills. Your better off making sure their light go out

Never thought about it like that… one center mass shot and that’s a great less lethal.

Ballistics gel test is my thoughts

The purpose of carrying is, to stop your attacker, not tick him, or her off while they're attacking you.

‼️ WARNING ‼️ The *ricocheting* effect is very dangerous with these rounds and they hurt like hell and get into your eyes and jacket. Be very precautious when firing

i shot these at the range, they would not penetrate thick cardboard, 3 rounds did kill a snake though at 10 feet.

I think it's pretty silly. Leave snakes alone.

Good idea A 22 is no joke but at least you have an option to not be as lethal. No one wants to die or kill to be exact and taking a life isn’t fun. I will say if you choose this route you are best using a taser because a 22 only does so much and sometimes you very much need the stopping power and lethality to take out a threat. Personally I choose firepower but also having a taser is smart. Some folks just need to be tasted haha

The real use for these back in the day was for skeet competition. The NRA would have these youth skeet competitions where they used smoothbore rifles with little disc's that they would shoot with 22 ahotshell. It was quite popular and they even made little launchers you could mount on your gun that would throw the disc's. You could even shoot them inside with no risk outside of 5 feet of them going into amything.

As long as you aim for the eyes, the aggresore should survive.

I’ll keep my 9mm defense rounds. A body is a good deterrent.

I use my Ruger single six with the 22 mag cylinder. Shoot lead and pull the trigger a lot.

I've seen a lot of reviews that those shot shells jam a lot unless it's 45acp, I got one for my 9mm but I use it for snakes and it's only ever one shot at a time

Quick answer: don’t use ratshot in any gun for self defence.

Don't turn a deterrent into a lawsuit, turn that lethality up.

I’ve been hit by 22 rat shot and I would rather carry a pencil for self defense 😂 10 feet away and it hardly hurt

I’ve genuinely given it thought about using it as a less lethal form of protection

If you can shoot fast and don't want to kill someone you can put one shot shell in the chamber then the rest regular if it doesn't work

Id rather just use a peppergun at that point.. not classified as a firearm and still more effective than any .22lr for deterring

No point in carrying a less lethal option that could be lethal.

Personally, I think everyone's self defense should be lethal. If someone attempts to perform physical violence on you, the lose their right to life.

Problem is you would be using them as a LTL but still charged with deadly force.

Dude there totally lethal

I got a h&k.22 LR Mp5 and it shoot’s amazing no jamming up smooth

If you're gonna pull out a gun in self defense, you better be 100% prepared to take a human life. You might as well use pepper spray or a stun gun if you don't intend to kill someone.

I actually have them in a stubby little 8 shot revolver for just that reason I think it’s a great idea

Definitely could take and eye out 😊

You somehow made the argument even worse.

If you put 20rnds in the same spot of the target (the threat) I think it will be very effective for deterrent.

Gonna piss somebody off more than they already are

Good way to get sued. If you aren't using lethal force, you didn't fear for your life and didn't need to use a gun. The beauty of less lethal options like a taser or pepper spray is that they can be deployed to defuse a situation.

22 shot shells where bouncing off beer bottles at 10 feet away probably wouldn't go through blue jeans

As others stated dead “ assailants “ don’t sue. You are safer and better off discharging a larger caliber firearm and killing rather than wounding and them coming after you for maiming them

Bad idea. Those have a very close effective range. It would barely make a person flinch and say ouch. A face shot would hurt depending on the range. Also most semi autos dont cycle them properly .

That’s how you go to prison

Shit all I carry is a .22. Too many people think they are john wick.

If there's a reason to require using a gun, then there's a reason to be lethal. You don't want to bring a knife to a gun fight

100% lethal

blinding someone, but they don't eject, 1st one but slug second.(Jennings stack 60grn Aquilas following)

No thoughts. Not one. You go ahead and handle this yourself. I'll go a different route.

22 shot shells might not make it through 3 layers of thick clothing. If it does might not have enough power to really even go in. Might just stick like a bb bullet does

They dont feed too well....itd have to be a revolver

Made a .22 gun an the only thing ill put throug it is shot shells an humming bird rds cuz i dont want any over pressure only thing i can do as an upgrade is update the barrel maybe i could use a steel barrel insert instead cuz the 1 i hav re now is brass