Federal Punch 22 LR Review: Is It a Good Self-Defense Round?

Public Shooting Range
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I grabbed some Federal Punch 22 LR plus one of my semi-auto 22 LR firearms, and headed to the range to test how well the personal protection ammo might perform during a self-defense situation. I wanted to determine how reliable, accurate, and powerful these rounds are, and whether I could trust them to defend my family and myself if needed.

Overall, I was pretty impressed, but a couple of things at the range raised some concerns that convinced me these shouldn’t be my primary home defense rounds.

Is Federal Punch 22 LR a Good Choice for Self-Defense?

Yes, Federal Punch 22 LR is a good choice for self-defense ammo in your backup firearm. It went bang every time I pulled the trigger and was accurate. However, I do not recommend any 22 LR ammo for a primary self-defense gun. It lacks the power to immediately stop a threat without perfect shot placement, and it’s less reliable than centerfire alternatives.

While testing it, I had a few failures to feed, which made me question its reliability. Even though it was a minor problem at the range (I was able to chamber the round quickly), it would have been a significant issue in a personal defense situation when every millisecond counts.

What Is Federal Punch 22 LR Intended For?

Federal Punch 22 LR is intended for self-defense. The rounds I tested feature nickel-plated brass cases and 29 grain nickel-plated flat nose (FN) bullets. The flat nose bullet foregoes terminal expansion by design, unlike a hollow point. The lack of expansion is intended to compensate for the 22 LR’s relatively low striking power. The 22 LR is known for its low recoil, which can make fast, accurate follow-up shots easier. I wasn’t surprised that Federal Punch 22 LR had minimal recoil and was very accurate during my time at the range.

While the lightweight bullets are accurate, they don’t have much muzzle energy, and therefore transfer little energy to their target (hence their relatively low stopping power). The narrow diameter of the 22 LR bullet also limits its stopping power, as it inflicts an accordingly narrow wound channel.

Federal Punch 22 LR could also be used to hunt small game like squirrel and rabbit. However, it’s more expensive than much of the other 22 LR ammo I’ve used for small game hunting. Speaking of price, that’s also why I wouldn’t consider stocking up on these rounds to take to the range. There are many less expensive options for plinking.

Pros and Cons of Federal Punch 22 LR Ammo

Pros Cons
✓ Designed for self-defense ✗ Expensive for 22 LR ammo
✓ Minimal recoil ✗ Had trouble cycling in my semi-auto
✓ Accurate ✗ 22 LR lacks the stopping power to neutralize threats quickly (without perfect shot placement)
✓ Reliable ignition —
✓ Trusted brand —

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Interesting that anyone would consider .22 LR for SD at all. Most people would say the minimum bullet diameter should be .355 (or 9mm). That does include 9X17, which is offered in SD loads (and in truth probably is not much different than 9X19 in effect).

I can think of one situation where something like this could be viable - an elderly or otherwise moderately disabled person looking for an SD firearm. There are a number of revolver options with 8 or perhaps even 9 rounds per cylinder, which would be a reasonable load. Not sure whether speed loaders are made for the same.

As for “stopping power”, I would expect head shots only. That ought to be doable with a .22, and I don’t know anyone who isn’t “stopped” with one or two in the computer.

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For my BUG I’m using Gold Dot .22 mag, it is optimised for Short BBls. Little more punch than LR. Observed a shooting many yrs. ago where the perp was shot with a .22 mag derringer. DRT.

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Yep NAA mini revolver in 22mag w/Gold Dots.

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Not my first choice either. But if that’s all they’ve got, it’s better than a sharp stick.

If they happen to be exceptional marksmen with it, it could even be practical, though that’s highly unlikely.

Back in the 60s and 70s, Israeli counter-terror commandos used a Beretta 70/71 in 22lr to stop airplane hijackers.

Recently, after considering the suppressed Ruger 10/22 aimed at the ankles for riot control, a JAG reclassified it as a deadly weapon, prohibiting its use, except in cases of extreme danger. Anonymous reports are that the 22lr shooter has backup in 5.56, and that it is used when going hands-on would expose soldiers to deadly danger, but short of what merits 9mm or 5.56. They give examples of rioters with large rocks and molotovs, and things like that.

https://www.xcrforum.com/threads/israels-combat-10-22.19316/

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It seems that the idea is to disable the leader with minimum fuss and noise which suppressed 22lr is good at. Ideally it does not kill, when aimed at the ankles. This is more likely to disperse the riot with zero loss of life.

The IDF can’t just leave the riot in place, since frequently this is a roadblock and ambush. A civilian getting trapped in that area could be killed, which is the terrorists’ goal. Since this is a deadly threat, it must be stopped.

The IDF also wants to avoid 5.56 and killing the riot leader, since this would be propaganda fuel to inflate casualty numbers. The IDF, the terrorists would falsely say, has killed a “civilian.”

That’s where 22lr might work best. It hurts enough to send the rioters away and end the deadly roadblock ambush, without killing anybody and making a media circus.

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A 22 could well f’up someone’s day and well save another’s too :nod:

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That Israeli appears to be a woman.

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.22 LR is just about the same bullet size as 5.56. It’s just a question of energy. .22 LR is much better suppressed than 5.56; about the best you can do with 5.56 is make it much harder to figure out where the shot came from, and shoot without ear protection. But .22LR is still a very dangerous round. Among its characteristics is that it will frequently “skip” when fired at relatively flat surfaces that are ground-parallel. We used to fool around doing that up in ND when we were prairie dog hunting and wanted a break from the glass. In contrast the two .17 rounds built off .22 LR & .22 WRM do NOT skip, and are flatter shooting. Both .22 & .17 will still have the supersonic crack when fired suppressed.

Somehow the Isaeli tactics don’t sound rational. Firing suppressed .22LR, in order to be useful would require using subsonic loads - readily available but not so effective. Seeing as the muzzies have a long and illustrious history of hiding behind women and children, I would expect no less of the “rioters” in Israel to use “useful idiots” as shields for the leaders. Contrary to the words of the koran or jihad, the leaders have zero interest in meeting allah.

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I’m not sure what rounds they are firing, and I was wondering about it. Maybe with enough distance and background noise, a suppressed supersonic 22lr can still blend in?

Seems that way to me, too, from everything I’ve read. They leave the meetings with the divine for the brainwashed expendables.

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I shoot an Sig 229 with a .22 LR conversion kit and threaded barrel - suppressed. It is noticeably quieter than the same shot without the suppressor but not enough to not be “noticed”. It is fun to shoot suppressed, if for no other reason than there is less noise and so general background “stress”, but the supersonic crack is still there. That is obviously a characteristic of it being the result of the bullet flying and breaking the sound barrier; clearly bullets that don’t (.45 ACP Ball for instance) do not have that issue. Which then kind of surprises me there aren’t more .45 cal suppressors around, but there is not, generally, a big selection from which to choose.

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