Could a .22LR make a clean shot threw a body in & out?

Question

I heard a .22 bullet has killed more people than any other bullet out there. Would a .22 go right threw a body.

Answer 1

Standard 40gr round nose ammo will penetrate 13-15" of soft tissue.  That's through and through on most folks' abdomens.  Specialty ammo like Aguila's "Sniper SubSonic" 60gr will penetrate 16-19".

Not a toy by any means.

The old addage about ".22's kill more than anything else" is a load of bunk.  While .22 caliber LR rimfire rounds *do* kill a lot of folks, that ".22 caliber" also includes the .223 used by NATO and about a hundred other countries.

Anyone telling you that a .22LR round is the most common murder weapon is either misinformed or simply parroting something they've heard.

"Studies of the guns used in homicides show that large caliber revolvers are the most frequent type of gun used in homicides, but the number of large caliber semiautomatic guns used in murders is increasing."  (USDoJ.gov  search on statistics)

Answer 2

h**l YEAH,  the .22 (at close range) will go right in and out of the body.  but at a further distance, it would definately kill somebody, but not likely to exit the body.

what do you think the .223 is? they use the .223 all kinds of rifles, and i kill deer with one.

Answer 3

A .22 long rifle bullet could go right through the thickest part of your body as long as no bones were struck along the way. I knew a guy that served court papers that was shot with a .22 pistol and guy that shot was sitting down while this process server was standing. The bullet struck him under the collar bone bounced around and lodged in his lung nearly killing him. He said he was shot once before with a .38 but it went straight threw him. He said he would rather be shot by a .38 than a .22 any day! Myself I was thinking he needs to find a new line of work. :o)

Answer 4

if it doesn't hit bone it can but it is not likely

Answer 5

Not likely.a head shot is another matter. The .22 has just enough power to enter but not escape. It just ricochets around in the skull and scrambles the "eggs" so to speak.

Answer 6

Question:  Could a .22LR make a clean shot threw a body in & out?  I heard a .22 bullet has killed more people than any other bullet out there. Would a .22 go right threw a body.

Answer:  Yes, a .22 LR (especially if fired out of the longer barrel of a rifle) can be through-n-through.  Yes, all told the .22 has probably accounted for more murder victims than any other caliber in the world.  Yes, a .22 can go right through a body.

However, fired out of the abbreviated barrel of a pistol or revolver the .22 LR can do strange things.  Remember, it is really a rifle bullet and so it really slows down quickly when fired out of a short barrel.  It still has plenty of power to enter the human torso and then it can easily be deflected like a ping-pong ball wrecking havoc within.  

A very close policeman friend of mine was shot with .22 pistol.  The doctors saved his life stating that the bullet had deflected down and was caught by the flat of his hip-bone where it lodged and remained to this very day.  The doctors said they'd inflict further injury and trauma removing the bullet and so they put him on medication for lead-poisoning for life instead.  They further stated that the bullet just as easily could have deflected up, perforating his diaphram.  Had this happened they would have been unable to save him because he would have died prior to arriving at the medical center.

As a police officer the last shooting scene I was on involved family violence.  One man shot his brother-in-law with an RG-22 Short revolver.  The bro-in-law was shot in the belly button and the bullet ended up in his... s*****m.

So you see, .22 LR bullets don't alway go through-n-through.  They are deadly unproportional to their miniscule size which makes them a choice for hit men who also desire inexpensive weapons which can be used once and easily discarded.  So many .22 pistols and revolvers have been manufactured that they are not easy to trace back to one owner.  And .22s are Universally available, which may be the real reason they are used in so many homicides.

H

Answer 7

A .22lr can certainly penetrate a human body.  It is a killer round because it will go in all directions inside the body doing damage to many organs.  That doesn't mean that it is a good defense round because even though a person may be shot and may die of the wound, he likely won't die immediately and will have enough time to get to you and kill or injure you before he dies.

Answer 8

YES it does happen when using anything but hollow points.*

Answer 9

yes it can but going through the target is not the way to effectively kill

All that means is that some of the energy of the bullet was wasted

And yes also

The lowly .22lr is the most common murder weapon in America

..22 do not ricochet around the head or body

At most they will be redirected by deflecting off a bone or will actually follow the bone or curvature of the skull

Answer 10

.22 L.R.H.P. penetrated 3" board? Made of what? Or how rotted?

A solid might go through if it missed bones and your target was soft.

I've had them fail to penetrate a whole woodchuck.