As soon as the lights go out and the distance is reduced to nothing, a pocket pistol ceases to be a convenience, it becomes a machine running or not.
The attractiveness of a .22 LR pocket gun is simple to comprehend: light recoil, light weight and the type of carry comfort that renders often to always. That is important in the actual world of deep concealment. Any little pistol will fit down a pocket in front, ride in light clothes, and still be ready to be drawn and a hand placed on the grip and this also is an advantage that cannot be had by a belt carry unless telegraphing is meant. There is a price to that convenience, however: short sights, short grips, short barrels which take away the velocity of anything that was intended to shine out of a rifle.
Sloppy handling is also reprimanded by pocket carry. Any decent pocket holster can only perform one task, which is to cover the trigger and ensure the pistol remains in a position, whereas the pocket itself must not become a trap of cloth. Sitting draws, sloping pocket holes, tight trousers are all forms of friction to the drawstroke thus the gun must be trained in the same clothes and position it is to be worn. This is more severe in case of micro .22s, a broken grip can spiral into a failure.
The weak point of the .22 argument is where reliability is concerned. Rimfire ignition relies upon priming compound being spread around the rim and that construction is less tolerant of imperfect conditions than centerfire primers. To the facts of most pocket sized blowback pistols, light slides, stiff springs, short cycle, ammunition variation and shooter grip, begin to have something to do with it than most of us would be willing to admit. Even the bullet shape of the cartridge is a factor: the bullet shape used by the .22 LR is that of a heeled bullet, and the open geometry of that shape may trap grit and other greasy residues. On a small semi-auto already operating near the rim, dust and wear are not subjects of scholastic philosophy; they may be either wheel and halting.
Real-world monitoring of pocket .22s currently being produced has revealed why “this sample matters” is not a cop out. In a single side-by-side test of three small scale .22 autos in a simple 200-round run, failure rates were found to range at about 1-2 and 2-4% in two pistols and a third had a broken firing pin during filming. Those figures do not blacksmith all of the .22 pocket pistols, but they do set the standard: a pocket rimfire must be earning its stripes by consistent trial, and not hope.
Controllability and shot position is where a .22 can be thrown back some ground. With a low recoil, most shooters can maintain precision in their hits and rapid follow-up including those who have lower hand strength or joint issues. The revolver also has a mechanical defense in the case of rimfire: with a small. 22 revolver, a dud can be dealt with by merely pressing through to the next chamber rather than clearing a dead shot out of a tight slide and ejection port. The difference in the management of stoppage can be important in case of cold, wet, or stressed hands.
Terminal performance in short barrels still appears the same as in the case of “small-ball” although it is not null. Gel tests on the short 1.875-inch .22 revolver had 32-grain CCI Stinger that clocked approximately 1071 fps and hit about 13 inches of penetration after being fired 4 times through denim clothing, and 36-grain Winchester hollow point that clocked at about 1036 fps and penetrated about 10.5 inches after 4 layers of denim clothing (13-inch penetration). In the meantime, a dedicated defensive .22 ammunition such as Federal Punch is at 1,070 fps in a 2-inch barrel with a 13 inches flat nose designed with penetration in mind and its design criteria being to cut through between 12 and 18 inches. Practically, this implies that the maximum performance of the .22 is more depth than diameter, and the wound passage is small.
The element of “night duty” of the question also reveals a different limitation: the ability to see and recognize the object on which one is shooting. A small pistol that can be carried in your pocket usually makes trade-offs in both viewing and manipulation, which increase, rather than decrease, the importance of light discipline. Low-light training systems focus on the handheld-carried light, simple controls, and momentary operation; most trainers refer to 120+ lumens as a rough lower limit of handheld lighting and highly recommend a thumb-operated switch as reliable on demand (120 or above lumens).
The presence of a handgun may be either absent where a larger one exists, or not insignificant. All it requires on the platform is to have a higher standard of proof: function testing with carry ammo, drilling of the problem related to rimfire and a truthful assessment of the behaviour of the gun when dirty as well as when it is pocket-carried and when one-handed shooting under less than perfect lighting conditions.
