Pocket .22 review

[Bill in Oregon]

Chris Baker at Lucky Gunner did this one a month ago. I like the guy and appreciate his serious approach to handgun and ammo testing. After watching this one, I may just take his advice and try a Keltec P-32. I have the Smith Bodyguard 2.0 .380 and like it a lot, but still find it a bit obnoxious to carry in a pocket.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-3S572b7Io

Also find these Handgun Hero dimensional comparisons useful.

https://www.handgunhero.com/compare/kel ... yguard-2-0

[4t5]

Got a bodyguard 2.0 also , cargo pants work well with a pocket holster .
Son in law got me a iwb kydex holster for it , but I feel it defeats the purpose of a micro compact.
Would like kahr to produce a 32 acp .

[TedH]

Thanks Bill. Just last week I started looking at the smallest pocket guns again.

[piller]

I have carried a NAA mini in .22 Magnum at one time. It is louder than I care to be around.

[jnyork]

Sig P238 .380 in a Galco pocket holster. Never leave home without it.

[jeepnik]

I pretty much always have a "small" gun in addition to my regular carry.
Most often it is

Sometimes when my wife isn't carrying it as her backup

And for any sweaty or beach/salt water fishing

[Ysabel Kid]

My "small always on me" gun, which slips easily into any pocket, is this one:



I had the action worked so it is easier to cock, and being a .38 Special, it should thump pretty good across the distance I would fire it. Living in the south, during summer, this is sometime all I can carry comfortably (and truly concealed) in a pair of shorts.

[AJMD429]

.
I like the NAA Mini in 22 WRM and the Beretta tip-up in 22 LR for 'smallest possible' choices.
However, my daughter likes her Ruger LCP in 380, which isn't much bigger (if at all) than the Beretta.

Where I live and with my clothing style though, I pretty much always have a full-size semiauto (Taurus PT92 or ParaOrd P14) if out-and-about, or if on-the-homestead, I'll have whatever revolver hasn't had enough love lately.

[Scott Tschirhart]

Certainly something to consider.

I’m trying not to drop below the.32 H&R in a J frame. But I have to tell you that the Ruger LCP has a certain appeal at times.

But I can’t get a pocket gun to shoot better than this.

[Ysabel Kid]

Certainly something to consider.

I’m trying not to drop below the.32 H&R in a J frame. But I have to tell you that the Ruger LCP has a certain appeal at times.

But I can’t get a pocket gun to shoot better than this.

That would be hard to beat!

[JBowen]

My "small always on me" gun, which slips easily into any pocket, is this one:



I had the action worked so it is easier to cock, and being a .38 Special, it should thump pretty good across the distance I would fire it. Living in the south, during summer, this is sometime all I can carry comfortably (and truly concealed) in a pair of shorts.

YK, what brand is your little pistol? I shot a Davis derringer one time at a side match and it was a little hard to hang on to.

JBowen

[JBowen]

I have an LCP 380 and an LCR 38 SPL +P. The LCP in a pocket holster probably the least noticeable in my pocket. I can shoot the LCR better.
Both have been 100% reliable for me, I just need to be more diligent about carrying. I found an IWB holster made by 1791 that is not bad to carry
the LCP in with an untucked shirt.
I did "coon-finger" one of those Bodyguard 2.0's and they feel good in the hand. I just can't get excited about a striker fired gun. YMMV.

JBowen

[JimT]

I've always had some kind of pocket pistol for the last 55 or 60 years.

Astra_Cub_22_Short.JPG

I carried two of these back in the 1970's .... Astra Cub .22 Short

Excam_Derringer_38.jpg

.38 Special Derringer ... shot a coyote with it once ... shot a rooster that kept attacking my daughter when she was little ... helped a store manager capture a guy stealing cigarette cartons. He had 8 or 9 stuffed in his pants. It was handy.

bersa_thunder_22.JPG

Bersa Thunder ... .22 L.R. .... got this one from Jeff Quinn. Had it until my oldest daughter visited and shot it some. I have only seen it at her house since then. I had to get something else ...

IMG_2733.JPG

[Scott Tschirhart]

Jim, my Ruger shopkeeper is currently at Bobby Tyler’s shop. You can probably guess what he’s doing with it.

[JimT]

Jim, my Ruger shopkeeper is currently at Bobby Tyler’s shop. You can probably guess what he’s doing with it.

Yeah. He told me to send mine. Not yet decided if I want to.

[Molasses]

In the .22 category, I used to carry this a lot of times when I didn't want to risk the hassle of anyone noticing:

IMG_20220101_092432_kindlephoto-1132460731.jpg

It's been replaced by this littler thing:

IMG_20211125_124905.jpg

[Scott Tschirhart]

I saw a Seecamp chambered in .380 last week. Same size as the .32. Now that’s tempting.

[Ysabel Kid]

YK, what brand is your little pistol? I shot a Davis derringer one time at a side match and it was a little hard to hang on to.

JBowen

Mine is a Davis. I wouldn't stoke it with hot .38's, and it is not really fun to shoot too many rounds through, but for contact distance, it will do the trick.

[Molasses]

I saw a Seecamp chambered in .380 last week. Same size as the .32. Now that’s tempting.

Using my phone to access the site today, making this photo of the two critters pictured in my previous post, together, easy to show:

IMG_20250517_121525706.jpg