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What would an assassin want with a .22?

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118K views 105 replies 44 participants last post by  tadgreen_2  
#1 ·
I've been reading the Daniel Silva series where his main character is a Mossad agent (also an art restorer on the side), and when he was sent out to assassinate a group of Palestinian terrorists, he used a .22.

My question is this. Why a .22? Why not a .40 or .45 or another, "man stopper"? I wrote on my blog about carrying a Walter P22 and had a lot of comments about why I should carry something larger. (I will as soon as I find the right gun for me at the right price.)

Anyway, can someone answer this question for me? It's been bugging me for quite a while.


Thanks,

Lisa
thesurvivalmom.com
 
L
#3 ·
A .22 is alot easier to suppress. Alot of that work is at close range, so it's more about shot placement, than tissue damage. Btw, real assassins don't really use .22, or guns for that matter. Many prefer explosion and/or fire or other means to make it look an accident or natural causes. I saw a special on TDC about them. One dude actually went into a bar and injected his target with a syringe of chemical that made him have a heart attack.
Self defense is alot different. The perp is intent on doing fatal damage to you, so you're trying to get them to stop doing something they really want to do. Larger calibers are more likely to accomplish that. Still, shot placement is more important than caliber, so I'd suggest to pick the caliber that you can control and consistantly put all rounds in a fist sized target( if you had to shoot in self defense, shoot them to the ground until they stop moving). If that's a .22, so be it. Btw, my wife prefers and carries the Walther P99 in 9mm.
 
F
#4 ·
The .22 is quiet enough that when it is used in a building, the sound will not be recognized as a gunshot over all the other noises in a city(of course, a suppressor would be nice, but it is not needed as much as for a .40 or .45) but any good agent would have a suppressor no matter what the Operation.

If I were going to operate as a Undercover Agent, the .22 would be my choice as a .22 pistol loaded with a poison filled HP bullet will kill within a very short time if the GSW itself does not kill the suspect instantly.

The POU of an Assassin is totally different than that of a Soldier or Policeman.

As an agent, your goal is to get in and make the hit. Usually the hit is made while the suspect is not going to expect it.

You do not want a high-signature weapon that will draw attention to yourself.

You want a small weapon, in a small caliber as it is easier to conceal.
 
#6 ·
1. .22s are lethal and have killed MANY people.
2. Assassins and covert agents used .22 cal. rounds for many years. In combat large caliber rounds and "knock down" or stopping power are very important, but covert agents who want someone dead do not need to kill them instantly, as long as the target dies. .22 bullets often enter but do not have the force to leave, so they bounce around inside the body cavity, doing further damage.
3. The rounds are very small and easy to conceal.
4. Pistols for these rounds are likewise small and easy to conceal.
5. .22s are relatively quiet without modification.
6. They can be made much quieter (so called "silenced") very easily. Put simply, there are two sounds to a rifle shot, the "pop" and the "crack". The pop is the gas emitted as the bullet leaves the barrel and the crack is the sound of the bullet breaking the sound barrier. The pop can be reduced using material at the end of the barrel which absorbs some of the sound. Subsonic rounds can be purchased which prevent the crack since they travel at speeds below the sound barrier.

Bottom line: Each size and type of ammunition is good for a particular purpose. Like tools in a tool box. To hammer a nail use a standard hammers, to break concrete use a sledge hammer, to put a brad in a wall to hang a picture, use something smaller.

In the same way some rounds are better for stopping power but are larger and harder to conceal and you cannot carry as many rounds. Some rounds are better for long range shooting. The .22 is very small, easy to conceal and quiet, but still deadly.
 
#7 · (Edited)
A .22 is more than enough to kill. I've have two friends that were shot in the head, one from a pistol RIQICHET, and the other from a rifle at over 100 yards. The first guy was struck in the forehead and the second guy was hit in his right temple.

So, don’t tell me the .22 is just a toy...

I wish i had pictures of all the inmates i saw walking around with bullet wounds from EVERYTHING from .22lr to 12ga and 30-06. Hell, i held a conversation with a guy that tried to blow his head off with a .45acp...the round took out part of his skull but he's still functioning.

You pretty much need a headshot with a .22lr but pumping 12 rounds into the chest is most likely going to stop them. It could be seen in court as "overkill" so that and the fact that getting hit anywhere in the upper body with a 9mm, .40, or .45acp will most likely take care of the situation, is why most will recomend a larger cal for CCW. personaly, I think a 9mm with a good load is the way to go. Some like having the biggest rounds, i do too but, I can shoot 9mm all day long and in short order into a small circle so thats what i use.
 
#8 · (Edited)
In the book "Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team" ( The movie Munich was based on the book) The former Mossad agent talks about why agents use a .22, it was mainly for sound...they were told always two shots and always to the head. It's a pretty good book, and a true story:
__________________________
Description:

Vengeance is a true story that reads like a novel. It is the account of five ordinary Israelis, selected to vanish into "the cold" of espionage secrecy -- their mission to hunt down and kill the PLO terrorists responsible for the massacre of eleven Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972.
This is the account of that secret mission, as related by the leader of the group -- the first Mossad agent to come out of "deep cover" and tell the story of a heroic endeavor that was shrouded in silence and speculation for years. He reveals the long and dangerous operation whose success was bought at a terrible cost to the idealistic volunteer agents themselves.

"Avner" was the leader of that team, handpicked by Golda Meir to avenge the monstrous crime of Munich. He and his young companions, cut off from any direct contact with Israel, set out systematically to find and kill the central figures of the PLO's Munich operation, tracking them down wherever they lived.

The mechanics, the horror, the day-by-day suspense of what they did surpass by far anything John le Carré or Robert Ludlum could imagine, as they themselves were tracked in turn (and some killed) by PLO assassins, changing identities constantly, moving from country to country, devoting their young lives to the brutal task of vengeance.

Vengeance is a profoundly human document, a real-life espionage classic that plunges the reader into the shadow world of terrorism and political murder. But it goes far beyond that, to explore firsthand the feelings of disgust and doubt that gradually came to torment each member of the Israeli team, and that in the end inexorably changed their view of the mission -- and themselves.

Vengeance opens a window onto a secret world, a book that at the same time inspires and horrifies. For its subject is an act of revenge that goes to the very heart of the ancient biblical questions of good and evil.
 
D
#59 ·
gaxman said:
In the book "Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team" ( The movie Munich was based on the book) The former Mossad agent talks about why agents use a .22, it was mainly for sound...they were told always two shots and always to the head. It's a pretty good book, and a true story.
Click to expand...

Especially if you stick it in somebody's ear
 
#10 ·
its also a very uncommon round and expensive. In my experences .22lr is one of the most acurate little rounds out there, which is a must when shooting such a small projo.

I'd like to think a .380acp or mak would be "better" but from what i've been seeing out of my .22lr and friends makarov, the .22lr puts it to shame. We'll see though, he's working up some handload and has a new barrel on the way for that mak. :D:
 
#16 ·
I read a book by a former Mossad agent called By Way of Deception. It was very enlightening. He covered all the training, as well as the Israeli's true view of the US. He was told by a senior agent that when he sat down with his American counterpart that the US agent was sitting with a friend, but he (the Israeli) was not.

As for the .22, the use of it, like has already been stated, was for size and concealability. The preferred method was several close range shots to the head, with an additional to the temple when the target was down. The ammo used was sub sonic, this eliminates the tell tale crack as the bullet leaves the barrell and breaks the sound barrier. The only sound is the report of the round, and that can be totally eliminated with a supressor, although not always nessicary. The preferred weapon weapon was a Berretta, I dont remember which model.
 
#18 · (Edited)
The mafia commonly used a .22 for close-up-and-personal assassinations. Israelis too.
Makes sense to me. A co-worker od mine killed his wife with one shot from a .22.
(he's since died in prison) I believe that RFK was assassinated with a .22. Ronald Reagan was darn near killed with a .22 and screwed up James Brady for life. One shot also hit a secret service agent and obviously got his attention, taking him down.
I used to travel on business a LOT. I would pack a .22 Beretta (in my checked suitcase, declared, no ammo), and purchase a box of ammo at my destination. I did this for years. Kept the little pistol on my hotel nightstand and occasionally carried it.

 
#21 ·
OSS agents were issued and carried suppressed High Standard pistols. High Standard HDM, legend has it, that the man who brought the idea to the OSS walked into the President's office, turned his back to the President, fired 10 rounds into something and turned around. The President didn't know that a gun had been fired at all. I'm not sure how true that account is, but it's cool story. Also I read somewhere that Mossad snipers would carry suppressed 10/22's and other semi-auto .22's and would load with SSS rounds. When Palestinians would start to riot, they would target the leader of the riot and blow out his kneecaps.

http://world.guns.ru/handguns/hg216-e.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Standard_HDM
 
#24 ·
I have a friend with an integrally suppressed MKIII Ruger. All you can hear from ten feet away is the sound of the action working and the impact of the round. If you hold the slide in with your thumb then all one hears is a quiet "thup" as the round hits.


I wish form 4's weren't taking five or six months for approval, I want a supressor !
 
#28 ·
Smith & Wesson Model 41 .22 was the Mafia hit mens favorite choice, or so I heard. The round itself is more than enough while not attracting too much attention from the noise and muzzle flash. This allows a getaway and future work. I strongly doubt that this is the only weapon they are carrying at the time of the hit. Just in case they need more firepower for some not too subtle shooting.
 
3
#29 ·
Never underestimate the power of a 22. As stated RFK, Reagan and Brady sure dont. If the stories are true the Massads favorite assasination tool is a 22. I have studied Alaskan outdoorsmen for years and almost exclusively they carry a 22 for food procurement. While doing this many large animals have been taken with one. According to a retired detective, he said by a large margin most gun related suicides were from 22's.
 
W
#31 ·
I seem to recall an interview of an OSS (pre-CIA) agent who carried both a suppressed Hi-Standard HDM and a Colt Govt in .38 Super (unsupressed).

The canned .22 was used to eliminate the guards and other quiet work and the Super was used to make the most of the noise involved. Such as shooting into a barrack/room of sleeping Nazi's.

The .22 is the easiest to find "subsonic" or target ammo for pretty much world wide. The .22 out of a pistol is generally at or near the speed of sound already so it's much easier to suppress.
The volume of gas that you need to contain and cool is exponentially greater with any increase in bore size and velocity. The .22 is one of the few choices that can be kept small enough to conceal practically, especially prior to the last 20 years or so.

The improvements in cans in the last 2 decades is next to phenomenal, between the titanium cans and improvements in baffle design and CAD machining and the subsequent decrease in cost, the market has really been booming, sort of. Couldn't pass up the pun.

The .22 is great for 'killing', but for stopping, especially a target that's aware of you and your intention to stop their nefarious attack, larger is better.
 
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