.22 Revolver Practice

[TimM]

Just wondering how many of you practice with a .22 revolver in addition to your "big" guns? With increasing ammo prices I am seriously considering getting a .22 to practice with just to maintain proper trigger control and technique.

Thoughts?

 

[22-rimfire]

I think it is a great idea. However, I think you should already own a 22 handgun. Frankly, I have always believed centerfire handgun ammunition to be expensive. It was 10 years ago and it is now. You just noticed?

 

[TimM]

I do own a .22 handgun (Ruger) but it's an auto. I predominately carry wheel guns every day and would like to get a double action revolver to keep the traits similar. Does this make any sense?

 

[BlindJustice]

My fav. Revolver is my 625 5" Bbl. Len.
#2 is the S&W 617 6" Bbl. length. has
pushed the 686P to #4 after the Model 60
but back to the point THe 617 is the same
overall weight as the 625 and has imo as smooth
an action with the K-frame as the N-frame
with i'ts PC Revovler action job. Great gun to
practice DA Double Taps. It helps that both the
625 and 617 have Guy HOgue similiar Full size shaped
grips. THe 617 also makes me want a
MOdel 63 with a 3" Bbl. like my MOdel 60

I also want a .22 LR conversion kit for my 1911

 

[22-rimfire]

Makes a lot of sense. I wasn't trying to pick at you. Never too soon to pick up a good double action 22 revolver. I love them. Got lots. My recommendations are usually the same.... Colt Trooper Mark III, Smith Model 17 or 18, or the current Smith Model 617. This actually doesn't even mention my real favorities. Love Colt Diamondbacks, but I rarely recommend them any more due to the price.

I know folks spend a lot of money shooting. But to me, shooting away $50 worth of ammo in an afternoon is a lot of money. You throw in a couple different calibers and you can easily shoot up twice that without trying hard. I have to save up ammo to have a big outing in a single day. IF you shoot an AR, you can easily blow away $100's in an afternoon. The 22 is the perfect choice.

 

[hexidismal]

Well, it's not my solution. First off, buying a .22 revolver that would have a comparable action to my larger caliber weapons would be a fairly expensive venture in itself. And even regardless of cost, it's not going to be the same as training with those weapons.

I bought a Beamhit laser target kit for a far more reasonable price than a nice S&W .22 revolver and trigger job would cost. Though the value of training without recoil is partially limited, it does however allow me to "trigger train" perfectly well with no additional cost.. well, other than maybe the occasional batteries. And of course I get to train with the proper weight and balance of my "big" guns.

Of course I fully advocate buying a nice .22 revolver just for the enjoyment of it, but I really don't see it as a valuable tool used for training for the use of OTHER firearms..

 

[M2 Carbine]

.22 Revolver Practice

By all means get a 22 hand gun to help reduce the cost of practice and allow you to do more practicing.
Shooting is shooting and any practice will help improve your shooting.

 

[wuchak]

I never go to the range without a .22 revolver. It gets shot more than any other gun I own. It teaches proper sight picture, trigger control, and is just a lot of fun on the cheap. I was taking my 1948 K22 Masterpiece all the time but last week I picked up a 1960 3" High Standard Sentinel that has turned out to be a real shooter. The K22 will get a much deserved break and the Sentinel will be coming along for a while. I also picked up a Ruger basic MKIII when Cabela's had them for $60 off at the end of last year. I'm still getting used to the grip angle but that is going to be my primary .22 ammo burner/plinker.

If you can find a good price on a .22 revolver grab it. 22's are easy on guns so it's tough to wear them out. If you like SA the Heritage models seem well liked and are rather inexpensive.

 

[WNTFW]

.22LR & Airguns are underrated by many (NOT ALL) people. I got a Beretta Neos because of price & put many shots through it. I would have gotten a revolver but could not find one for $209 like I paid for the Neos. Definitely makes for a better shooter if you work at it & aren't re-enforcing bad habits

Same on .22LR rifles. - Shot .22 before sighting in a centerfire last week to make sure I wasn't the loose nut behind the trigger.

I don't always shoot .22s first though - I think that can be bad.

Later,
WNTFW

 

[JV_2108]

Almost always shoot with a 22. Fun, great practice, etc. Usually practice with something bigger as well, but almost always with the 22.

For me, I got a Python and DS as gifts from my dad - and decided to get a 617 to help me learn how to shoot them.

Maybe I think about this too much, but I almost think folks should consider mastering a 22, moving up to a slightly larger caliber (say a .32), and so on. Oh, well that kind of thinking just makes me want a S&W Model 31.

 

[22-rimfire]

Maybe I think about this too much, but I almost think folks should consider mastering a 22, moving up to a slightly larger caliber (say a .32), and so on.

My first and second handguns were 22's. The next one was a Colt Python. Being inexperienced, I thought the recoil substantial with the Python and as a result rarely shot it. Next handgun was another 22 and then another and another. Since then, I have become a fan of both the 357 ann 41 mag revolver. So, I sort of agree with taking small steps in power, but really try to master shooting whatever you have unlike me when I first started shooting handguns.

I also know that shooting 22 revolvers greatly help you shoot larger caliber revolvers better.

 

[Kor]

I just acquired an H&R 922 snub-barrelled 9-shot .22LR DA revolver before Christmas, and I paid for an annual membership at my local indoor pistol range on New Year's Eve...I've been firing 50 rounds of CCI Blazer bulk-pack .22LR through that gun EVERY DAY on my way home from work - that's my New Year's Resolution.

What I've been doing is brushing up on my weak-hand skills, trying to keep all 50 shots on an 8" paper plate at 5 yards, weak-hand-only, double-action-only. Once I can keep 'em all on the plate, I'll push the distance back to 7 yards, then 10 yards, then 15 yards, etc. Hopefully, I can get to my first goal by the end of the month...

Since I CCW a S&W 642 in my weak-hand pocket, I consider it VERY IMPORTANT to maintain and improve my weak-hand DA shooting ability.

 

[Sgt.Dusk]

Im suprised that no-one told you to start reloading.
With the money you spend in 22revolver you could get yourself a fine
reloading kit.

 

[Jeff22]

practice with .22 handguns

Twenty five + years ago I was a law enforcement specialist in the security police in the ANG. At that time we were issued S&W 15s Combat Masterpiece Revolvers for handguns. We had some limited access to a nearby ARNG armory that had a 50 ft indoor range, but the backstop was of mild steel and we were limited to .22s and .38 wad cutters.

(I owned both a personal S&W 15 and it's .22 cal equivalent, the S&W 18. I also had an AR-15 and an Atchisson .22 converter. Shortly afterwards I bought a Colt Ace, which is the .22 cal equivalent of the M1911A1.)

Once and sometimes twice a month I'd go to the armory at 7am with the AR-15 with the .22 converter and my S&W 18 and shoot for an hour. A couple years later I did a tour in the local MP unit, and so I shot my Colt Ace instead of the revolver. Using the .22s was a good way to develop and maintain basic skills.

I still do a lot of shooting indoors in the winter with the .22s.

Out of the holster to first shot seems to be the best practice application for the .22 guns, in my opinion. I also like to do accuracy work at 50 feet on the NRA B-34 target, which is 1/2 scale, or on the NRA B-29 or NRA TQ-20 targets, which are 1/3rd scale. (Shooting at bigger targets with a .22 seems like cheating.)

(I just read in NEWSWEEK that the cost of copper has gone up 55% since January of 2006. With two wars going on, and the construction boom in China, world supplies of copper & other metals are stretched to the limit. I'm afraid the days of cheap "generic" ammo may be over, and I expect to be shooting my .22s a lot more in the future)

 

[MrBorland]

I'm a big believer in the .22 & do most of my handgun shooting with a .22LR revolver. I have a pair of K frame S&W .22s, and they are excellent "understudies" to my 3" 64 .38 and 4" 686 .357. Typical range session is 200 rounds of .22LR and 50 rounds of centerfire. With the .22 revolver, I can also shoot powderless primer-only Aguila Colibris in my garage on a daily basis.

 

[Lucky Strike]

I ordered a Taurus Tracker .22 to go with the Ruger GP100 that I recently purchased in an effort to practice DA trigger pulls for cheap.

Unfortunately i'm going on like week #6 of the Taurus being backordered.

 

[doc2rn]

If only Ruger brought back the SP 101 in .22lr... now that would be a revolver worth owning.

 

[MassMan]

In my younger days I found the 22lr boring and didn't shoot it much, as I favored the larger calibers. As I have matured (physically and intellectually) I have once again found the 22lr to be a joy to shoot. Just about every trip to the range I make sure to bring one. Fun and a LOT less expensive. Everyone should own at least one!

 

[Shawnee]

I've always thoroughly enjoyed shooting my .22 revolvers and have shot tens of thousands of rounds of .22 rimfire from revolvers since about 1965. Somehow - it doesn't seem quite correct to refer to all that shooting as just "practice" - but I guess it was/is.

 

[MCgunner]

I shoot .22 a lot more than centerfire even though I handload. Don't have to bother with handloading with the .22.

Yeah, you call it practice, I call it fun...plinking....whatever. I don't do my speedloader practice with it as I don't have a speed loader that fits it.