Do you really have to own a 22, and if so, a rifle or a pistol

[200Apples]

.
The Winchester Model 63 I referred to in an earlier post, and my new Browning 1911-22 Compact:





Again, my vote is for one of each; at least! one .22LR rifle and one .22LR pistol.

 

[Reloadron]

Well I now own one more than I did. A nice S&W Model 17 (no dash) came along today. Tight, seems to have been well maintained with some small holster wear. Did I have to own it? No, but a nice to have. I'll see how it shoots this week.

Ron

 

[toivo]

I have more .22 rifles than anything else in my gun collection. If I had to get down to one firearm (and I hope that I never have to), it would probably be a .22 rifle, and most likely a bolt action.

I can't make anybody else's decision for them, but a .22 bolt action rifle was the first firearm I ever shot in my life, and it's the platform that I have used more than any other throughout the years. It's the one I think is best to start new shooters on. It's a good survival rifle (small game) and fun for plinking and targets. It's what I look at first whenever I go into a gun store, especially if they have some old Mossbergs and that kind of thing hanging around.

That's just me. There's no reason for anybody to own a gun they don't need or want.

 

[Ignition Override]

The advantage of a rifle in .22LR? No hearing protection is usually needed, so on hot, humid summer days, much less sweat drips onto shooting glasses from a sweaty head.

No handguns but three .22 rifles: 1940's Savage, two Romainian M-69 Trainers.

 

[marv]

I have eighteen .22 rifles and handguns and a couple .17 rifles. Some of the pistols are in reach of where I'm sitting.

 

[375supermag]

Hi...

My take on this question is that I personally need at least a couple of .22LR firearms.
I have had at least one .22LR rifle since I was 16 years old. I bought that Remington pump with the first paycheck I ever earned from my first job.
I bought two more .22 caliber rimfires just after I turned 21 years of age...one a Kimmel Industries stainless SA revolver and the other a Marlin lever-action .22MRF rifle. I think I paid $50 each for those two.

I never bought another .22 rimfire for 40 years until a few years when I bought a Henry .22LR carbine for my son, followed a year or so later by an H&K semi-auto carbine (again a gift for my son).

Finally, after threatening to do so for over a year, I bought a .22LR revolver for myself. I had planned to get a Ruger .22LR SA in stainless for squirrel hunting and target shooting. However, the best laid plans of mice and men sometimes do go awry...I rather clumsily stumbled across a Dan Wesson DA .22LR revolver at a gun show a couple of months ago for what I considered a good price ($475).

Despite the shortage of .22LR ammunition, my son and I have managed to put a few thousand rounds of .22LR down range each of the last two-three years. Together with the thousands of rounds of center-fire ammunition fired each year, I believe my son has become a very good shot because of all of that practice (due in no small part to the .22LR firearms).

 

[CoalTrain49]

I've had both 22 rifles and pistols over the years. Sold all of the rifles and only have 2 pistols now, one I've never shot. I could just as easily not have any and I wouldn't miss them. Lately I've been considering giving them away to a young guy that likes to shoot but can't afford to buy a pistol. I can't really see a reason to own one with the price of ammo these days. I can darn near build a 38 special or 9mm round for the cost of a 22. As far as game I'll take a 20 ga shotgun over a 22 anyday.

So no, you don't really need one. Want is different.

 

[Phaedrus/69]

I can't imagine not having at least one or two .22s! Obviously things are a little whacky right now with .22 ammo but most of the time you can get it for a few cents per round, much cheaper than any centerfire ammo. If you reload it's closer but there's the time it takes to load, pick up and sort brass, etc.

As others have pointed out .22lr is pretty quiet, too. Indoors I wouldn't shoot it w/o ear protection but outdoors I might out of a rifle.

.22 LR ammo is very compact, too. A whole brick of .22 shells takes about the same space as two or three boxes of 9mm ammo.

I think .22 lr is a great training tool due to the very low price and almost total lack of recoil.

 

[FROGO207]

It seems that one either loves or hates a .22 cal firearm. IMHO Most that have shot them for any amount of time see the value in a rimfire or two. I wonder if those that do not are just too macho to admit it. FWIW A .22 would be the last firearm I would let go of if I had to sell off things to pay bills. YMMV

 

[texasgun]

owning a 10/22 or pistol in 22LR was a great idea when ammo was DIRT cheap and you could plink all day for a fraction of what a box of 9mm costs.

with 22LR being $50+ for a 500rd brick (if you can find it....). not so much. I can get 5.56 NATO for 32cents right now... so basically 22LR is just a 1/3 of 5.56 ammo. Needless to say I'd rather shoot 150rds of 5.56 than 500rds of 22LR

 

[Ed Ames]

Isn't it kinda irrelevant to talk about the marked up price of .22 right now? It is like going to a ball game, seeing $8 cups of "beer", and declaring that all beer is overpriced. All beer in that specific limited context is overpriced.

It isn't like .22 ammo will be hard to find forever, and it isn't as though most people who had a .22 in 2010 must buy ammo right now. I personally take at least one .22 with me whenever I go to the range and I still have at least 15k rounds on hand. I have only purchased maybe 1000 rounds of rimfire ammo in the past year and that was at normal pre-panic prices. This stuff is cheap and easy to store so there is no excuse for living box to box.

 

[Deanimator]

Well, given that I used to compete in the Cuyahoga County Pistol League, and it's a .22 rimfire ONLY league, that didn't leave me much choice...

 

[420Stainless]

I wanted a rifle early on for squirrel and rabbit hunting. Bought a friends 10/22 and it has served the purpose well for almost 30 years. I've also used it to teach others how to shoot a scoped rifle for the first time. I got along fine with no pistols or revolvers personally, but did buy a couple to teach others shooting handguns for the first time. I don't personally shoot them except for teaching and hunting purposes. I don't care if the ammo is cheaper, just much prefer to shoot reloads with lead bullets for practice rather than .22. Not sure what the too macho argument is all about - could just as easily drop back to a BB gun or air rifle if all it is about is saving money and practicing the motions. I just don't find much fun and not all that much practicality in .22, but do prefer it to a shotgun for small game hunting. Nothing against those who enjoy it, but calling out people who don't by saying they are not secure in their masculinity is just as silly as calling those who do sissies.

 

[weisse52]

Yes..both..And conversion units as well.I think I may still have the insert to shoot .22 in a 12 gauge.

 

[JohnKSa]

If you're someone who really enjoys shooting then, in my opinion, you're cheating yourself out of considerable enjoyment by not owning any rimfires.

I feel the same way about airguns.

So why NOT own rimfires?

If you have firearms primarily for self-defense and practice only to achieve a necessary level of proficiency then maybe a rimfire just takes up your budgeted time at the range.

If you have firearms primarily for hunting and don't hunt game that rimfires are suitable for, then you might view a rimfire as a waste of time.

 

[S Anderson]

Remington 34

Of all the guns I have my favorite is my fathers Remington 34 that he got on his 12th birthday in 1932. It is a very slim 22RF tubular mag. bolt action. This is the first gun I ever held or fired. I concider it priceless. It will fire shorts, longs or long rifles mixed in the mag. tube. I wish Remington would bring this rifle back, it would most likely be well accepted. The price then was $13.50. 22 rimfire has been around a long time, I have a box of 22 shorts made in 1867. I met a 14 year old kid at the range last week, the first gun he ever held or fired was his Dads AR15.

 

[CH47gunner]

My opinion - Yes.
I learned on a Stevens Favorite. My grandkids (3 so far) have all started on .22's. I've bought each of them .22's for their 12th birthdays.

I had taken these out of the safe to make room for another one and snapped a group pic. There are two .17HMR's and the rest are .22's - my wifes and mine. Does not include the .22 handguns, two semi-autos, two revolvers, and a Kadet conversion for my CZ.

 

[BigBL87]

I have a 22 rifle primarily for cheap shooting. I don't hunt, so my primary concerns are home defense and just shooting for fun. With my next purchase, I'm trying to decide between a 22 pistol or a semi auto 22 rifle (current one is bolt action). Since I have a shotgun and handgun for home defense, a 22 of some kind makes alot of sense for me personally since it would allow me to shoot more. That being said, due to the spotty availability of 22lr, I now also own a break action air rifle.