Rimfire practice is paying off BIG time

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SMITHWESS

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I bought a Buckmark .22 pistol on Friday. It has really pretty contoured rosewood grips, and a fiber optic front sight.

I have 3,450 rounds through this pistol. Again, bought it Friday!

I have never felt myself gaining skill as quickly as I have this weekend. I normally shoot 9's and 45's, and I'm a decent shot but I have a hard time with follow ups / double taps, and more quickly regaining sight picture.

I have 9 or so 8-10" gongs hanging all over, along with some 4" steel circles I bought off Ebay. By this afternoon it was getting too easy at 15-20 yards, so I moved them out to about 30 yds. Bang bang bang. I've also become AWESOME at reloading the magazine. Takes about 15 seconds total.

I had some flinching problems before, not bad but not good. It's gone. I can pick up my 1911 or XDm and nail the same 30 yard gongs now. Not quite as fast as with the .22, but I'm literally twice as fast and twice as accurate with my larger calibers as I was last week.

My point to this, is to urge anyone who has hit any plateaus in marksmanship to grab a decent rimfire, a few thousand rounds of ammo, and shoot as much as possible. I'm just excited to get the feeling that I'm stepping up to the next level and it's costing me BEANS!!

Probably not exactly breaking news for a lot of you...!
 
Hey, good for you! I have been into firearms since 1944,at age 10 and have shot tens of thousands of rounds through about 198 different handguns, rifles and shotguns. Also, fired some exotic stuff in the USMC with more bang and range.

At this juncture I enjoy hearing someone discover a fact about shooting that is truly effective and fun. I have reverted to the .22 many times to hone my shooting skills and/or work out some flaws. It really does work so pass it on folks.
 
I too use the 22 to work on fundamentals. Its especially nice to rotate to after you feel yourself starting to anticipate or flinch.
 
You're preaching to the choir here.

I used to shoot all kinds of guns, .357, .45, but as I got older I just wanted to have fun, so I went back to the womb so to speak, and the .22. After a while it was all I shot, and I ended up selling off a liot of my center fire guns. I gave up hunting 25 years ago, and living in Maryland, ccw is not going to happen. So for my range work the .22 is all I shoot these days. Being retired on social security, thats s good thing. A brick or two a week of Federal bulk box ammo won't break the bank, but it lets me shoot once or twice every week for hours at a time.

I found that when I practiced a lot with rimfire, then went back to my center fire revolver, I just didn't like it. Not the same thing. The little .22 is a habit forming gun. Between my Marlin lever action and Smith and Wesson K22, I hardly use any other gun now. I think if something goes bump in the night, I may grab my 4 inch 10 shot K22 out of habit. I could do worse, I use that gun every few days.

Carl.
 
Very much a case of "preaching to the choir".

My own .22 was highly effective at breaking me of my early flinching issues. I still enjoy shooting .22 for pure accuracy practice and for first shot "up and shoot" accuracy drills to aid with my IDPA and IPSC shooting. I don't use it much for double tap drills as the low recoil would mess up my center fire double tap timing. But for simple accuracy shooting and first shot from a draw drills they are superb.

And talk about CHEAP fun? It doesn't get any better in the shooting world than with a brick of .22 and a stack of targets!
 
I have had a buckmark for years, and that thing has a lot of rounds through it. I never found that it translates all that well for me over to centerfire though. The trigger is much better, and the grip is a bit different. I don't care though, the thing is wonderfully accurate, and a true pleasure to shoot!

I also have a GP100 and a Taurus 990 in .22lr, which have a very similar size frame and weight, and identical houge grips. I have found that shooting the 990 translates very well over to the GP100, particularly the DA trigger. The GP trigger is light and smooth compared to the 990, so much so that I have to remind myself to be easy on the GP trigger after a session with the 990.

Whatever .22 it is though, it doesn't get much better than a good .22 handgun and a brick of ammo!
 
My favorite buckmark accessory:

p_100004406_1.jpg

Makes loading the mags quick and painless. Costs like $3 or something. They load up painlessly as-is, but after running through several hundred rounds in an afternoon I get tired of holding that little button down with my thumb.

I just bought a new buckmark, myself. Between myself and the kids we shot over 2000 rounds through it since last week when I bought it. I've giving up counting the rounds through it.
 
I have found this loader to be the fastest out there. It takes 2-3 seconds to load an entire mag. It only works on the Browning or Ruger though.
http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=16700/Product/_22_AUTO_ULTIMATE_CLIP_LOADER
p_100000619_1.jpg
 
A .22, pistol or rifle, is the best thing in the world to bring you back to the basics. I never go to the range without them.
 
I got a SIG Mosquito to practice cheap in place of my SIGS. An AA arms .22 kit to practice cheap for my Glocks. Ruger Mark II and a 22/45 (for 1911 practice) and a S&W M&P 15-22 for M4 practice. It definately is a good way to go. Still need to work with the big guys. But gives the same feel or close to the big guys. Also every "expert" shooter I know has at least one good .22.
Just good practice. No blast or recoil to hide problems. A .22 will tell on you if you are using bad technique. Best way to learn to shoot bar none.
 
This is why I have about a hundred posts responding to the eternal question "What should my first handgun purchase be?" About a hundred people chime in with their favorite 9mm/.40./.45 pistol and I say "Buy a Ruger or Buckmark .22".

As you note though, it isn't just good advice for novice shooters - any shooter will improve his skills with a .22.
 
Hello friends and neighbors // AGREED, I enjoy shooting .22 now more than ever.

Bought a S&W 617 (K frame .22) to sort of prep each time I go to the range with my S&W 586 (L frame .357).

Made a big difference, so big I'm looking for a Snub nose .22 to mimic my S&W 442 .38.

The semiauto .22 trainer I currently use is a Hi- Standard, H-D Military.
To mimic a CZ75B .40sw.
I used a Stoger American Eagle, Luger for years but the H-D has more weight up front.

I carry the larger calibers at different times and having similar .22s has helped my wallet if nothing else.
I think more trigger time period is the best asset gained from this type of shooting.
If the .22 closely matches a carry handgun so much the better.

Have a blast and share the fun with a friend or three.
 
Ok you guys can laugh at this all you want but I swear it is true.

I have been a rifle/shotgun guy and only sometimes shot pistols. About last Fall I started shooting my friend's G23 (9mm conversion) enough I knew what my proficiency was with pistols but wasn't really gaining skill, I was good enough at 15 yards if I had a full magazine and the bad guy stood still he would be stricken with a flesh wound or 2.

So I got a .22 pistol, oh man do I suck with it. Admittedly it's a bit heavy for me but I still put 200 rounds a week through it going on 3 weeks now, except this week because it's been pouring. Seriously I am terrible.

However here's where this gets good, shooting that much I shot my friend's gun again last week which is lighter than mine. Result was I was emptying mags completely into the 8" circle target we were using at 15 yards. I'd say now it would be recommended that bad guys not stand still anymore.

So overall shooting the .22 pistol (albeit poorly) working on fundamentals, improves skill greatly. Next step is getting to where I can keep a .45ACP on target.
 
As to the choir comments, I know! Haha, I was really just excited to find something working so well for me, and not to mention how much fun shooting is when you don't hear that "CHA CHING" cash register sound every time you send a 230gr downrange. When I miss with my 45 I feel like I threw 35 cents in the creek.

That ultimate "clip" loader is ordered! Along with some spare mags.

Serious question though, how hot can my buckmark get before something becomes damaged? With a few mags and that little loader I can see myself POURING through rounds, especially when friends come out. It already gets pretty hot and I'm loading ONE mag the old fashioned way.
 
I can't imagine you could overheat a .22, but if you really try....

My centerfire shooting had been going downhill this las year. Recently I bought a .22lr conversion for my Sig .45. My shooting is starting to come back to where it used to be.
 
The only way to improve your shooting skill is by putting lead down range. A .22 will let you do that and still afford to eat.
 
I can't imagine you could overheat a .22, but if you really try....
Click to expand...
I have four magazines for mine. With myself, a friend and my 2 sons rotating positions between 2 loaders, one target runner and one shooter...we kept her shooting pretty regular. Never really got too hot to touch, either. We spent about 2-3 hours breaking it in with a couple thousand rounds. 1000 of it was cheap bulk. Surprisingly, I didn't have a single weapon related failure. I had two duds that had evidence of good firing pin strikes, that was it. It wasn't even all that dirty afterwards. It was very accurate, even with bulk stuff. My oldest son labeled my friend "the noob crusher." I thought I had set the pace when I was shooting the lids off of markers, but she was able to duplicate every shot I made. Did I mention this was like the 3rd time she's ever fired a handgun and the 1st time she had ever received any decent instruction beyond safety? (And I quote..."Oh so that's how you use the sights!" She then proceeded to shoot a ragged bullseye) I was impressed with my first trip out with the first buckmark I have bought. Now I want a second one to mount optics on.

Stripping it isn't as difficult as I heard, either. It took us much longer to clean up our shooting gallery than to clean the weapon.
 
"I have 9 or so 8-10" gongs hanging all over, ...."




What type of gongs -- where'd you get them? I need some for my back yard..... :)

By the way, I shoot a Sig P229 in .22 LR. Then I strap on the 9mm and go to the range.... :)
 
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