Shooting a lot of 22's / Center fire improved immensely

I purchased this GSG 1911 22lr late in the summer to do exactly what you are talking about....hone my 1911 skills.
Bonus that it fits in my existing holsters.

Who say's shooting .22's doesn't improve your shooting skills? 10+ years ago I spent an entire summer shooting nothing but .22 handguns, letting my centerfire pistols collect dust. Admittedly I was a very bad shot with a handgun at the time, but my groups shrunk by 50% or better by the end of the summer.

For similar reasons, I just picked up a target .22 CZ bolt action. I plan on using it at 100 and 200 yards, and seeing if I can push it further.

triplebike said:

... I can only attribute that to the amount of 22's I've been shooting. I've always read that practicing with 22's doesn't help improve your centerfire performance. Well I have to beg to differ, since my centerfire performance has improved 10 fold. ...

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I think you're absolutely correct, and I think the reasons have to do with the same reasons dry-fire practice is recommended.

If you really want to improve your shooting fundamentals, shoot a lot of 22LR through a quality revolver. It eventually makes shooting a semi (particularly one with a SA trigger) seem like a piece of cake....

BOARHUNTER

I've always professed the importance of training with 22 lr. for a couple of reasons. The trigger time is extended and it does not put a dent on your wallet. You shoot 500 rounds of 22 vs 500 rounds of 9mm there is a considerable cost difference. Plus your aim of sight, breathing, trigger control and muscle memory transfers over to center fire.

I end up saving money while maintaining my shooting proficiency. If I carry my 1911 I'll shoot several hundred rounds of 22 with my browning and end my session by shooting 3 magazines with my 1911. For me this allows my muscle memory to remember the recoil of 1911 and my picture sight needed. If I carry a 686 I practice with my 617 shooting several hundred rounds in double action only and will also end my session by shooting 21 rounds of .357 magnum all in double action too. Shooting double action is difficult but my groups are improving. Same thing applies to rifles. If you can get a good 10 shot group with 22 at a 100 and 200 yards you 3 or 5 shot groups with center fire will improve too.

I'll confess that practicing with a .22 before shooting centerfire like .40 S&W or .45 ACP helps me recognize if (when) I develop a flinch.
( ♪ ♫ recoil Antic-a-pay-shun, making me flinch ♪ ♫)
The embarassment of flinching with a .22 shames the flinch away when I shoot centerfire.

I didn't learn to shoot a handgun until I practiced Bullseye with my High Standard Victor. I bought the Ciener units for my 1911s and Browning High Power, I have fired the High Power more with the Ciener unit than I have with center fire.

I have a Tactical Solutions 2211 .22 conversion mounted on a Colt 1911. My typical range session involves shooting 50% .22 with the TacSol and 50% .45 ACP from my Kimber 1911. Essentially same everything (grip, breath control, etc.) except of course, for recoil.

Even though I reload, shooting .22 allows me to shoot more inexpensively.

Yup. I bought a Ruger MK II and shot that poor thing heavily for a couple of years before I bought a big bore pistol. I thought I might wear it out. Every time I took it to the range I shot at least 500 rounds or more through it. You can learn everything you need to know about sights and trigger control with a .22 pistol. I still have that Ruger and I can still hit coke cans at 75 yards with it easily. All day long.

Every time I see a brand new shooter being introduced to the sport by someone with a centerfire I cringe.... especially with a novice instructor giving the lessons .

So many of the basics that lead to good shooting habits can be taught with a quality .22 revolver or auto and a brick of ammo without the noise, recoil or cost of a centerfire it’s amazing.

Starting off well avoids so many of the bad habits I see that later have to be ironed out if the shooter is to ever improve. OP, your .22 practice certainly showed you that, outside of heavy recoil control, the basics of shooting handguns transcends the caliber... and solid practice with a .22 will help carryover to better performance with your centerfires.

Nicely done!
Stay safe.

One of the main reasons I always stock up on 22's is because I train with it. In addition when ammo stocks are scarce as they are now I save on my reloading components and centerfire ammo by strictly using 22's 95% of the time to outlast the drought.

Years ago when I first moved to Southern California I became friends with a guy in my Reserve Unit that was into tactical and bullseye pistol competitions. He had lots of friend that were police officers with various local police forces including LAPD officers.

At the time almost every one of the officers carried a revolver and almost all of them carried the Smith & Wesson model 19. some would practice with .38 Special but some bought S&W model 17 revolvers that closely matched their duty revolver in configuration, size, weight and trigger pull so they could practice aiming and firing with much cheaper .22 ammunition. They would still practice reloads with their duty gun but target practice with their .22 revolvers.

My model 19-4 and model 17-3 (below) aren’t in the same configuration but very similar in weight and trigger pull. I enjoy shooting them both and by shooting my 17 with cheaper ammo I have noticed an improvement when shooting my model 19.

Very nice pair there.......

kinda hard to improve when all you think about is the upcoming recoil. glad you figured this one out.

murf

There may be one or two things about shooting centerfire guns that cannot be learned by shooting a .22, but in broad terms, if anyone told me that shooting a .22 couldn't improve centerfire performance I'd immediately dismiss him as a fool.

Spending a lot of time with rimfires has definitely made me a better shooter, no question.

bassjam said:

Who say's shooting .22's doesn't improve your shooting skills?

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I've had some very lengthy arguments with folks who said otherwise. Mostly he-man types with fragile egos who think they're only for women and kids.

.38 Special said:

...if anyone told me that shooting a .22 couldn't improve centerfire performance I'd immediately dismiss him as a fool.

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Agreed!

CraigC said:

I've had some very lengthy arguments with folks who said otherwise. Mostly he-man types with fragile egos who think they're only for women and kids.

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I try to avoid arguing with morons like that. Gets me agitated and wastes time. I just think about my smoking-hot wife and how I don't need to prove my manhood to some idiot when I can go home and prove it to her....

bdickens said:

I try to avoid arguing with morons like that. Gets me agitated and wastes time. I just think about my smoking-hot wife and how I don't need to prove my manhood to some idiot when I can go home and prove it to her....

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I never understood connecting one's manhood to firearms. I guess some folks need all the help they can get.

Probably my most fun firearm it the beat-to-hell old single action .22LR revolver.

I Knocked the dust of my old pellet pistol and have been shooting in my basement. Beeman Tempest still shoots good. It is so slow and has a little recoil that it amplifies any shooting form issues. If I am throwing respectable groups with it at about 15-20 ft then a firearm is a piece of cake. But I do have a lot of 22 ammo and a Browning Buckmark as well as a Ruger 10-22 in a AR15 conversion stock. 3to9 variable Luapold On that one. It is a blast to shoot.

CraigC said:

...I've had some very lengthy arguments with folks who said otherwise. Mostly he-man types with fragile egos who think they're only for women and kids. ...

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Let me guess, those discussions were not at the range? A little demonstration goes without a lot of words and can be most convincing.

When I got into competitive pistol shooting one of my mentors gave me a Walther LP53 to practice with and he wanted me to practice daily for half a year. It worked wonders.

PzGren said:

Let me guess, those discussions were not at the range? A little demonstration goes without a lot of words and can be most convincing.

When I got into competitive pistol shooting one of my mentors gave me a Walther LP53 to practice with and he wanted me to practice daily for half a year. It worked wonders.

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Not that I recall but I imagine I've encountered the type once or twice. They tend to keep to themselves when you're shooting pistols on the rifle range.

CraigC said:

Not that I recall but I imagine I've encountered the type once or twice. They tend to keep to themselves when you're shooting pistols on the rifle range.

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Exactly. They pack up and leave in frustration but vent that frustration as experts off range .

I find nothing better for just pure practice of picking up a target and hitting it than .22LR - plinking or whatever it is called today. I really only shoot up to 9mm, and I've found it work the other way as well. I fired one of my friends magnum power revolver a few times, and going back to the 9mm make the recoil feel about like a .22 ... so - all practice is good. Maybe if I was willing to shoot 200-500 rounds of 9m in an afternoon it would have the same training benefit, but I'm not going to do that when .22 is 1/4 the cost.