Picher, I didn’t exactly catch the bug, but I had an interest, particularly with several local companies producing them. My (then) brother-in-law knew a group of guys working at Rock River Arms so he made a few calls and invited me to the range one day.
IIRC, temp was minus 8, I was confused on why we were shooting in crazy weather though I typically shoot 12 months, until guys started showing up with AR after AR. We spent the next several hours plowing through ammo and having a blast. I ordered one the following Monday.
I confess I grew up KNOWING that every pull of the trigger MUST be carefully considered for surgically precise results. I confess that’s not how things went. This was art class, gym, recess if you will; liberating from what I otherwise knew.
I still reload for precision. I reload for my AR. And Picher, like you, I worked on a number of 10/22s without owning one for my use. That too changed a month ago with a basic carbine model and RDS. As you can see from the picture it’s not my only rimfire option (and this isn’t all of them by a long shot) but I know I’ll find an enjoyable purpose for it, perhaps as a quick follow-up rabbit gun. Never be afraid to embrace the unnecessary because it might just become what you forgot you needed.
A few of my rimfires.
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