Buy 22 pistol to train with or a case of 9mm?

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breakingcontact

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I find myself shooting more and wanting to shoot more.

Thinking of buying a 22 pistol to shoot more, M&P 22 specifically. (the 9mm/22LR shortage won't last forever)

I could buy a case of 9mm ammo for about the same cost. Which would be a better value for training?

Did you find shooting a 22LR pistol improved your regular pistol shooting skills?

Are there 22LR conversion kits for the M&P series and Shield?

Thanks!
 
It depends on what you are training for.

If it is pure accuracy or you need something one step above dry firing then a 22 is good. For things like recoil management, a 22 is not going to help much.

That being said, everyone should have a good 22 pistol in their collection.
 
Nothing wrong with shooting .22, however, you can develop bad habits due to the lack of recoil. It is NOT a substitute for shooting centerfire.
 
Pilot said:
Nothing wrong with shooting .22, however, you can develop bad habits due to the lack of recoil. It is NOT a substitute for shooting centerfire.
Click to expand...

Agreed, focus on the basics and your shooting will improve.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
 
Not exactly recoil *management*, but a few sessions with a .22 should help with a flinching problem. If the controls are similar to your main carry piece, then I'd say it's very valid.
Then, there's the utility of being able to pop small game on the cheap if/when things go wonky.
 
Shooting .22LR will do wonders for your "first shot" score, but won't help at all for the follow-up shots if recoil is an issue in your shooting.

IMHO its pretty moot right now as .22LR ammo is very hard to find at the moment, a case of 9mm in the hand is worth a lot more these days!
 
I love the 22. The bad habit I struggle with, was mentioned- I tend to relax my grip a bit with the 22. When I pick up the 9mm or the 45 I need to "re-commit" to controlling the gun, sometimes it takes a few shots to figure that out.

Your bad habits may vary :cool:
 
I think a .22 makes for an excellent training tool for developing proper trigger control and sight alignment. The lower cost of rimfire ammo makes for more range time and more target practice.

The other thing to consider with your question is that the .22 pistol is going to last a lifetime; the case of 9mm. ammo will eventually get used up and will only continue on for as long as you can use the brass for reloading.
 
Specifically looking at the M&P 22. If they built it exactly like the full size model I'd have bought one already. The sights are not good and the safety levers feel cheap. Other than that I like what I've seen. Oh, except it only coming w one mag and extras being expensive.
 
I ready like sub-caliber understudies for my CF handguns. If they made a .22lr upper for the M&P, I'd have one...I"m waiting for the one Apex Tactical is working on (hopefully this year)

The M&P22 isn't a .22lr version of the M&P9/40. It is completely separate design who's exterior has been made to resemble the M&P9...there is a hammer inside the slide. It is really more closely related to a Walther P22.

I use a .22lr version of a CF handgun to compliment Dry Fire practice. It keeps you honest about the technique you are using. You should be gripping the gun the same way if it is unloaded or loaded with a RF round when you practice your trigger management. Trigger management is the most important factor in shooting accurately.

RF practice also helps in rapid fire and it allows the action to cycle so you can practice resetting the trigger. It is actually better than CF practice as there is less time between shots...when your muzzle is above the target...to reset and prep the trigger for the next shot. All of this is applicable to recoil management when you switch over to your CF practice...it isn't like you are trying to hold the gun down or pull it back down from recoil; you shouldn't be trying to muscle the gun in recoil anyway
 
breakingcontact said:
Did you find shooting a 22LR pistol improved your regular pistol shooting skills?
Click to expand...
A definite yes, but so did/does dry firing and regular range sessions with caliber of choice.

If you're already a competent center fire shooter, you may be beyond 95% of what a good .22 will help you with. Not too long ago my wife was a new shooter and after a time with center fire she bought a Ruger Mark III Target. Now, she really likes her Mark III, but to gain competency with her cartridge of choice for self defense she bought a different gun. She tried my Glock 17, 26 and 19 but never really liked any. Once she shot a friend's SR9 she knew what she needed to do. She now owns three SR guns.

The moral of the story for her was the .22 is a great deal of fun, but finding a center fire gun that suited her is what prompted a leap in her proficiency. That and practice, practice and more practice.
 
I absolutely think shooting .22 will improve all of your shooting. Not only will it help get rid of a flinch, it absolutely WILL help with "recoil control." When people say "recoil control," they nearly always mean the time that it takes to fire the next shot. The time that it takes to reacquire the sights is often the biggest component of that time. Learning to track the sights in recoil is the way to faster, better shooting. It's a lot easier to learn to track the sights on a .22 than on even a 9mm.

Get a .22. Shoot it until you can watch the front sight through the entire recoil process and see it settle back into the notch. Learn to see everything that happens during recoil. Once you can do that every time, go back to the 9mm and try to replicate it. The front sight will move more, and it will be harder to do. But you'll know how it feels, and that it is possible, because of your work with a .22.

That's just my humble opinion.
 
I got a .22 semiauto to help my wife with her shooting. She was not even hitting paper with the 9mm. After a couple of magazines with the .22 she was nailing bullseyes. We switched back over to the 9mm and she kept them in the 8/9/bullseye rings.

Now the .22 is used for fun, for HCP/CCW/CHP qulifications (wife, mom, anyone else who wants to borrow it for qualifications), and for my boys to shoot.

Jim
 
both. I shoot a ton so find having 22s to be pretty cost saving.

Yet in this climate finding a case of nine is pretty notable, and .22 is pretty scarce too.

So, both. In the long run the 22 will pay for itself
 
Breakingcontact, have you tried any of the friendly pistol competitions in your area? Depending on what kind of training you're looking for, something like IDPA will get you away from just standing there punching paper at your leisure. Once you're fairly familiar with the controls on your pistol, IDPA or a similar sport will help you get REALLY familiar with it. You'll learn fast magazine changes, shooting on the move and from behind cover, shooting targets in order of priority, and how to do all this under time pressure without breaking stride (most of the time). Not to mention, you'll meet some great people. Our club-level events usually have around 40-60 people there, and each time there are 8 to 10 new guys/gals.

Then you can take either that nice new .22 pistol or your 9mm, and go practice with some definite goals in mind! :)
 
I happen to be one of those odd ducks that believe the .22 is a great pistol. It is good for so many things, not perfect but good. Get one you like and I promise, you'll find you have a friend for life. Then get a mate for it like a Ruger 10/22, great for fun and Bug out's both:).
 
shafter said:
I wouldn't buy a 22 right now unless you can get some ammo to go with it.
Click to expand...

I dunno. If I find a nice 22 at a decent price, I'd snatch it up. They are great teaching tools, and demand for Basic Pistol training is on the rise. Ammo is scarce and/or expensive right now, but I think that will change for 22lr before it changes for other calibers.
 
While .22 ammo may be scarce now, it will be back on the shelves when the panic subsides. I would not let the current madness stop me from buying a good .22 semi-auto that would give me years, and years of inexpensive shooting, and practice.
 
I own the M&P22 and have it as a fun plinker/practice gun. I tried to find something that would be a good dedicated handgun that would go along with my Glock. The M&P22 was the closest with the highest quality. I have over a thousand rounds through it and it has been fantastic. Only complaint is finding extra magazines. You get one with the pistol unless you buy one online that comes with more.
 
My choice of carry gun is a .38/.357 snubby loaded with +p .38's, great to carry but tough to shoot well. When Ruger came out with the LCR in .22lr to go with the .357 LCR, both available with Crimson Trace grips I knew I'd found the perfect combo and my next carry gun. I got the .22 first and can run hundreds of .22's through it in a session, following that with several cylinders full of .38's in my carry, which until now was an SP101. Just in the short time I've had the .22 my snubby shooting has improved measurably. Just broke down and got the KLCR .357 with CT's and find it carries immeasurably easier and expect to improve even further. The feel between the two is incredibly similar, though the .22 trigger is heavier.

I think enough of the benefit of this concept that my next purchase will probably be a .22 conversion for my Glock. The greatest benefit in IMHO comes when the rimfire and centerfire are as alike as possible, at least functionally. Using the light recoiling .22 allows for far more training at a time, but it does need to be done in conjunction with some centerfire firing to maintain proper recoil control. It sure stretches the ammo budget too and thats a benefit that will continue ever more, paying for the trainer .22 in ammo savings over time.
 
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