Target shooting

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Spdracr39

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I just read an opinion that any regular shooter should own a 22 pistol and it made me curious. I have always heard to practice with what you carry which of course we all do. Can practicing with a small caliber pistol with little or no recoil, that I personally would never carry for personal protection ( I'm sure I won't hear the end of this one), help to improve our shooting accuracy? I am relatively new to shooting scene and enjoy shooting my other guns but cheaper ammo is enticing.
 
Shooting is shooting. It all helps.


Put it this way, if you shot about 500 rounds from a 22 pistol a couple times a month you would probably be a lot better with any pistol than if you only shot about a hundred rounds a month through your carry 9mm.
 
By using a .22 you are able to practice a number of things that will translate to your carry weapon. You will be able to practice sight alignment,trigger control, grip, stance, and breathing. And if your .22 has the same battery of arms as your EDC, which I highly recommend, you will be get that much more muscle memory. Obvioulsy, practicing is not going to be the best for practicing managing recoil but you get practice a lot of other aspects of your shooting for a lot cheaper. All that said, I never just shoot a .22 I always make sure to put some rounds through my EDC just to keep it fresh what the real thing is like. Practicing with what you carry is best but it is expensive and that is where the .22 comes in to play.
 
Oh darn sounds like I need to buy another gun :)
Now I am beginning to see how people end up with one of each. I always thought one would be enough. What was I thinking!!!
 
Yep. And like M2 Carbine said -- shootin's shootin... and a .22 is just plain fun. I love big guns as much as anyone, but sometimes a couple boxes of the big bores is kind of wearying... but plinking or target work with a .22 remains fun and you can do it all day...
 
As has been said, shooting is shooting. Sight alignment and trigger control is the same with a .22 or a .500. The only difference is blast and recoil management.

I have a S&W M-18, it's a .22LR on the K-frame with a 4" barrel. That little revolver gets fired way more than my Model 19 in .357. It also cost me more, even used, but that has been offset by the reduced shooting costs and increased fun I've had with it.

I ask you, do you notice the bright muzzle blast when shooting your .357? If you don't, you're blinking and flinching when you shoot. Spending some time with a .22 will cure you of that and improve your accuracy. If you can't hit a 4" steel target at 25 yards reliably, you'll benefit from shooting a .22 more often (and good marksmanship instruction) until you can hit it most of the time. Even something like a Ruger LCR or a Kel-Tec PF-9 can make that shot if the shooter can, it's just a matter of having practiced sight alignment and trigger squeeze.

And, it's an excuse to buy another firearm. What's so bad about that? :evil:

A .22LR K-frame:
Model18.jpg

And with a couple of .357s:
SmithFamily.jpg
 
And the low velocity of a .22 RF puts a premium on technique.

Use standard velocity .22 RF, not high speed.

The high speed is often barely supersonic and quickly drops sub-sonic messing with accuracy.
The greater acceleration of high speed ammo also causes the almost pure lead bullets to distort more and unevenly.
 
I shoot around 250 22lr a session @~4 cents each and 25 of 44 special @~25 cents each. I try to shoot a couple of times a month. I am more accurate with the 44 special because of a longer sight radius and I am cheap, and slow down when I shoot it. But I have learned all my technique on the 22lr, and 'prove it' on the 44.
 
That said I want to get a 9mm wheel gun to bridge the gap. I buy reloads for the 44 but would like to get off the shelf cheap ammo. 38 special is the same price as 45 acp! Drives me nuts.
 
You build good habits without building a flinch
You can shoot an order of magnitute more ammunition
The .22 is for training and recreation, and it will pay for itself if you're measuring by the round.

Now I am beginning to see how people end up with one of each. I always thought one would be enough.
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Oh, really>
Ah Ha Ha Ha HA Ha HA Ha HA Ha HA Ha HA Ha HA
<<gasp>> <<wheeze>> are you serious!?
I'd have to sit down with something to write with&on to figure out how many guns I have, just in various ~0.22" bore rimfire of various flavors
Don't get a .22, you'll find out that shooting is FUN and then there's no going back. I have my "need" (or "useful") guns covered, I'm mostly just buying toys in .22lr/.22wmr at this point.
 
I have always heard to practice with what you carry
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That's fine, but doesn't mean your EDC gun is all you need/want to shoot.

Can practicing with a small caliber pistol...help to improve our shooting accuracy?
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Yes. In fact, practicing with NO caliber (i.e. dry fire) is very helpful as well.

Rimfires are excellent for training the fundamentals (sight picture & trigger control), and I shoot a lot of .22LR for this. If your rimfire is similar enough to your CF, you can also use it work on your gun handling skills, such as drawing, and getting that first hit on target.

Bu there are limits. With their lower recoil, they're not so good at training for those follow-up shots. When using my .22 while running courses, I'll limit myself to a single shot on target, and focus on movement & transitions instead.
 
I hear a lot about this but honestly I think its overrated. I'm sure there are people who disagree, but I don't see how a 5 inch group rimfire pistol is supposed to help me shoot a 2 inch group capable full size pistol better. All that does is frustrate me.

I spent two months with a Walther P22 and the only thing I learned from it was how to clear every type of jam imaginable. I'd rather spend the money on reloading.
 
digsigs226 said:
I hear a lot about this but honestly I think its overrated. I'm sure there are people who disagree, but I don't see how a 5 inch group rimfire pistol is supposed to help me shoot a 2 inch group capable full size pistol better. All that does is frustrate me.

I spent two months with a Walther P22 and the only thing I learned from it was how to clear every type of jam imaginable. I'd rather spend the money on reloading.
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You need something better than the Walther/Umarex pistols. Something like a Ruger 22/45, Mark II or III, Browning Buckmark, or a S&W 17/18/617 is capable of far better than 5" at 25 yards. I imagine a CZ Kadet or any number of the 1911 conversions will shoot 2" as well.
 
I'll just add an additional recomendation for a .22. It does all the things that the others mentioned and is fun as well. Also if you bring along any new shooters it's the obvious introductory gun to let them work on the basics before shooting the center fire.

Shooting a .22 corrected enough flinch, grip and other issues that I easily saved around $400 in center fire ammo cost which it would have taken me to become as good so quickly. Actually having them (yes, I have multiple .22 handguns) continues to save me ammo costs as I still use them for a lot of drills where recoil isn't a factor to aid my competition shooting.
 
You need something better than the Walther/Umarex pistols. Something like a Ruger 22/45, Mark II or III, Browning Buckmark, or a S&W 17/18/617 is capable of far better than 5" at 25 yards. I imagine a CZ Kadet or any number of the 1911 conversions will shoot 2" as well.
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+1 to the above. as well as the previous posts by wanderinwalker
.or a smith 41, or hamden ct hi-standard supermatic can be added to the above list, as well as some of the colt woodsman models

big diffrence between a target 22 and a plinker 22..

Can practicing with a small caliber pistol with little or no recoil, that I personally would never carry for personal protection ( I'm sure I won't hear the end of this one), help to improve our shooting accuracy?
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spdracr39, the answer is yes... wanderinwalker said it better than I in post 6

the rimfire/centerfire pairs share the same weight or close, same trigger,grips,sight picture, feel and are close to same accuracy.
there is a lot to be said for that.

try them in a S&W 14/17 or 15/18 combination

or 617 or 17(or 18)/66(or 19) with same barrel length

or a cz 75 or 85/kadet

i'm going to try a advantage arms target conversion on a 1911..

all the above will give 2"..
 
Last edited:
brickeyee said:
And the low velocity of a .22 RF puts a premium on technique.

Use standard velocity .22 RF, not high speed.

The high speed is often barely supersonic and quickly drops sub-sonic messing with accuracy.
The greater acceleration of high speed ammo also causes the almost pure lead bullets to distort more and unevenly.
Click to expand...

Deleted
 
digsigs226 said:
I hear a lot about this but honestly I think its overrated. I'm sure there are people who disagree, but I don't see how a 5 inch group rimfire pistol is supposed to help me shoot a 2 inch group capable full size pistol better. All that does is frustrate me.

I spent two months with a Walther P22 and the only thing I learned from it was how to clear every type of jam imaginable. I'd rather spend the money on reloading.
Click to expand...

Well, you did learn how to clear malfunctions, and if you were clever you learned to point shoot, do magazine changes, and clear malfunctions without wasting time
... at least, that's what I use my P22 for, if I let it get dirty and feed it junk ammo it is a great malfunction trainer. If I keep it clean and feed it good ammo, it runs like a top, although it will never be a competition target pistol
The P22 works quite well as a trainer for centerfire, if you understand what it is and how it works.
 
digsigs226 said:
I hear a lot about this but honestly I think its overrated. I'm sure there are people who disagree, but I don't see how a 5 inch group rimfire pistol is supposed to help me shoot a 2 inch group capable full size pistol better. All that does is frustrate me.

I spent two months with a Walther P22 and the only thing I learned from it was how to clear every type of jam imaginable. I'd rather spend the money on reloading.
Click to expand...
Sorry you learned about the Walther the hard way. I wouldn't take one for free. I have a buddy with not one of them, but two. Off a bench, neither will put a full mag of rounds in a standard sheet of paper....A MK I, II, or III or Buckmark will shoot 2" 25 yard groups, though.
 
At 25 yards...Maybe something is wrong with them. I do not know. I just know they do not shoot well. We have benched them both in the past week. Neither was accurate.
 
massive lead buildup or improperly mounted barrel ... or if they're the "target" model with that execrable compensator it might be walking and letting the front sight move about freely. Mine did that for a while, S&W (WaltherUSA's distributor and warranty center) sent me a replacement weight/barrel/screw kit/sleeve and a blemished short barrel conversion, I swapped to the short version and never looked back. Umarex should be ashamed for what they did to the Walther name with that "target" P22.
 
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