What makes a 22 LR rifle or pistol fun?

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Waterboy3313

Waterboy3313

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I've been doing a lot of thinking about this lately and can't figure it out. All of my adult life I've been shooting various rifles and pistols. In my earlier days I liked the ones that made the loudest booms, kicked like a mule and left the biggest hole in what ever target I was trying to hit.

I've owned my own semi auto 22LR rifle since was 18 (Legal age for purchase at the time in my location). The only one I have ever owned. I was just never all that thrilled by it. Fast forward 20 years today I bought a cheapo Heritage rough rider 6.5" barreled 22 single action revolver with two cylinders one for 22LR and one for 22WMR. I spend most of my shooting time shooting pistols.

A few months back I robbed the 22 LR conversion kit out of my sons AR and went to range without him. All of sudden it was just as fun as shooting 556 to me. I think that was the part of my range trip I enjoyed the most.

I'm thinking maybe I need to start shooting more 22LR and challenge myself a bit more. Not that I'm some kind of crack shot pro by any means. I don't go spray and fire a ton or ammo in a short time but I try to be the best I can. I'm kind of considering buying a 22LR bolt rifle now as well.

I really enjoy shooting my 357 mag out to a 150+ yards. As part as my personal challenge I want to push the limit of the little 22LR pistol as well as the rifles.

I'm just curious why all of sudden this is something that I never really cared about in the past but now I see it as an interesting thing? I would be interested in hearing what others think make the 22LR such a fun little cartridge. Obviously price is a big factor I'm sure. I reload everything else I shoot on a regular basis so cost really isn't what is driving me on this.
 
If we’re honest, I think most of us enjoy shooting as adults for the same reasons we enjoyed it as kids. It’s fun to have gun go bang. It’s fun to hear the report of gunfire. It’s fun to feel recoil. It’s fun to punch a hole in a piece of paper exactly where you want it at 50-100 yards, or hear the satisfying “ting” of a steel or aluminum target.

And the thing is, you really don’t need centerfire cartridges to enjoy any of these things.

Moreover, as adults, with adult concerns like running a household, managing a budget, etc., the cost effectiveness of .22 LR will never cease to be attractive. As much as I enjoy handloading my own ammunition, it takes time, money, and the wherewithal to do it — and at any given time, I may be missing one or more of those things. With .22 LR, you just go out and shoot. You don’t count the pennies, and you don’t care about your brass. You just go shoot. It’s just fun.

.22 LR is also accessible to shoot for children and adults alike, which means you can share the experience with kids, grandkids, friends, etc. Which adds more and more enjoyment to the shooting hobby.

That’s my 2 cents.
 
I am just getting back into rimfire. I was on a big rimfire kick back in the late 90's since it was all I could afford as a grad-student. Now I am coming back to 22LR as a competition round and have been shooting NRL22 matches for the past three months. Nearly all the fun of PRS without the cost. Great practice for shooting any rifle in awkward shooting positions.
 
I prefer shooting .22 pistols to 9mm or .45 ACP just because I don’t have to retrieve the brass. Plus I can bring hundreds of rounds without risking a hernia loading up the pickup for a range trip.
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That's probably the part enjoy most while shooting revolvers. While shooting semi auto I feel like I spend most of my time searching for my brass.
 
Low cost, recoil and muzzle blast. I got bored shooting 22 rifles at 25-50 yards and have been doing a lot more at 100, 200, and as far as 250 yards
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Like I already said I'm not the best shot but I like the idea of pushing it to the limit. I was getting bored with standard pistol shooting and started stretching out my distance. I might miss a little more but I have more fun trying.
 
Waterboy3313 said:
I've never looked into 22 shooting competitions. I actually didn't even know it existed. I will have to do some research on this.
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It's been a long time (back in the '80s) since my wife and I were shooting IHMSA, but back then there used to be a .22 silhouette match along with the regular, large-bore match at some of the shoots. The .22 silhouettes were scaled down, and if I recall, the chickens were at 25 meters, pigs at 50 meters, turkeys at 75 meters, and rams at 100 meters - instead of 50, 100, 150, and 200 meters for the large-bore silhouettes.
At any rate, those .22 silhouette matches were a real kick! They were kind of a nice break from the large-bore silhouette matches where my wife was shooting a 10.5" .44 Magnum with full-house loads, and I was shooting a 14" 7mm IHMSA that had so much concussion it would roll up the end of the carpet pad I was lying on.:eek:
Neither my wife nor I ever did any good in the .22 matches. But they were sure fun.:)
 
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Tallinar said:
If we’re honest, I think most of us enjoy shooting as adults for the same reasons we enjoyed it as kids. It’s fun to have gun go bang. It’s fun to hear the report of gunfire. It’s fun to feel recoil. It’s fun to punch a hole in a piece of paper exactly where you want it at 50-100 yards, or hear the satisfying “ting” of a steel or aluminum target.

And the thing is, you really don’t need centerfire cartridges to enjoy any of these things.

Moreover, as adults, with adult concerns like running a household, managing a budget, etc., the cost effectiveness of .22 LR will never cease to be attractive. As much as I enjoy handloading my own ammunition, it takes time, money, and the wherewithal to do it — and at any given time, I may be missing one or more of those things. With .22 LR, you just go out and shoot. You don’t count the pennies, and you don’t care about your brass. You just go shoot. It’s just fun.

.22 LR is also accessible to shoot for children and adults alike, which means you can share the experience with kids, grandkids, friends, etc. Which adds more and more enjoyment to the shooting hobby.

That’s my 2 cents.
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This
 
I looked into the NRL22 competitions a bit and it actually looks pretty cool. I guess a lot of the good points brought up so far were things I just didn't see but subconsciously knew. If I could actually reload my own 22LR I probably would just because it is another process I actually enjoy. It is very time consuming because I single stage everything and strive for the highest accuracy and consistency my skills and equipment allow. Now I'm seriously going to look into an accurate rifle.
 
When I go to the club range I set up various targets at different ranges (distances) , and I usually include a couple of clays stuck into the backstop berm which is at 60 yards. After I've had my fill of punching holes in paper at 15 and 25 yards with my favorite 9mm pistols and .38 sp revolvers , producing groups I'm never satisfied with , I get out my S&W m. 17 .22 revolver and take aim at those distant 4" clay discs .

After shattering those clays at 60 yards I forget about the ragged groups I shot at much shorter ranges and I drive home feeling like a crack shot.

A big part of why .22 is so much fun for me is that it is so easy to put rounds on target.
 
After I've had my fill of punching holes in paper at 15 and 25 yards with my favorite 9mm pistols and .38 sp revolvers , producing groups I'm never satisfied with , I get out my S&W m. 17 .22 revolver and take aim at those distant 4" clay discs .
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I do the same thing more or less I usually just pull out an AR to finish them off after I've had enough if there are any left.

This has all been good. I spend quite a bit of money on reloading components. I'm thinking its time to get more serious about rim fire cartridges. I also noticed the LGS I was at today had many 500 round boxes of 22LR and some other rim fire ammo. I was there for almost 2 hours and if I had a dollar for every one asking if they had center fire pistol ammo in stock it probably would have paid for my pistol.
 
I never really thought of this until just now. I built a 24" heavy stainless barreled AR bench rifle with a huge scope on it. I would be curious to put my sons 22 conversion kit in it and see how accurate it would be.
 
One of the magical things for me is watching the bullet. With certain light conditions and wind conditions, with a healthy scope, you can read the wind, aim 10 inches left, fire, and watch the bullet rise to a 8 inches above the target then watch the wind and drop push it to the center. Absolutely magical to me.
 
For me it is the simplicity of it. If I’m shooting centerfire then 99% of the time I am shooting handloads, and most of those have notable recoil. It’s really easy to blame a bad shot on that one round that you know you shaved as the bullet seated, or maybe the powder drop was a bit weak. Sometimes it’s even easier to just say that you flinched because your hand is starting to feel the recoil or your not warmed up yet or whatever. With a 22 it’s super simple... just aim it and shoot it. There’s not much to blame, so you either do your job, or you don’t. There’s not much unpleasant about 22s because they aren’t obnoxiously loud, nor are they painful in the palm of the hand. It’s the simplest for of shooting and you just test yourself. Make the shot, or not.
 
I’ve recently started shooting my .22s at longer ranges. Plinking at cans at 100 yards with iron sights is a ton of fun. Feels really good when figure out just the right holdover and you connect with that can.
I need to get out long range more often. I’ve also started stretching it out to 70yds shooting my big bore revolvers I can surprise myself with what I can do when I really put in the effort to do every little thing right.

edit: at the very least having a .22 around is a great way to pass the time while you let the barrel on your center fire gun cool
 
For me, you can learn a lot more for a lot less $. I was at the range last week popping empty 12 gauge hulls at 25 yards offhand and the guys next to me were in shock... they were (in my mind) turning money into noise.
 
Waterboy3313 said:
I've never looked into 22 shooting competitions. I actually didn't even know it existed. I will have to do some research on this.
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Wow. Maybe I should not be surprised but I am. There are many .22 only competitions.
All rifle and pistol shooting at the Olympic Games is done with .22s.
The NRA conventional pistol/precision pistol/ bullseye pistol ....1/3 of the three gun competition is .22.
Within the past few years, the NRA has offered a “.22 Only” division for the standard “2700 match”. The Civilian Marksmanship Program offers a Distinguished Shooter badge for .22 shooters.
Benchrest 50 matches are .22 only.
There are extensive opportunities for match shooting with .22 rifles....more than can be easily summarized.
There is usually a list by Discipline and State at the rear of the NRA’s “Shooting Sports” magazine. Available online.
 
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