Training with a .22?

[nhdude]

Well, I'm pretty much a complete newbie so I have a lot to learn! I recently acquired a Ruger Speed Six revolver (38/357 2 3/4") as my first firearm and used it in the Personal Protection Outside the Home class last weekend. Prior to that, took Basic Pistol with a borrowed MkII pistol and the PP in the Home class with a borrowed Sig229 40S&W. I shoot 38s in the Speed Six at the range and find I'm limiting my practice due to ammo costs. So, I'm thinking a 22 of some sort might enable more practice firing but I'm wondering if this will really be beneficial? I want to practice at self defense distances, up to 30 ft or so, drawing from a holster, etc. and improve center of mass hits. What do you all think about the .22? If I do go that way, I'm thinking it would make sense to have it be as similar as possible to my SD firearm? So, a revolver in this case. Does this make sense? Or, would a semiauto 22 be equally useful?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

 

[Ninsho]

A .22 can be a valuable training tool, but the main lessons it can teach are sight alignment and trigger squeeze. You could potentially develop bad habits in other areas such as recoil management because of the differences there. The .22 has a place, but some live fire with full power loads is important to building and maintaining defensive skill sets. If you shoot a .38/.357 make sure you occasionally practice with the full power .357 loads you carry/have loaded for home defense, its good to know what to expect.

If a revolver is your defense weapon of choice I would recommend a .22 revolver to keep the manual of arms as close as possible.

 

[KMaurer]

.22s are perfectly good for training, as long as you don't completely exclude any practice with the gun that you're actually going to carry. Here's an even less expensive practice method: dry fire. Most of the top shooters will tell you that they spend more time dry firing than they do on the range. Just make absolutely certain that you're always firing dry when that's what you think you're doing. Bullet holes in the living room walls or the new HDTV tend to annoy the neighbors, not to mention the spouse.

Ken

 

[JimConway]

I know that some folks will disagree with me, but that had happened before. One very good choice for both carry and range ammo for a .38/.357 Mag, is to use 148 to 150 grain .38 Special full wad cutters. There is an ongoing discussion on this load and people that I respect think that it is a very good choice. The recoil is low with very good accuracy.

 

[nhdude]

Hey, thanks for the info! Yes, I would use a 22 only as a supplement to my carry gun just to get some more shooting in per session. Generally, I limit my range visits to 150 rounds of 38s or so to keep within my budget. If I could shoot another 150 of rimfire, that might be useful for me. Dry fire is a great suggestion as well and I've set up some space in my basement for that. I'm pretty anal about safety so all the ammo stays upstairs, gun is unloaded upstairs, gun is double checked upon arrival in the basement and then loaded with snap caps before I holster it. So, I think I may just focus on the dry firing for now and spend my money on a lightweight snubby for pocket carry before the warm weather arrives ;-) Thanks again for the advice!

 

[nhdude]

One very good choice for both carry and range ammo for a .38/.357 Mag, is to use 148 to 150 grain .38 Special full wad cutters.

Jim, thanks for that suggestion. As a newb, I've confused myself pretty well reading all the perspectives on SD ammo. Having shot some 357 at the range, I find the recoil, noise, and flash to be pretty impressive so have decided, at least for now, to keep the gun loaded with 38. At the moment, it has Buffalo Bore 38 +P 158gr LSWCHPs in it. Always interested in other and more economical alternatives!

 

[appraiser]

you can't go wrong shooting a .22 for more reasons than I can type right now ( pulled muscle in pain sorry)

I always bring my MK1 to the range with me, its a PITA to load, and even more of a PITA to clean, but I still enjoy shooting it.

I consider the rest of my guns tools, and I shoot them to stay proficient, but all the .22's I have ever owned have been for fun.

Shooting the .22 is like having dessert

The only other gun I can say I liked shooting for fun was a model 13 I had. Shot everything from cheap reloads to magnum loads in it.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

True Story. My first gun was a Smith & Wesson model 18 revolver, 22 caliber. (Bought new in 1972 for $110.) I always intended to get a matching 38 or 357, but money was tight back in those days and I never got around to it.

I finally bought a Ruger Security Six in 84 or 85 when I went to work as an armored car guard.

When the company took us to the range to qualify - on the same course of fire our State Police used - I aced it, thanks to a decade of 22 practice. What the hell, how can you miss a human sihlouette target at 7 yards when you've been hitting tin cans at much longer distances than that?

(Let's note that some of the other new hires did manage to miss the target entirely. Scarey how bad they were.)

Anyway, I currently carry a Glock 35 (40 caliber), and I have a 22 conversion kit for it, these days I mostly shoot it as a 22, but finish every session with some 40.

If I've gotta dig out the cleaning kit to clean one barrel, I might as well clean two while it's out anyway.

Regards
John

 

[Underwhere]

I tried practicing one day with a 22 for cost reasons.
Went to the range and shot for about an hour happily.

Then moved over to my 9mm and it felt like a S&W 500.

I have since only practiced with the 9mm.