.22 Rimfire as a Personal training tool.

[Sourdough]

Most adult males think of the .22 Rimfire as a beginner's firearm. However setting up a replica of your hunting rifle in a .22 rimfire for practice is useful.

I have near perfect replica's of centerfire Firearms in rimfire, the problem is you can not just buy them off the shelf. You want the weight, length of pull, optic, everything to be as close as possible, and it is point-less without a first class trigger in the rimfire rifle.

If you had a center fire rifle you wanted to replicate, we could discuss that here.

[Stargazer]

Last year while paterning my turkey gun I developed a flinch.3 1/2" 12g turkey loads knock the snot out of me and I missing my target after the 3rd or 4th round.Used my friends .22, and after having some fun plinking the flinch was gone.Got rid of the 3 1/2" roman candles after that.

[Pict]

I highly recommend the .22 lr for developing shooting skills. Especially for kids you can afford to let them shoot thousands of rounds of .22 lr for the cost of a few hundred center fire rounds. The mistakes you make in shooting are the same whether rim or center fire.

Another aid to learning to shoot is to limit the number of rounds you fire in any given session. That sounds counter intuitive but hear me out. If you have 1000 rounds of ammo and you shoot it all in one day you will basically repeat the same mistakes again and again without giving your brain time to catch up. If you spread that same 1000 rounds out into ten shooting sessions of 100 rounds your brain will isolate and identify mistakes between sessions and you will refine your shooting.

As a kid my dad would take us out every other weekend or so to shoot .22's. We shot our BB guns in the yard or out plinking in the back 40 almost every day. By the time we graduated to centerfire rifles and handguns we were already good shots and the learning curve was only about managing recoil and flinch, not basic marksmanship.

If you develop good habits with an air rifle you will be a very good shot with a .22 or centerfire. Spring piston air rifles require much more attention to follow through than firearms do (maintaining sight picture, breath and body tension consistency after the shot) which is a critical skill to long range shooting.

Once you graduate a kid to centerfire rifles it is often a good thing to let them get the bulk of their practice with a .223 bolt gun. The .223 costs much less than a .308 and gives them a good intermediate step in managing flinch. Mac

[wildography]

I highly recommend the .22 lr for developing shooting skills. Especially for kids you can afford to let them shoot thousands of rounds of .22 lr for the cost of a few hundred center fire rounds. The mistakes you make in shooting are the same whether rim or center fire.

Another aid to learning to shoot is to limit the number of rounds you fire in any given session. That sounds counter intuitive but hear me out. If you have 1000 rounds of ammo and you shoot it all in one day you will basically repeat the same mistakes again and again without giving your brain time to catch up. If you spread that same 1000 rounds out into ten shooting sessions of 100 rounds your brain will isolate and identify mistakes between sessions and you will refine your shooting.

As a kid my dad would take us out every other weekend or so to shoot .22's. We shot our BB guns in the yard or out plinking in the back 40 almost every day. By the time we graduated to centerfire rifles and handguns we were already good shots and the learning curve was only about managing recoil and flinch, not basic marksmanship.

If you develop good habits with an air rifle you will be a very good shot with a .22 or centerfire. Spring piston air rifles require much more attention to follow through than firearms do (maintaining sight picture, breath and body tension consistency after the shot) which is a critical skill to long range shooting.

Once you graduate a kid to centerfire rifles it is often a good thing to let them get the bulk of their practice with a .223 bolt gun. The .223 costs much less than a .308 and gives them a good intermediate step in managing flinch. Mac

Very good post... with the popularity of semi-automatic handguns/rifles; the tendency is to spray off as many rounds as possible, as quickly as possible. Eight rounds fired in less than 2 seconds - that don't hit the target - is less useful than one round that does.

The fundamentals of shooting need to be mastered before you can truly become an expert. I remember practicing - at 10 yards, as a teenager, at hitting the primer of a shotgun shell with my pellet rifle (a rather dangerous practice, by the way). Practice is an unavoidable in becoming a better shot with any firearm.

[Pal334]

Pict and Wild (forgive informality ) have hit it well. Master the basics. Have the youngsters learn patience. Especially if it is a survival type situation, the "spray and pray" method will not serve a person well. a great "shootist" ( Jeff Cooper) once said, "no one has ever been killed by a loud noise" and of course John Waynes refrain "Windage and elevation"

[vthompson]

I grew up cutting my teeth on a .22 rifle and today it is still my favorite caliber of choice. Although my go to rifle is my Henry Golden Boy chambred in .22 mag, I still love shooting it. I bought myself the Henry 5 years ago and I have nothing put praises to say about them.
I have taken everything imaginable with my Henry except a deer, and I could probably do that if I had to. .22's are fun to shoot and the ammunition is cheap compared to other guns on the market. I have to agree that shooting a .22 on a regular basis keeps your shooting skills honed and your eye keen.

[Rick]

The Golden Boy is a dandy and Henry Repeating Arms will engrave one for you, albeit, a tad steep. But a first rifle for a grandson or granddaughter for example, could well be worth it!

http://www.henryrepeating.com/personalizedgb.cfm

[crashdive123]

Good points by all. But back to Hopeak's original post....by modifying a 22 to model a center fire rifle (size, weight, trigger pull) you will get a lot of benefit with your practice without spending the $$$ (for ammunition, not the modifications). This sounds like a very valuable training tool.

[Rick]

Well, explain to me what I'm training for. I love .22 and I love to shoot it. So I go to all the trouble of modifying it to match a larger caliber weapon and become really proficient. What have I accomplished? I don't hunt moose or bear or elk. I'm not trying to be funny. I just don't understand.

For someone that wants to become proficient at .223 or 30.06 or (fill in the blank) can't I do the same thing by spending time at the range with that caliber? I understand the ammo cost difference but haven't I sort of broke even by spending the bucks to upgrade my .22?

[crashdive123]

I belive you can. If I understand the original post, modifying and shooting a 22 will increase your proficiency with the larger caliber weapon with out having to spend the extra money to put 1000 rounds of 30-06 down range. I would think that practice with my 10/22 or Marlin mod 60 will improve my shooting skills with all calibers - you know, sight picture, breathing, etc. But it is an interesting idea to me of possibly improving the learning curve by replicating the weapon I want to become more proficient with by modifying a 22.

[tennecedar]

I tried one the conversion kits for a 1911 and loved it. The long gun idea is interresting. How would I get a full sized rifle in 22 without it being a custom rifle? I have to think it could get very pricey.

[Sourdough]

Yes, It is pricey. But you do not end up with a child's firearm, which is made light, and short of barrel, and short of length of pull, so an 8 year old can hold it up for a period of time. Offer a child a 8 1/2 to 9 pound scoped rife, with a 13 7/8 LOP and a 22" bull barrel, and they will not be able to heft it.

So I have a Winchester model 70, in .243 Winchester, it has a 22" barrel, and a 13 5/8" LOP, that wears a Leupold 1X-4X compact, with quick release rings. Crisp 3# trigger.

So I replicate it with a CZ 452 varmint, with a 21" barrel, 13 3/4" LOP, Leupold 1.5X-5X Vari-X III with quick release rings, and a 1913 pickatinny base adapter. Crisp 3# trigger.

They both weigh the same 7 pounds & 14 oz. have the same barrel length, same LOP, near same power scope, etc. the overall heft and balance and feel is the same.

One cost me .02 Cents per round to shoot, the other cost $1.00 per round to shoot. One make the neighbors mad, the other they never hear.

Another example Winchester Model 94' in 30-30 cartridge. easy just find a Winchester Model 9422, scope them the same or leave open sights.

Is it pricey, yes, but you have a super high quality .22 rim fire that replicates your hunting rifle.

Check out: www.CZ-USA.com and others make quality .22 rim fire rifles. CZ even makes a model 453 which has a single set trigger, they can be set to 1 pound ultra crisp, zero creep. They and others offer mannlicker-full length stocks.

I enjoy training to shoot offhand, so I have those 5 gallon propane jugs in trees at 50 yards, 100 yards, 125 yards. and only shoot them offhand from the cabin door. Or just outside the cabin door. If there is a problem bear in the yard, I just start ringing the propane bottle closest to him.

NOTE: My .375 Holland & Holland cost $3.70 per round. Rimfire LR Cost $00.02 per round.

[flandersander]

I'd like to replicate my savage model 99. My ruger 10/22 is very close. It has the same scope, barrel length, and trigger pull (roughly). The only real difference is the stock. I haven't been able to find a stock similar to the birch one thats on my 243. Anybody know of a good website or place that sells these? Thanks.
Keagan

P.S- The barrel length is good, but a bull barrel would better replicate the weight of the 243, so a bull barrel only stock would be acceptable.

[typ3]

I tried one the conversion kits for a 1911 and loved it. The long gun idea is interresting. How would I get a full sized rifle in 22 without it being a custom rifle? I have to think it could get very pricey.

If you look around, you might be able to find a 'trainer rifle'. I know Cooey made Lee-Enfield-type .22 trainers for the Canadian troops.

Personally, I have a .22 single shot Cooey with a long barrel mounted to a full-sized rifle stock. The thing weighs more than my Model 94. Don't know it's history, got it for free from an uncle.