Training Guns…

Posted on by March 6, 2013

Have you, or are you looking at .22 caliber pistols for training? With the cost of ammo these days, and the crowds at the more popular ranges, we have less ‘time’ to adequately train ourselves or maintain
currency with our carry pistols.


Another thing a ‘trainer’ does for you is it will show you any flaws in your shooting, especially in the flinch reaction, and also lack of grip continuity. Also, it allows you to concentrate on sight picture, trigger press, and back on target; rather than recoil mitigation and trying to remember everything else too.


Both Smith & Wesson and Colt have built fine .22 cal revolvers that support most of their lines of more powerful revolvers. Taurus seems to only build one .22 revolver and it’s in a compact size, but it’s the same grip angle, etc.


When you move into the semi- auto category, you have roughly the same sets of choices by manufacturer, everything from Sig’s almost perfect matches of .22 cal pistols to their larger caliber ones;
to the 1911 slide replacements (and a REAL Colt one can run $600!!!), to slide replacements for Glock, and many others.


One specific one I’d like to address is the Ruger MkIII, 22/45. Ruger came out with this pistol to mimic the 1911 grip angle precisely, and the controls are in ‘similar’ places to the actual 1911. HERE is the link



At roughly $340, I spent the $$ to pick one up, as I really didn’t want to start changing slides out on my 1911s (and didn’t have the $600 for a real Colt one). I took it a step further though, in that I also wanted to match the trigger pull, and the sight picture (white dot front, plain rear notch), so I spent an additional $130 for a Volquartsen trigger and a new front sight. Volquartsen link HERE.


For rifles, you have similar options, but they are much more varied, and just about every manufacturer makes a .22 rifle. Of note, is the proliferation of .22s in the AR platform, and the colors…


My original .22 trainer was an old break-top Stevens single shot .22, which is still sitting in the safe at home, I wore that thing slap out… it’s beyond a hair trigger these days 🙂



And my grandson is getting a Marlin Model 39A…


Saw a PINK tiger striped S&W M&P .22 trainer the other day… sigh…


Edit- Peter said this in comments and it’s a point I had neglected…
I’ve used .22 training weapons for years, both for myself and friends, and to train disabled shooters.


Edit2- Keads has a post up HERE on his training weapons! Worth the read!

Comments

Training Guns… — 25 Comments

  1. I bought the Kimber slide conversion for my TLE-II a couple of years ago for about $400. It was at the time after 0bummer got elected, and 45ACP was hard to get.
    It works perfectly, but I’m not sure it’s a good training aid. There’s practically no recoil, muzzle flash, or BOOM (hey…it’s a 22!), and to my way of thinking, it’s not “realistic” enough for serious training.
    Maybe I’m old fashioned, but I prefer to train with what I’m actually going to use.

  2. I’ve used .22 training weapons for years, both for myself and friends, and to train disabled shooters. My current battery includes:

    2 x Walther P22’s;
    1 x S&W 622;
    2 x S&W 317’s (1 2″, 1 3″ Kit Gun);
    1 x S&W Model 63 (4″).

    I also have an Advantage Arms .22LR conversion kit for the Glock 19/23, and (at last count) half a dozen rifles of various types in the same caliber, for the same purpose.

    Useful indeed!

  3. We (MC and I) reload. We DO practice with .22’s, but we shoot a lot of “real” caliber stuff. A lot of it is reduced power loads to reduce recoil (less punishing on hands and wrists) and to save $$.

    While reloads are not as cheap as .22, they run about 1/3 the cost of factory loads.

    It adds up to more shooting, more training, and more range time.

  4. Been shooting the Rugers for a long time. And I still have a 45 flinch at times. So I stick to the 9mm for me. I love that I can buy a brick of ammo and shoot all day long with the 22lr with the boys!

  5. After I got over my “.22s are too light” stage, it occurred to me that tossing a .22 in the BOB wouldn’t be a bad idea. I’m not a hunter, but if I got hungry enough I could take a crack at figuring out what to do with a squirrel if the opportunity presented itself. And it seems like larger caliber would damage small game.

  6. I have my Beretta Neos .22 for target practice but I’m thinking the Ruger or Sig .22 would be a good addition (after I buy the new Sig P938, of course). As Mr. B says, we do reload but .22 ammo is still a lot cheaper.

  7. I have a Combi-Rifle and 10/22 for training. The Savage Mark II makes for a great varmint rifle and trainer for scoped shooting.

    I have a 22-A1 pistol, but I don’t think its a good trainer for my other pistols. I’m considering picking up either a .22 revolver or the 22-45.

  9. Taurus does make a K-Frame size .22LR revolver, but the one I shot had a Trigger pull that was measured TONS. Absolutely Horrible! Went to Brownells, went to Wolff Springs, nothing was available to make it the Trigger pull easier. Contacted Taurus, and they said NOT to send it back, because it was DESIGNED that way. I finally got them to admit that the Lawyers forced them to make it that heavy.

    But I’m not a big Fan of Trainers, once one gets past the newbie Stage. It comes down to Economics.

    For example: Let’s say you want to have an M4 Clone. You shop around, read the reviews, test fire a few, and you decide to purchase a ____. Tax Title, Dealer Prep,Pouches, Spare Mags, etc., you just spent $1,000. Fine.

    Then you go out and spend $400-500 on a .22LR Clone, plus a $100 or so on Tax, Title, etc.

    But the latest CheaperthanDirt catalog tells me I can buy 1,000 rounds of Lake City (Federal) for $319.97 plus S+H. Call it $350. The money I spent for the Trainer is close to 2,000 rounds of 5.56. And one can get a LOT of Practice with that much Ammo.

    And you have to feed the M4 clone anyway.

    Now, I will take into account that one may be faced with a lack of Ranges that allow Rifle Ammo, and one is limited on Distance, unless one can get to a good Outdoor Range, which sucks in Winter. And I know that there are people like the Really Old or Infirm who can’t handle anything other than a .22LR.

    And I know that Ammo can dry up at the Drop of a Hat.

    But TODAY, I just don’t see the Cost-Effectiveness of some of these Trainers. You can take the money saved and buy more ammo, or take the money you save and set up a Reloading Bench and roll your own.
    And some of these .22LR Clones are really crappy.

    I don’t know. I just don’t see it.

  10. I had a damned accurate P22 which was great for teaching new shooters, but it had reliability problems and I sold it. What I really want now is a S&W 351C. It’s not for picking crows off the fence at 50 yards, but it can shoot .22 LR or Magnum, and would be handy on the river.

  11. I have ………………… “issues” with pink firearms – I love the color pink, but to me, making a firearm pink is trivializing it’s intended purpose {in my case, protecting myself, family, property}. THAT said, the FodGuy just told me {when I went inside to tell him of this topic here} that Academy has a .22 in “raspberry”, which I WOULD consider for ‘practice’ purposes.

    Semper Fi’
    DM

  12. drjim- Au contrair, is is an excellent training aid for shot placement/sight alignment, trigger control, and general ‘trigger time’… While shooting the ‘real’ thing is important, .22 time will show any faults or bad habits you are falling into (like anticipating recoil).

    Peter- excellent point and I added that to the post. Thanks!

    MrB/MC- Concur with both, and enjoy the Sig. 🙂

    Danny- Yep!

    PH- Good point, you’d be going WHERE did that squirrel go, as bits and pieces rain down…

    DB- I have both a revolver and a .22/45 worth the $$ in my opinion!

    Ed- Thanks, I was not aware of that for the Taurus, I could only find the one I mentioned…

    Les- Can’t really disagree with your points, as they are all valid 🙂 But I will tell you for ‘fun’ you can’t beat a .22 🙂 Also for the infirm/kids, it’s much better as a practice tool (see Peter’s comment above)!

    CT- Yep, we’ve ALL let one or two get away like that…

    DM- 🙂 Raspberry???

  13. I have picked up a couple of 22/45s lately just for fun plinkers primarily because Tam’s impressed me so much with its reliability last Blogarado , but i have not seen the crowd pressure you speak of at my range thus-far .

  14. I’ve got 4 .22s in my arsenal, and yet I always think about getting more. A MkIII 22/45 would be nice!

    .22s are also good for just plain having fun.

  16. I guess it’s because I grew up shooting a 1911, and my Dad knocked any bad habits out of me!
    I agree in general about a 22 being a good training gun. It’s the main reason I bought the Marlin 60 for Appleseed. I’ve never had any formal rifle training, and a 22 is much easier to control and learn the right way to do things with. Once I’m competent with the 22, I’ll probably get better with my 30-30!

  17. FD- 🙂 Smartass…LOL

    Andy- Concur.

    Evyl- I say that is a good move, and weebot will learn much better with those.

    drjim- Understood, and I know where you’re coming from 🙂 I think that is a good choice for Appleseed, and I think you’ll get much better with the 30-30 after that.

  18. I shot that Ruger and it was just like picking up an old friend. NFO- really? 600 bucks for the Colt *cough* Walther? I can get one for around 400 and some change NIB. We have one as a rental and it has worked fine.

    As to the .22 as a training tool I concur. Sight alignment and trigger control are paramount, everything else comes later. Dryfire is important for just those reasons too.

    Now I have to run off and do a post on the .22’s around here. Damn you! =)

  19. Keads- Thanks and YES $600 for an original Colt .22 upper and mag, still in the original box! And looking forward to your post, especially since you’re an NRA instructor!

  20. NFO- All that instructor cert means is that I had the time, money, and some proficiency with a handgun! I DO have some thoughts and they are coming.

    You and several other Bloggers watched me run a Handguns and Long guns. I can say as with many things in life some are better, some are worse.

    I can feel reasonably confident on the post I am throwing up tonight on the merits of the .22.

  24. Oh, you are killing me today. I’m really needing to get serious about getting a good .22 training pistol to help new shooters. I need to be good and save instead of just going out and buying one. Not helping, NFO. 🙂