Training rifle 22lr too small?

[Igloo]

Like many of us I think, haven't been able to shoot the "bigger" guns as much as I'd like to lately. The "223 trainer" concept as avocated here really seems to work, and they are a lot of fun. But if even more pressed for time/money etc, 22lrs are even cheaper. But, are they actually TOO small to be worthwile?

What do you guys think, is 22lr too small to get enough benefit out of to be worthwhile? Might it as well be dry fire? Or do they help you and the practice/skills carry over to your bigger rifles

 

[Chris in TN]

If I could only own two rifles one would be a .22lr. Period. It's not even a question.

 

[207North]

Like many of us I think, haven't been able to shoot the "bigger" guns as much as I'd like to lately. The "223 trainer" concept as avocated here really seems to work, and they are a lot of fun. But if even more pressed for time/money etc, 22lrs are even cheaper. But, are they actually TOO small to be worthwile?

What do you guys think, is 22lr too small to get enough benefit out of to be worthwhile? Might it as well be dry fire? Or do they help you and the practice/skills carry over to your bigger rifles

It depends on a bunch of factors. Do you have an area where you can shoot .223 regularly?

.22lr can cause you to develop some bad habits as far as recoil is concerned. Allthough it is far better than dry fire.

.223 at distance is quite a bit more beneficial as a trainer than .22.

 

[Steve300xcw]

They arent the same. That said good trigger time is good trigger time. Making wind calls is making wind calls etc etc.

I do think it helps if your rimfires are close to the same size as your centerfire stuff.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

I think that a .22 LR is essential for cheaply practicing fundamentals. But I find that it is simply too different out past 50 yards to use it for all my practice. I like that my corrections, windfalls, and drops are very close between my .223 trainer and my primary rifle.

When I go to the range, I try to fire a couple of hundred .22 LR offhand, seated unsupported, and hasty prone (backpack, no rear support) at a 1” dot on a white background. Then I shoot a Carl Ross drill (20 rounds) with my primary rifle (e.g. 6.5 CM) at the 100 yard line. Then I take my .223 and shoot about a hundred rounds from a variety of positions at the 200 and 300 yard range.

My budget is roughly 1000 primary rifle cartridges, 5000 .223, and 10,000 .22 LR per year. At least that is the goal I have set for myself this year and hope to maintain.

 

[cowdisciple]

I like to dial my .22lr at the range just for fun (SWFA fixed 10x). It probably isn't as beneficial as centerfire, but it's a lot better than not shooting and can be done cheaply and at shorter distances. Plus, fun!

 

[RockAndSage]

Like many of us I think, haven't been able to shoot the "bigger" guns as much as I'd like to lately. The "223 trainer" concept as avocated here really seems to work, and they are a lot of fun. But if even more pressed for time/money etc, 22lrs are even cheaper. But, are they actually TOO small to be worthwile?

What do you guys think, is 22lr too small to get enough benefit out of to be worthwhile? Might it as well be dry fire? Or do they help you and the practice/skills carry over to your bigger rifles

+1 to what others said about usefulness in general trigger time, getting your body mechanics in-tune with making that tool do what you want (especially in off-hand or field-expedient positions), and its limitations in regards to training for recoil.

Think of shooting as the combination of a dozen different skillsets, that need to all come together. Good training includes drills that both isolate each of those skills down to a narrow task and mastering it, while also learning how to bring it back together with the rest of them. The more of those you can do second-nature at a command level, the less mental and sensory load you'll have to deal with in trying to account for the others under pressure. But recoil acclimatization is one that you can only do with recoil - and deficiencies related to it will only show up when it's present.

So, .22s are excellent at helping with a bunch of those skillsets - but be sure to mix in heavier-recoiling setups as part of a range session, without waiting until "next time", or after you've reached a certain stage. What @Q_Sertorius shared as his program is solid, or you could steadily increase recoil. Say, a hundred reps of .22LR, then a few dozen of .223, then 10rds of a heavier-recoiling rifle you'd want time on, then cycle back to the .22LR again to incorporate the learning and account for what changed with recoil.

 

[Igloo]

Awesome stuff guys thank you all for the perspectives. I really like the idea of isolating fundamentals and then encorporating them together...and like you were saying, many "reps" with the 22lr, fewer with the 223, and finish with the "bigger" rifle.

My "big" gun is a 6.5CM so its not like its a harsh kicker, but the difference in shooting between it and a 223 is certainly noticable, regardless of what chest thumpers might say.

Find shooting any real centerfire hunting rifle (not that 223 is not a perfectly capable centerfire hunting rifle you know what I mean) its easy for me to hit a point where the skill applied starts dropping off due to fatigue/recoil.

 

[RockAndSage]

Find shooting any real centerfire hunting rifle (not that 223 is not a perfectly capable centerfire hunting rifle you know what I mean) its easy for me to hit a point where the skill applied starts dropping off due to fatigue/recoil.

This is normal, you're good. There's physical and sensory/mental fatigue that starts setting in, to a point of diminishing returns, in any given range session. And the heavier the recoil, the faster that point arrives. That's usually when I take a small break, and then wrap it up with a small set of rounds until I end on a genuinely excellent shot. And then I stop. If I have to do that with a lesser-recoiling gun, fine. Different days, different round counts, but always maximize learning.

 

[207North]

I would recommend looking to see if there are any NRL22 competitions around you. That type of focused practice on someone else’s terms will accelerate learning. Ignore playing the game and shoot whatever matches you hunting setup.

At some point, you will gain less and less from rimfire. When that happens nothing replaces centerfire bullets flying through the air.

 

[Igloo]

This is normal, you're good. There's physical and sensory/mental fatigue that starts setting in, to a point of diminishing returns, in any given range session. And the heavier the recoil, the faster that point arrives. That's usually when I take a small break, and then wrap it up with a small set of rounds until I end on a genuinely excellent shot. And then I stop. If I have to do that with a lesser-recoiling gun, fine. Different days, different round counts, but always maximize learning.

Good to hear thanks. I like that "end on a good note" idea.

Been trying to approach the larger rifle as quality more than quantity. Take a few shots from a few field positions but treat each like its THE shot that day. This is your deer or moose etc. But, doesn't take long away from it to feel it start slippin eh?

 

[RockAndSage]

Good to hear thanks. I like that "end on a good note" idea.

It's been surprisingly helpful, personally..

Been trying to approach the larger rifle as quality more than quantity.

I hadn't thought about it like that, but thinking of the heavier-recoiling rounds as higher-quality focus, while reserving quantity for the lesser recoiling stuff...that might be a really useful approach.

Take a few shots from a few field positions but treat each like its THE shot that day.

This could be more helpful at a far deeper level than may be obvious. It's related to what I call target anticipation. It's different from shot anticipation, or recoil anticipation. It's when you jack yourself up unintentionally at the meaning of a shot - when you've hit 9 x's, for example, and only need one more to make a perfect 10-X string...but accidently throw that very last one and get an 8 or something.

Target anticipation usually results in a crap trigger-press, rushing to break the shot exactly when you're on target at exactly the right microsecond, with a portion of your mental load and focus distracted on stuff not related to staying in the moment. Taking your mind off the perfect execution of a more methodical press. It comes with fear of negative consequence, of missing that perfect 10x score, or not putting that round in that trophy buck that's a once-in-a-lifetime-OMG-I-HOPE-I-DON'T-MISS type of monster, causing adrenaline and threat-perception to amplify your distraction away from excellence in your fundamentals.

Buck-fever, target panic, etc, seem to come when people aren't a stone-cold shooter in that situation/distance. And that only comes from having done it dozens of times in similar conditions.

So, between extra recoil and intentionally limiting yourself to just a few excellent rounds, it might help train out target anticipation. Sounds like it might be a winning formula to experiment with.

But, doesn't take long away from it to feel it start slippin eh?

Nope.

 

[huntsman22]

get one set up just like your big one. Mine is a Bighorn creed, and naturally I got a bighorn RimX set up to match......

 

[3325]

What do you guys think, is 22lr too small to get enough benefit out of to be worthwhile? Might it as well be dry fire? Or do they help you and the practice/skills carry over to your bigger rifles

Squirrel huntin’. What would Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock say about it?

Also:

https://www.minisniping.org/articles_petercapstick.html

That’s from a professional hunter.

I believe fundamentals be solid before giving attention to wind reads and bullet drops. And practicing fundamentals should be returned to frequently.

 

[Steve300xcw]

Been trying to approach the larger rifle as quality more than quantity. Take a few shots from a few field positions but treat each like its THE shot that day. This is your deer or moose etc. But, doesn't take long away from it to feel it start slippin eh?

Things change when you start noticing that you are just sending rounds instead of shooting them. You are no longer learning or practicing at that point, just making noise.

I'll go up to shoot and sometimes it is only a handfull of shells. Sometimes I'm there for half the day. But things get put away once I stop actually shooting.

 

[BLJ]

I would recommend looking to see if there are any NRL22 competitions around you. That type of focused practice on someone else’s terms will accelerate learning. Ignore playing the game and shoot whatever matches you hunting setup.

At some point, you will gain less and less from rimfire. When that happens nothing replaces centerfire bullets flying through the air.

This x100.

If you hunt with a bolt gun, practice with a bolt 22.
If it matches, even better.
I’ve shot matches for the past 5 years and it has helped me in hunting scenarios tremendously.