Why am I so much more accurate with a .22 pistol than a centerfire?

[AntelopeEater]

I am trying to understand why I am consistently more accurate shooting my .22's offhand as opposed to my centerfires?

For example, I have a .22 Glock model 44 that is similar in dimensions to a Glock 19 9mm, but I am WAY more accurate with the .22 version than I am with the 9mm version.

In fact, I am more accurate with the compact sized Glock in .22 than I am with my large Glock 34, even though I'm using open sights and the 34 is bigger, longer, better sight radius, and heavier, and has a competition trigger with a lighter pull.

I also have two Ruger GP100 revolvers, one in .22 and the other in .357, and I am way more accurate with the .22 revolver than the .357.

I know the obvious answer would be recoil anticipation/flinching, but I have done some dry firing and try to consciously shoot the same with a nice steady grip....and I still end up being way more accurate with the .22's

Is there any other reason you can think of besides maybe I am still somehow subconsciously anticipating the recoil/flinching subtly?

 

[TaperPin]

I learned a lot by making up some dummy cartridges - when you don’t know if the gun will fire or not, the slightest flinch or hand movement that is normally hidden in recoil becomes painfully obvious.

 

[LIWolverine]

I’d say it’s 100% recoil anticipation. The suggestion of dummy rounds will really show it. You have to have someone else load your mags though. It’s actually quite incredible what you find.


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[Buckhead]

If you have a lead sled or access to a machine type rest, that should reduce or eliminate the flinch factor. I do think that .22's tend to be slightly more accurate though, but that may be due to ammo. Unless you are a match shooter, you probably don't shoot many wadcutter/target loads. Makes a big difference.