Dry-firing vs. 22LR at the range

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Ichiro

New member
I am very new to shooting. However, I do have a little bit of experience, and I want to buy a revolver (or a few) and become familiar with handling, maintaining, and shooting them. In particular, I am pondering a dual-purchase of a .22 revolver as a training piece, to go along with a .357/.38 revolver for home defense and possibly carry.

I've read about the benefits of owning and using a .22 revolver for training and general range-fun purposes, especially given the insanely low price of .22 ammo, but I would like some opinions about the real usefulness of a .22 handgun for training.

As I understand it, a .22 will allow me to improve my basic skills, such as sight-picture acquisition, trigger control, and DA firing, without the distraction of recoil and muzzle blast, and without having to buy a lot of expensive ammo. But, can't I practice these skills even more cheaply by dry-firing the .357 that I'm going to buy anyway?

I have some practice with a S&W 617 and a Ruger MKII. I found both of these guns extremely easy to shoot and hit bullseye at self-defense distances. I also fired a Kahr 9mm, which I shot consistently slightly low and to the left.

Since I can already shoot straight with a 22, and I am not satisfied with my ability to shoot centerfire, it seems to me that the $500 or so that I would spend on a S&W .22 would be better invested in more range time/ammo with centerfire ammo, combined with disciplined dry-fire practice.

I'd rather not fork over big money for a gun that I can do without, but I also don't want to miss out on a great training tool. Is dry-fire a decent substitute for firing a .22?

~Ichiro
 
Ichiro: Different people will definitely give you different answers on this. While dry firing is definitely useful, convenient and cost free training, it is not the same as actual shooting.

The benefit of training with the .22LR versus dry firing is that you actually get a visual result from what you are doing - a measure of your performance, and a pattern with some diagnostic value in correcting mistakes. Nothing like that when you are pretending to shoot during dry firing.

Additionally, there is still some noise/smoke/recoil with a .22 to give some firing sensation as well, which I think has some value, but I think the principle values are above.

I am fairly competent with firing centerfire handguns (shoot offhand into a 4" circle at 25 feet at a good clip), but have recently decided to drop down to the .22LR (from 9mm) to try to improve my shooting. While beginners often overlook the .22LR as "beneath them", more experienced shooters often get one after owning centerfires, since there is no ego involved anymore, and there are true benefits (as well as fun) to having one.

I am in the process of doing what you are considering - I have a S&W 617, and I will be buying a S&W 686, and will have both set up the same way - as you seem to be aware of, they are very similar guns except for chambering. I have rented 686s numerous times and I can shoot them as well as my 617 - that is not the point. The point is to get lots of inexpensive, focused, realistic practice. I will keep the 617 - it's very nice, and allows me to shoot and train for almost 10% of the price of shooting the 686 - cannot beat that. :D

If you have a little extra money and you want to get into revolvers, I think that some of it would be well spent on a 617.
 
I have a Taurus 94 9 shot snubby that I purchased as a practice gun for my Sp101 .357 3”. They are about the same weights and their trigger pull is similar. I’ve found that using the .22lr for practice is allot more fun than dry firing and I think it does a better job of sharpening your aiming and control skills. :cool:
 
CarbineCaleb said it better than I could

I have been shooting for over 30 years and shoot a lot, reload and have so many calabers that I can choose from just about any thing you could ask.
But when I want to work on my shooting skills, I always pick one of the 22's I have.
One is a Colt 1911 ACE in 22.
For rifles a Winchester 52 bolt 22.
You can do more in less time with a 22 than any other gun. For me it really dosent matter what type of gun its just the 22 shows me more what I am doing wrong.
If you cant hit with a 22 you sure as **** wont with a 44 mag.
 
Dry firing has it's place but it doesn't make those gratifying and little holes in the target (if you do it right at least)
 
A .22 pistol gives instant, undeniable feedback on your trigger control. For that reason I like them. Also, consider that shooting a ragged hole with a .45 is relatively easy compared to doing the same with the smaller .22 round. Idealy, the .22 should be the approximate same gun as your usual carry gun (and I'm still looking for an affordable K22), but even with a totally different gun it helps a lot. When I find myself slipping with my 1911, I transfer over to my Ruger MKII, and work on the basics. When I have them working for me again, I transfer back to the 1911 and voila, I'm back on target. You just can't do that with dry firing.
 
IMNSHO, the .22lr is at it's best in 2 uses:

- beginners round
- advanced

In between, dry fire and handloading can control costs.
 
22rf dry fire

One of the first thing I look for when buying a used 22 RF is to see if was dry fired a lot. If so, I pass, The problem is if it was dry fired a lot, you may cause the gun not to fire because it digs a small grove in the clyinder. I use a fired 22 shell and ture it a 180 degrees, so the firing pin will have a new place to hit.
 
After reading this thread I have come to the conclusion that I undoubtedly need to buy yet another firearm.Boy it gets expensive hangin around this forum. :D
 
I think a .22 may be viable when 1st starting out, but once you know what you are doing, shooting the .38/.357 is just more...satisfying! I always myself wanting more after shooting the .22. I have a .22 conversion for my .45, and its nice, but just don't cut it except when I have no other alternative.

Dry firing has its place, but even the .22 beats it for practice whenever it is possible to get to a place to shoot.
 
Thanks for all the comments

...I'm hearing that dry fire is helpful and necessary, but not a substitute for shooting, even (or especially) with 22LR.

For me, it's a matter of a bunch of costs all at once.

So far, I've paid $250 for 2 classes and $100 for the permit to carry. For guns, I'm looking at a GP-100 ($400-450) for the range/house and, once I get competent, a S&W642 ($350) for pocket carry. Adding another $500 for a 617 puts me out over $1600 total. I'll also need a gun safe, lock box for the car, holster, speedloaders, new belt (and maybe new pants), not to mention ammo, and range time.

Maybe I should just buy and carry a 22 semiauto with 5 spare magazines in a man-purse. :confused:

~Ichiro
 
I had a 22 revolver once

mine was a ruger and was single action, it had two cylinders, one for lr and one far the magnum22s. it was an awesome gun. I traded it to my dad for another pistol. it was flawless. I would consider it a very good first gun to own. :)
 
My guess is that if you shop around, you should be able to find a used GP100 in good shape for something in the low to mid $300s.

You should definitely be able to get a cheaper rimfire than a new 617. A working condition Ruger MKII should run you less than $200.
 
Good tip. I'll definitely be checking for like-new GP-100s at the gun show this weekend.

About the MKII, it's a lot of fun to shoot and, as you noted, way cheaper than a 617. How well does a semiauto 22 fit the role of a training gun when my other guns are likely to be revolvers?

~Ichiro
 
Well, some cheaper revolver options would be the Ruger SP101/.22LR which is well spoken of (can even get one used in fine shape for ~$200), or a Taurus - they make something called a 94 in various configurations.

Could save some money in the Smith line by getting a 617 or it's predecessor (the model 17 K-22) used.
 
One of my first guns was a Ruger MKII when I was 13 and I still have it today and will never give it up. It is a great gun but now I am looking for a .22 Revolver. Many of the local expensive/dirty indoor ranges will not allow my 6 year old son to shoot and I want to start him early and would much rather do it at home when we have some free time. Aguila makes the Colibri .22 LR which is a Primer Only load with a 40 gr. bullet which can be shot with a minimum of backstop and hearing protection, none if done outdoors. The S&W 17-2 is a FINE gun but even though out of production for many years still call prices like $395 used. I was looking at one today and am not ready to spend that money for a used gun that shows wear on it's blue. What other Target quality .22 wheel guns are out there ? Wish I could find a way to shoot the MKII in the garage but full power rounds would cause too much attention and I am afraid the youngin' may miss the bullet trap I am going to make and pierce the metal garrage walls.

Rich
 
.22s are guns that, once you find a good one, you will stick with for life. They are very good training aids and a lot of fun.

Discovering which brand of ammo works best in your gun is fun and if you do it with some science, takes a bit of time.

Fighting to get a decent group at 25 yards than at 50 yards is fun.

You also don't have to buy everything all at once. Get a pistol or wheelgun in .22 with adjustable sights. Start learning the basics of accuracy with aimed fire at 7, 10 and 25 yards. When you can get a decent 2" to 4" group at 25 yards begin to work on self defense shooting and rapid fire shooting.


I have, at present 6 .22s, da, sa, and two pistols which I have acquired over the years. I kep upgrading. Nothing like them for keeping yourself sharp.

tipoc
 
Bought the GP-100

Well, my permit arrived on Thursday, so I went to the "gun" show today in St. Paul in hopes of finding a nice used Ruger revolver to buy. It was really a military/collectors show, so there weren't many handguns there except really expensive old stuff. No Ruger revolvers at all. Really a waste of time, as far as my objective was concerned.

My backup plan was to make a road trip to Sportsman's Warehouse in Coon Rapids, which I did. Very, very nice selection of guns there, and other items, as well as a very helpful sales associate. I bought a GP-100, 4" barrel, .357 Mag revolver in blue finish. I was looking for a stainless gun, but the blue (black) finish on the Rugers looks so much better. Plus, they were out of the stainless 4", so I bought the blue and some snap caps for loading/unloading practice, and dry-firing.

First of all, this is a heavy, confidence-inspiring gun, and I much appreciate the simplicity of a revolver vs. a semiauto. I've loaded and unloaded the snap-caps probably a hundred times, and pulled the trigger hundreds of times (while pointing the muzzle in a safe direction, of course). I'm glad I bought this gun.

My impressions thus far: I can practice sight-alignment and trigger control all day long for free using dry-firing, but it's still no replacement for time at the range. Sportsman's Warehouse also has a Ruger MKII for $179, new, and a 22/45 for about $220. There's a very real possibility that I will show up there again tomorrow and buy one of these guns. At this point, I'm inclined to purchase a semiauto for .22LR rather than a revolver, both because of the price and the fact that I can practice DA trigger control by dry-firing.

Thanks for all your input on this thread.

~Ichiro
 
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