Practice?

D

dgerwin11

New member
I am 64 years old and had never fired a hand gun until a few weeks ago when I purchased an 1851 Confederate Navy Colt cap and ball, .44 caliber. I have become proficient at loading it both with balls and 7 1/2 shot for snakes.

Well the bug bit hard. Yesterday I purchased a Heritage Rough Rider .22.

My question is this. Since they are both single action, would it be OK concentrate practicing with the .22? Will the skills transfer? My main shooting will be plinking, but I do carry the Navy with snake shot when in the woods.

I can hit pretty much what I aim at with both. It is just so much easier to clean the .22
 
For basic plinking and proficiency purposes, the trigger time spent on the 22 will absolutely pay off and transfer to other guns.

If you wanted to be a bullseye shooter, you would be better served learning your primary gun better, but for most of us, this is not the case.

As long as you are comfortable with the manual of arms for the other gun, you should be good to go.
 
Any practicing you do whether it be 22's pellet gun, dry fire etc sure wont hurt. As long as you practice correctly. I shoot 22 rifles and pistols daily. I usually only shoot my glock model 22 (40 cal) only about twice a week. But dry fire often often often.
Before you dry fire your 22 you should first read your manual though I know most 22s say not to.
 
.22s and even air guns make excellent training tools.
Trigger time is trigger time.
Try to find those that are most like your main gun, though.
The trick is to shoot them just like you would your centerfire gun.
Same stance, grip, and approach as if they were, in fact, your "real" gun.
Imagine the same recoil and nothing will be lost using those substitutes.
 
Thanks for the advice.

I think the difference in weight makes the recoils feel similar. And both are single action revolvers.

The 2 major areas I want as right as possible are 1) To have 10 toes intact after drawing and 2) Reasonably on target.

I think I read once that Wyatt Earp practiced every morning. Not for speed, but for consistency.

While I do not have a range as such, I do own 10 acres of woodlot in back of the house. Convenient and safe place to practice.
 
Practice practice practice... My neuro-surgeon said it helped him. :eek:

If you are going to practice drawing, practice with an unloaded gun. Don't worry about speed, concentrate on smoothly drawing your gun, bringing it to eye level and putting it on target. Watch when you put your finger on the trigger.

Sometimes you have to find just the right holster to do it with. (I went through three holsters before I found one I was comfortable with.)

I honestly believe the fundamentals will follow you through to another gun.
 
Fast is fine, but accuracy is final. You must learn to be slow in a hurry. Wyatt Earp (1848 – 1929)

Slow is smooth - smooth is fast. (Somebody on a Gun Forum)

I fired my first pistol when I was 63.
 
I got my first revolver at 65 and it was a Rough Rider 22. If I recall, I think the instructions warn against dry firing. You can leave the spent shells in it and I don't think it would hurt anything. I find the revolver to be very dependable and accurate for a bargain priced weapon. I don't think either one of us will come close to wearing it out in our lifetimes. I am more accurate with it than I am with my 22 semi-automatic or my 9mm pistol.
 
Being so green at this, all I can judge it on is how it works for me. So far, so good.

I have on order some .22 Mag shot shells. When they come in, I'll wage battle with a paper plate to see if that is a better snake round than the .44 C & B loaded with 7 1/2 shot. If so, it will be my main gun for carrying in the woods during snake season.

You are right about probably not wearing it out in my lifetime. But I will try. An advantage I have is I have 10 acres. There are several hundred feet of dense woods behind me. A nice save convenient place to shoot.
 
Let us know how you like the Rough Rider. I'm thinking of getting one myself. Something to shoot the 22lr that won't cycle in my semi-auto.
 
See my above post. I have only put around 100 rounds through it, mainly lr and some .22WMR.

I am no expert, but it seems to do what it should do. Seems to be reliably put together.

As I said earlier, I had never fired a handgun of any kind until a couple of months ago. From the studying I've done, It seems a SA revolver is the most dependable mechanically.

The store I bought it from has been in business since Eisenhower was a corporal and have built a reputation for carrying quality brands. I trust its reliability on that as much as any other knowledge I have.
 
A bit of unsolicited advice.
A couple of hundred feet of woods may not be nearly enough of a buffer, even for a .22.
An actual backstop would be much better, for peace of mind.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top