Should I Buy A .22 Conversion For Practice?

[Dogproblems.com]

... will playing around with a .22 conversion help my shooting?

My reasoning is that I can go through more rounds, more inexpensively and gain more feedback on targeting than with just dryfire exercises.

Good idea? Bad idea? Waste of time?

[lynn jones]

yes. i think practice with a .22 would help. all the basics would be there, except for the recoil.

lynn jones

[tightloop]

I think it depends on your current expertise level. If you are M or GM, no I don't think it will do anything.

If you are B or lower, I know lots of folks it has helped to move up, simply because they could not afford the practice rounds necessary to work on their weak points, with factory stuff or reloads, but .22 was different and it really helped them.

[EricW]

The one issue I had with the conversion kit for my Glock is that the slide dimensions were not exactly identical. The conversion's slide was about .040" thicker, which doesn't sound like a big deal until you try to put the gun in a Kydex holster: no workie.

Do ask before you buy...

That said, a 22 kit is awesome for working on drills. You can't beat two hours of practice for ten bucks.

As for GM's not needing them, once the local GM played with mine, he went out and bought one too. The difference between GM's and the rest of us mere mortals is time managment of the stage - and that remains the same whether you're shooting a 22LR or a 44 mag.

Buy as many magazines as you can afford. I bought 5. I wish I had bought 10 or 20. The 22 mags are total pain to load, and you'll be happier doing it in your spare time at home.

[Dowter]

I tried the .22 conversion kit and didn't like it. What I found was that it completely threw off my timing. When I went back to a .40SW, it felt like I was shooting a howitzer. What I ended up finding out was that it's better to have no recoil at all (dryfiring) then just a little. Go figure! But that's what my experience was.

Don't underestimate the value of dryfiring.

I DO like .22s though. Just don't try to do IPSC drills with them. Shoot them like bullseye shooters (one handed). Most IPSC shooters HATE shooting bullseye because it's so boring. I like shooting bullseye since I learn sooooooo much about trigger control and sight alignment and it's do damn cheap too with .22s

Also. Don't get the ciener .22 conversion kit. 22lrconversion.com . And if you insist on getting a ciener, I'll sell you mine at half price.

[Loves2Shoot]

The more you can shoot anything, the better off you are I think. Recoil management is different with a .22, but I think that this game is more about seeing than recoil management so I would say anything you can can do to work on seeing, e.i. watching the front site bounce around on a .22. Firing a .22 is cheap fun and I agree, buy as many mags as you can. It is not a substitute for firing your IPSC gun, but if it is the choice between, firing a .22 and firing nothing (because of cost) then shooting the .22 wins in my book every time. I have a Kimber conversion and the sight are set up just like all my limited guns, seeing is BEing.

[EricW]

The absence of recoil is one of the 22's virtues IMHO. Yeah, it ain't like shooting your real blaster, but it's your opportunity to see everything. The front sight on my Glock doesn't even move. I see every little error I make. For me, that makes it a worthwhile tool - regardless of the financial aspects.

[Ironman]

I have been considering getting a Marvel 22 conversion http://marvelprecision.com/. I have seen reviews on the Wilson & Kimber but no comparisons with Marvel. For those of you who have tried them which one do you recommend and why. I will be putting the conversion on my Kimber Gold Match.

Dowter, What is it that you do not like about the ciener conversion.

Thanks,

Jim

[Dowter]

Jim.

My Ciener had fixed sights and were way off. Not that it mattered. I couldn't get a decent grouping out of it no matter how much I tried. (and I can get a grouping out of a .22)

I also couldn't get it to function properly until I used a lot of fp-10. Now it functions moderately well if you don't have to depend on it.

Remember when I said that I'd sell it for half? Never mind that, I'll sell it for $75.

[Flexmoney]

Jim,

There was a write-up or two about the various .22 conversions for the 1911/2011 guns...not too long ago. I think that Patrick Sweeney did at least one of the articles.

[sledgee]

I like to use a 22 for one-shot draws, which I practice a lot. Recoil doesn't matter here.

I also use my 22 for working on shooting on the move. I set up my steel C-zone, and run back and forth along the 180 line at about 10 yards, shooting as I go. One can burn up a lot of ammo in a short time doing this, and again, recoil isn't much of an issue, as I'm not shooting pairs. A few hundred rounds of this in an afternoon helps me a lot.

In the winter, I hunt cottontails with it.

After hearing mostly negative stuff about the conversions, I bought a Ruger 45/22 bull barrel for $180 new. Runs like a champ, magazines are cheap, same grip angle as a 1911, and it's a whole gun, not an accessory. For Glockers, the MkII appears to have a pretty similar grip angle to a Glock.

Of course you don't have the exact same grip and controls, as you do with a 22 conversion kit, but it's close enough for me.

Joe