Will trigger time with a .22 actually help with 1911 shooting skill?

[Lead Waster]

I have a Ruger .22/45 that I bought used at the same time that I bought my RIA Tactical. As I've mentioned before, I'm not a very good shot with the RIA.

If I spend a crapload of time (and ammo) with the Ruger 22/45 in an attempt to practice grip, breathing, etc, etc, will it translate well into the 1911?

I think I AM flinching when I shoot the .45, though not when I dry fire, probably because I KNOW that there is no BOOM! coming. Will 22 practice help?

I know that the first answer will be "Well, it can't hurt!" but ... maybe it will if I learn something that doesn't translate well to an actual 1911.

I chose the .22/45 mostly out of impulse, but also because it claims to mimic the grip angle of 1911.

So, would it help, or will it screw me up?

Thanks!

[doc540]

Yes, it can help.

But a .22 conversion kit can help more (same feel, same trigger) and doesn't cost a lot of money.

This is a Marvel, 1911 Commander conversion kit:
(I bought the FO front sight from Marvel and installed it)

[XDRoX]

It will help a lot. Trigger time is trigger time IMO.

I also had a bad flinch. What helped me more than anything was getting an LCP. It's double action trigger was exactly what I needed to fix my flinch.

If you have a revolver that you can shoot in double action it might help you like it did me.

Good luck.

[Lead Waster]

That's interesting, how does the DA revolver help with flinching?

I know it's all psychological, I'm trying to figure out what to do.


One thing I am also going to try is doubling up my ear protection. If I wear plugs and muffs, it might make my brain less anxious about the sound.

I know when I was riding a motorcycle, wearing earplugs helped me focus better because the loud (and subconsiously scary) road noise was lessened.

[pipboy]

Yes it will help. Sight alignment/picture, grip, breathing, trigger manipulation all translates no matter what caliber you are shooting. To address your flinching, practice, practice, practice. Focus on nothing but holding those sights on target as you very gradually increase the pressure on the trigger until the shot breaks.

Other drills you can practice at the range include loading up magazines with snap caps with a few live rounds mixed in at random. And of course there is the bump drill.

[Ubermcoupe]

DA revolvers (or DA in general) helps because you need a “smoother” trigger pull; none of this “SA trigger smashing” that affects accuracy.

In My Experience, guys that consistently shoot wheeluns/DA guns shoot more accurately.

I want to really say we just had one of these threads...

EDIT: found it

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=516509

[tbc]

...I also had a bad flinch. What helped me more than anything was getting an LCP. It's double action trigger was exactly what I needed to fix my flinch...

Very interesting because the DA also helped reducing my bad flinching. Then I realized that I just need to pull the trigger slowly and follow through.

I have seen experts on the range starting out with the 22 before they shoot the higher caliber.

[joefreas]

Yes it helps big time, and at a fraction of the cost!

I shoot CDP at the steel challenge. It would cost a fortune to practice with my .45 all the time so I bought a couple of .22s. I now shoot it for practice nearly weekly with a .22 and it has cut my times in half.

[jyo]

The short answer is YES!

[Grumpyoldretiredcop]

It helps me. YMMV.

[ckprax]

It helps me, I can afford to shoot for hours and as others have said, trigger time is trigger time. A .22 takes recoil out of the equation so you can really focus on your sight alignment/picture and squeeze the trigger. I also agree that in general if you can shoot a DA revolver (in DA) well you can shoot most anything well. My go to guns are a Ruger Standard and S&W 686.

[Voo]

It's similar to what you were referring to with doubling the ear muffs.. It allows you to focus more on the fundamentals without all the 'distraction' of severe recoil.

It's just that .22 has several advantages, hence it being touted so vehemently

1) low noise and low recoil
2) inexpensive to purchase
3) did i mention how cheap it was?

Dry fire is also similar but you do not get the immediate feedback of seeing whether you executed properly.

They are all valuable tools in that the motion for a perfect shot is the same whether you use real ammo, a .22, or dry fire. (I'm only referring to bullseye/accuracy shooting).

Just remember that practice is only beneficial if you're doing it 'right'. Bad practice is just that, bad.

[Bug Splat]

Personally it did not help me but my issue was not trigger control, it was flinching. I had to get used to the 45 and no amount of 22 helped. If cost is an issue start reloading yourself. Only costs about $5 a box to reload.

[huckberry668]

shooting 22 won't help your flinching with a 45 too much. The recoil and report differ too much. The only way to get good with a 45 is shoot a lot of 45s with proper techniques.

Flinching mostly means you're NOT focusing on the trigger control and/or sight picture. How do you focus on anything when you're expecting the 'boom' and reacting to it? When you dry fire do some of them with your eyes closed to really 'FEEL' the trigger pull through out its entire cycle. It'll help you develop muscle memory too.

In my experience, this will help with shooting live rounds:

1. Make yourself some dummy rounds with actual brass (don't deprime the spent cases) and bullets. It's basically a real round w/o powder.
2. Mix a few dummy rounds with a few live rounds and load them in the mag w/o looking.
3. Shoot every round as if they're all dummies. If you flinch on a dummy, analyze what you did wrong. expecting the shot? eyes closed before trigger broke? jerked the trigger?
4. After each shot, instead of looking at the target try 'calling the shot'. If you can't recall where the front sight was you probably had your eye closed before the shot broke.
5. Don't blast away, Make every shot count. With every bad shot you're re-enforcing the bad techniques. This is the reason why experienced shooters are much harder to teach to shoot well than new shooters.

Here is the bad news, being a good shot won't become 2nd nature. You'll always need to repeat the fundamentals for each and every shot. Here is the good news, it gets easier and easier.

[thenodnarb]

In my experience, this will help with shooting live rounds:

1. Make yourself some dummy rounds with actual brass (don't deprime) and bullets. It's basically a real round w/o powder.
2. Mix a few dummy rounds with a few live rounds and load them in the mag w/o looking.

Are you saying to shoot rounds with primers? I don't THINK that is what you are suggesting because that is a recipe for a kaboom. A primer only load will only lodge the bullet in the barrel(squib). If you cycle the action and fire a live round...