Got us our first .22 LR

[RobertY]

Wife took me to Gander Mountain last night after she got off work. Wow! It was crowded! It took awhile to get someone at the gun counter to help us, but I knew what we wanted. Luckily they did have one in stock. We picked the Marlin Model 795. (also got an extra mag) Please no one snicker, we know it is just a .22 rifle. It is our first rifle. We did not purchase it for home defense. But rather for cheap shooting and also if the poop ever hits the fan maybe using it for small game. (just gotta learn what to do with it once I kill it hehe...) It was 149.99, but I told them that Dicks Sporting Goods was running a $20.00 off sale on all their fire arms, so they matched that for $129.00. Also picked up some .22 ammo which they matched Dicks Sporting Goods special of buy 1 box and get the second for 1/2 off. Also picked up a Simmons 4x32 scope for it. They were out of see-through rings so it is unopened still. I wanted to keep the ability to use the iron sights if I wanted to. I may change my mind and switch out for the Simmons 3-9x32 scope when the rings come in. They told me they would mount them for me, bore and laser sight them for free.

It took over 3 HOURS from the time we walked in to the time we left, which was after closing. A few times I just wanted to repeatedly bang my head on the nearest counter.

We are slowly getting stuff together as we can afford items. I think the next thing we will start saving for is the Bersa Thunder .9 UC

We bought a Bersa Thunder .380 from someone on this board and my wife loves it, and I enjoy it because it is easy to break down and clean. Soooo... I think for the .9 another Bersa.

I do have a question about the Marlin 795. I broke it down today and cleaned it because I read that it is always good to clean a newly purchased fire arm. The barrel was FILTHY!!! I must have used 15 patches or more before the inside came clean. Is this normal for a brand new fire arm?

Can't wait for the rings to come in and it gets set up so we can take it to the range!

[Guest Aces&8s]

Congratulations on you first .22! And trust me when I say that no one will snicker at a good .22lr rifle... it is the one gun that I would never want to be without. In fact, I have more .22s than I have any other caliber (well, I have just as many 12 gauges, I suppose), and I am thinking about adding another (AR in .22) soon. So wear it out, and post a pic when you get a chance.

Sent from my NookColor using Tapatalk 2

[DWARREN123]

A good 22rimfire rifle or pistol is always good to have.

[TrickyNicky]

No way would I snicker at a good .22.
Out of all my firearms the .22s get the most range time by far and as far as I'm concerned one can't have too many. I've got 5 myself and looking into numbers 6 and seven.

Also many many instances of folks defending themselves and loved one with this underrated little cartridge. Not my first choice personaly but for some (elderly, disabled, arthritis, etc.) it's their only viable choice.

Honestly don't know why some claim that .22 is a "weenie" round, I've offered a few of them the opportunity to put their money where their mouths are but no one seems to want to prove how ineffective it is with even a trivial flesh wound...

Congratulations on the first of what will most likely be many.

[Sam1]

Not sure on the 9mm UC, but I did have a .45 UC Pro a few months back that I sold on here. Had to get a heavier recoil spring made because the slide was coming back extremely hard, even with walmart target ammo.

After the smith made the new spring, it was fantastic, but he had to add 4-5 pounds to get it to that point.

[R_Bert]

I actually remember my first .22LR, a really huge day for me. This was ~ 1967 or 1968, and mine was a Remington Nylon 66.

With that gun, as a kid, a Christmas tradition was for me and my pals to go out and collect mistletoe.

45 years later, my mom asks me for a sprig, which I collected yesterday. Guess which .22 I used ?

[Guest Carfreak70852]

^ that is pretty cool!
I just recently shot a .22 LR and that thing is just pure fun to shoot. My dad has one he doesn't use, so I stole it from him for a while. Really fun to shoot!

[RED333]

Congrats on the new 22, we have just 2.
Dirty barrel, it was stored on a rack or in a box, thay is why you clean or at least inspect
a new firearm.
Now get out there and sight it in, irons first, then the scope.
[size=6]AND A PIC!!![/size]

[Tempest455]

Ditto, I have more .22's than any other caliber.

[RobertY]

Thank You all for the comments. Was nerveous about posting that we (the wife and I) purchased a .22.

Thank You RED333 for your insight. Was worried if it may have been a return or something. The inside of the barrel was the only thing that was really filthy. Even though the rest of it looked good I still cleaned and lightly oiled the parts.

As soon as we take it to the range I will take some pics. Will try to make it this coming wednesday. That trip will be iron sites only as no see through rings yet.

R_Bert, I bet you used the Rem Nylon 66. hehehe

Sam1. Before buying the Bersa Thunder .9mm UC we may have to see if Coal Creek Armory has one in their rental section so we can try it out. But the wife loves her Bersa .380 UC.

TrickyNicky, I think I read somewhere that the .22 is the caliber that is responsible for more non-war deaths than any other caliber. We have got a Phonix Arms .22hp pistol which has finally started behaving. (hope I didn't just jinx it) Also have got an older .22 revolver which I do not like at all. Can't recall what it is, but for some reason it will not eject the shells because the shells are stuck so tight that the ejector rod can't do it. I have got to use a thin bladed knife to "flick" out three or four of them everytime.

[dats82]

Barring any sentimental value, a .22 would be the last gun I would ever sell. Even with sentimental value, it might just be a .22. I have a 10/22 that is great, but my father has a Remington Sportmaster 512 that will eventually be mine. The story behind it is that my grandfather had a Ford/Lincoln/Mercury dealership, and he took the rifle on a trade for some mechanical work that was done at his dealership. It was not even close to covering the cost of the work. However, the customer would not take a hand out, and the rifle was all he had to offer. My grandfather gave it to my dad, and he took the gun to shop class in high school and refinished the stock. I have no idea what the gun is worth, but to me, it is about priceless. It is hard to beat a .22, especially an old bolt action with a little story behind it. Congrats on your new gun.

[BryanP]

Careful, .22's are addictive. I'm up to 6 currently, and while I say all my gun itches are scratched right now, I can think of a couple of .22's I'd still like to pick up,

[RobertY]

We went to the Loudon firing range today to test out the new Marlin. I have to say that I am happy with the purchase. It was fun. Still not scoped. We also brought the Phonix Arms hp22, that is what Penny shot. We did not fire many rounds, but we still had fun and relaxing time. She is getting better at not being scared of the fire arm and she even said she had fun.

The below is the Marlin Model 795 and assorted items. We kind of spread out.

[img]http://thriftywebdesign.net/images/misc/marlinrange11_28_12.jpg[/img]
Below is me firing from I make a guess of around 25yrds? I have really got to start bringing something to measure with.

[img]http://thriftywebdesign.net/images/misc/memarlinrange11_28_12.jpg[/img]

Edited November 28, 2012 by RobertY

[RobertY]

Opps! Forgot to post the results. The targets are the splatter type bought at wallyworld. 8 1/2" x 8 1/2"
The top photo is mine with the Marlin. Like I said it was maybe 25 yrds. I don't know. I fired just 14 rounds and you can see 12 of them on the paper. So I went 12 out of 14.

The bottom photo is Penny's with the Phonix Arms hp22. She was in a standing stance facing the target head on, she was about at what I guess 7 yrds. She fired 27 rounds and hit the paper 23 times.

[img]http://thriftywebdesign.net/images/misc/metargetmarlin25yrds11_28_12.jpg[/img]

[img]http://thriftywebdesign.net/images/misc/pennytarget7yrds11_28_21.jpg[/img] Edited November 28, 2012 by RobertY

[TrickyNicky]

Well I trust you enjoyed an afternoon of casual plinking? I'm telling you, you just can't beat a good .22 for some things.

Let us know things go when you get your scope up and running, I resisted scopes for a long time but have come to really enjoy them, especially on a good rimfire.

[Will H]

Yeah, .22's are awesome. I have noticed the last few times I have gone to the range I have shot about 400 .22's and less than 50 9mm. It can be my tricked out Ruger 10/22, my wife's Glenfield 60, our Henry Survival or my Hp-22a it don't matter. I love the .22 for the sheer cost and fun factor.

[RobertY]

Although we did not fire that many rounds (mainly there to see if the marlin went bang ok) it was relaxing. Just wish we would have had more time. I can't wait to get the scope set up. With my eyes the way they are I was pretty pleased with my grouping even though it was only from about 25yrds. It was the first time I had fired a rifle since my NJROTC days of yore. All I have to say is wow, my eyes are not what they used to be. Focusing on the end post sight was hard to do. It kept wanting to blur. I did my best to control my breathing and when the end sight post came into focus I would line it up on the center of the very blurry target. LOL!

Because of what I learned about my eyes I may not even want the see-through sights anymore. It looks like with iron sights unless I am about close enough to club a rabbit with the Marlin it would have nothing to worry about. So I am considering hard to trade the Simmons 4x32 scope for a Simmons 3-9x32 scope and leave it at that.

My wife is who I am mainly proud of. She has come a long way with handling a fire arm. This past time she was even chambering the first round herself. She used to always make me do it because she was afraid. Not to long ago she would jump at every bang and want me to take the fire arm back. Now she handles the chambering and safety all on her own. She also loads her own clips. I have yet to figure out why she loads them the way she does. One time she will load seven, the next she may put three or four in, then she will load a different number of rounds. **shrug** As long as she is relaxed and looking like she is having fun I am okay with it. She is learning to aim better and take her time. She don't know that I see her grin when she puts them in the inner circle. The Phonix hp22 did stove pipe this time and she did not panic and run the pistol back to me like she did not to long ago. She held her ground with the pistol pointing down range and waited for me to walk up to her to help her. Also one thing that highly impressed me was that used to once it misfired or anything she "was done". This time after it was cleared she took it back to the table and reloaded the clip and went back to fire again. I am very proud of her.

I am so glad that .22lr ammo is pretty cheap.

[Guest TankerHC]

I love my 795, all 3 of my .22's. I had to buy the GSG 1911 so I would be able to shoot a 1911 without spending $200 every time I went to the range. I enjoy shooting .22 LR Caliber. 550 rounds, $17.95 loose bulk here, shoot darn near all day for 40 bucks.

[swim615]

[quote name='RobertY' timestamp='1354249088' post='852716']
Although we did not fire that many rounds (mainly there to see if the marlin went bang ok) it was relaxing. Just wish we would have had more time. I can't wait to get the scope set up. With my eyes the way they are I was pretty pleased with my grouping even though it was only from about 25yrds. It was the first time I had fired a rifle since my NJROTC days of yore. All I have to say is wow, my eyes are not what they used to be. Focusing on the end post sight was hard to do. It kept wanting to blur. I did my best to control my breathing and when the end sight post came into focus I would line it up on the center of the very blurry target. LOL!

Because of what I learned about my eyes I may not even want the see-through sights anymore. It looks like with iron sights unless I am about close enough to club a rabbit with the Marlin it would have nothing to worry about. So I am considering hard to trade the Simmons 4x32 scope for a Simmons 3-9x32 scope and leave it at that.

My wife is who I am mainly proud of. She has come a long way with handling a fire arm. This past time she was even chambering the first round herself. She used to always make me do it because she was afraid. Not to long ago she would jump at every bang and want me to take the fire arm back. Now she handles the chambering and safety all on her own. She also loads her own clips. I have yet to figure out why she loads them the way she does. One time she will load seven, the next she may put three or four in, then she will load a different number of rounds. **shrug** As long as she is relaxed and looking like she is having fun I am okay with it. She is learning to aim better and take her time. She don't know that I see her grin when she puts them in the inner circle. The Phonix hp22 did stove pipe this time and she did not panic and run the pistol back to me like she did not to long ago. She held her ground with the pistol pointing down range and waited for me to walk up to her to help her. Also one thing that highly impressed me was that used to once it misfired or anything she "was done". This time after it was cleared she took it back to the table and reloaded the clip and went back to fire again. I am very proud of her.

I am so glad that .22lr ammo is pretty cheap.
[/quote]

My wife has a Phonix in 25acp and has a real hard time reloading the mags and so do I for that matter. I bought her a Maglula Baby Uplula magazine loader and now she always tops off her mags.

Edited November 30, 2012 by swim615

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Congrats!

I shoot more .22 at range sessions than anything else. Not only less expensive, but I keep hoping that trigger and sight-alignment practice with .22 will transfer to bigger calibers as well. A common problem that can be difficult to shed especially pistols is "flinching". Which isn't typically "fear of pain" from the recoil, but anticipating the recoil enough to twitch the gun before it goes bang, and ruin the aim.

Because .22's don't have hardly any recoil, it is easy to practice without developing a "flinch" or "recoil anticipation". If one has some flinching, after shooting a few mags of .22, one might pick up a larger caliber pistol and shoot it "better than usual" the first couple of mags before the flinch habit comes back. Flinching can be extinguished, but sometimes it is more difficult to extinguish than just telling oneself to "quit flinching".

I'm not a big glock fan, or glock hater either, but when you get ready to buy a 9mm pistol, a G17 or G19 isn't a whole lot more cost than a bersa, and you can get real nice .22 adapter slides for glocks. So you can practice .22 and 9mm in the same gun. The bersa's I've seen look well made, just sayin buying a pistol where you can get good quality .22 adapter slides could be a plus. Or maybe its just as easy to find bersa .22 adapter slides for all I know.

There are several manufacturers to choose from for glock .22 adapter. I don't have a .22 adapter for glock (yet) but Advantage Arms makes .22 adapters for both glock and 1911. I have an AA 1911 .22 adapter and it works great.

Also have .22 adapters for Beretta 92 and CZ75/85. I use em a lot and enjoy shooting .22 out of "ordinary full size pistols". The price can be a little higher putting an adapter on a beretta 92 or CZ. I think 1911 or glock would be a little less expensive for that part, though there are some "real expensive" adapters available for em.

You can also swap in .22 slides pretty commonly on some sigs, but dunno nothin about sigs.

Then again there are so many nice dedicated .22 pistols, some real nice ones not much more expensive than a .22 adapter. I like that as well, but enjoy getting "cheap trigger time" shooting .22 on full-size 9mm frames. My ruger .22 pistol is a fine pistol, but it doesn't feel the same as the full-size 9mm's, so I suspect trigger time skills might not transfer over as well. Just ignorant speculation, possibly all wrong.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

If your eyes have focus problems, don't discount the goodness of 1X magnification red dot sights. They are not quite as precise as a telescopic sight but they have "infinite" eye relief and if your eye can focus on the target (more than 5 yards away is "close enough to infinity focus" for a red dot and the eye) then you can focus on the red dot. Better for medium than long range, but very easy to see a red dot.

The main problem is folks in the first stages of a cataract, or some folks with real bad astigmatism. In some folks the red dot will look like a slash or a double-dot rather than a little round dot. But unless you have that problem, if you can focus on the target the dot will also be in focus.

[monkeylizard]

.22 FTW!
I always shoot more .22 than anything else. It's cheap fun that doesn't leave you with a rash the next day.

[RobertY]

[indent=1]Lester Weevils Thank You for all that information. For us, cost is a factor. But also a huge factor is finding firearms that comfortably fit my wifes small hand size. I would like my wife to be able to hold and be comfortable with all fire arms in the house. That way she would not hesitate to pick up the "nearest" one if needed. She has never held the Bersa .9mm, but loves her Bersa .380. So that is why it was on my look at list. We have really got to get to Coal Creek Armory so she can hold different ones and fire them.[/indent]
[indent=1]The adaptive slide thing is one thing I need to consider. Adaptive slide = less cleaning time on my part. [/indent]
[indent=1]One thing, she does not like my EAA .38 .357 revolver. Not one bit at all. She says that one does not feel right/is to heavy and she does not like the big kick. So to hold down costs I may consider trading my revolver for a .9mm pistol that she feels comfortable with when the time comes.[/indent]
[indent=1]Alkso thank you for the red dot suggestion. But I don't think the 1x mag will allow me to see where I am hitting the target. I do like the idea of infinite focus though.[/indent]

[indent=1]swim615, you know that is one thing I have not considered. I never stopped to think that she may be loading fewer in because loading a full clip is hard. She always starts out at 7 in the first one. Then the number drops off. That may be the reason. I may have to look at one of those things you mentioned. Thank You.[/indent]

[Guest Lester Weevils]

[quote name='RobertY' timestamp='1354294818' post='852872']
[indent=1]Lester Weevils Thank You for all that information. For us, cost is a factor. But also a huge factor is finding firearms that comfortably fit my wifes small hand size. I would like my wife to be able to hold and be comfortable with all fire arms in the house. That way she would not hesitate to pick up the "nearest" one if needed. She has never held the Bersa .9mm, but loves her Bersa .380. So that is why it was on my look at list. We have really got to get to Coal Creek Armory so she can hold different ones and fire them.[/indent]
[indent=1]The adaptive slide thing is one thing I need to consider. Adaptive slide = less cleaning time on my part. [/indent]
[indent=1]One thing, she does not like my EAA .38 .357 revolver. Not one bit at all. She says that one does not feel right/is to heavy and she does not like the big kick. So to hold down costs I may consider trading my revolver for a .9mm pistol that she feels comfortable with when the time comes.[/indent]
[indent=1]Alkso thank you for the red dot suggestion. But I don't think the 1x mag will allow me to see where I am hitting the target. I do like the idea of infinite focus though.[/indent]
[/quote]

Hi RobertY

Is your EAA a snubby revolver or does it have a barrel length greater than 3" or so? The only pistol I've ever traded off was a S&W stainless snubby. It was fairly heavy stainless and a well-made piece, but I never shot it very accurately and the older I got, the more painful to shoot. When I first got it, the gun wasn't painful though shooting 50 or 100 rds would give a red palm for the rest of the day. But a decade or so later, one day I shot 10 rds to make sure it would still go bang and felt like I had a broken wrist. Wrist hurt for hours afterwards. Took it to the gunshop and traded it off that very day. OTOH my 4" barrel .357 S&W has recoil, but it isn't ever painful recoil even with strong ammo. Then again, maybe in another 10 years that one will also be painful.

So maybe no .357 will be your wife's cup of tea, but possibly if yours is a snubby, she might like a bigger one better, even if it is heavier.

The steel bersa's seem solid and have some heft, which will soak up recoil. If your .380 bersa is a blowback action, often blowback pistols have more recoil than comparable locked-action guns, so your wife may find 9mm more pleasant to shoot than the .380 (because very few current 9mm pistols are blowback action). Generally the heavier bigger 9mm pistols will have gentler recoil. I think my Beretta 92 has the lowest felt recoil than any of my pistols, though none of them are too bad in 9mm. Just saying, with the aluminum alloy frame the 92 is noticeably lighter than some other all-steel pistols which seem to have more felt recoil. The glocks have a little more recoil because they are relatively light, but not bad.

If your wife has small hands she might not like a glock, 92, or CZ-75 because they all have fairly fat grips. It is possible a bersa which uses double-stack mags will be just as fat though. Most of the full-size double-stack pistols have fairly fat grips. A single-stack standard 1911 has a skinnier grip and she MAY like a 9mm full size 1911 pretty good even if it is pretty heavy.

There are so many choices. A kahr P9 or the nearly-identical less expensive CW9, has a lot to be said for small hands and recoil sensitivity. I don't understand why, but those models have very mild recoil, which is puzzling because they are among the lightest and slimmest mid-size 9mm pistols you can find anywhere, and usually light guns tend to have more recoil. The single-stack P9/CW9 is a very comfortable slim grip, crazy-slimmer than most double-stack pistols. Its easy to get a good grip on it. Very lightweight. [url="http://www.kahr.com/Pistols/Kahr-CW9.asp"]http://www.kahr.com/...ls/Kahr-CW9.asp[/url] I traded that S&W stainless snubby for a P9 and it is the most frequent carry gun ever since. It hides in a pocket better than the snubby, lighter than the snubby, and I can shoot it much more accurately than the snubby, and though 7+1 is not a bunch of shots in a mag, it beats the heck out of 5 rounds that the snubby carried.

I thought your shooting (and your wife's shooting) looked fine on the targets you posted. Was just thinking if you are doing that good with fuzzy sights, then it would only be better with a red dot, assuming you don't have the "rare" eyes that don't focus red dots properly. I hardly ever shoot past 50 yards, shooting rifles almost always 50 yards. I have a target .22 with a telescopic sight, but the other rifles have red dots and I'm such a bad shot probably wouldn't do any better with a scope than a red dot at 50 yards. Folks who can actually shoot, some of em do real passable with red dots at 100 yards or more. Not trying to talk you into anything, just shooting the bull.