Pistol Calibers

**Jaguar Wong** · Posted On: 1/13/2006 12:46pm

Man there's just so much to learn if I want to start shooting. So from what I've seen of the Mark II/III, it's got the same grip, safety and magazine release as a 1911, so it's a perfect pistol if you want to move on to a 1911, but what if you don't know what you want to move on to. Is there a generic enough .22 that's good for just learning all around that won't cost me close to $400?

Maybe I'll just stick with shotguns for a while. Then graduate to dual weilding pistols like Chow Yun Fat (or one pistol, but shoot it sideways 'cause I'm gangsta...and don't care about accuracy).

**Phrost** · Posted On: 1/13/2006 12:50pm

Anyone familiar with .17? Is it cheaper than .22? I've seen a few episodes of Guns and Ammo TV and they push it a bit as the new plinking round.

**Mr. Mantis** · Posted On: 1/13/2006 12:51pm

Originally Posted by Jaguar Wong

Man there's just so much to learn if I want to start shooting. So from what I've seen of the Mark II/III, it's got the same grip, safety and magazine release as a 1911, so it's a perfect pistol if you want to move on to a 1911, but what if you don't know what you want to move on to. Is there a generic enough .22 that's good for just learning all around that won't cost me close to $400?
.

My Mark II has a different safety and mag. release than my 1911. Grip is similar though. I bought my MarkII used (but not abused) pretty cheap, like $190 I think, but I'd have to go look to be sure what I paid. Worth every penny though.

**Neildo** · Posted On: 1/13/2006 1:01pm

Originally Posted by Phrost

Anyone familiar with .17? Is it cheaper than .22? I've seen a few episodes of Guns and Ammo TV and they push it a bit as the new plinking round.

I've owned a bunch of CO2 pellet guns in .177. You can get 100 rounds for about 4 bucks. They're pretty accurate too. I wish I'd actually kept some of my targets instead of continuing to use them until they're confetti.

I only recently heard of real guns using .17, and it was on a thread here somewhere. I laughed a little, thinking of my pellet guns. But they're serious business!! the real guns, I mean.

**Phrost** · Posted On: 1/13/2006 1:05pm

http://www.shootingtimes.com/ammunition/17_hmr_0508/

http://www.ammobank.com/cgi-bin/csho...em%2Ectx=83177

Guess I answered my own question.

**Planktime** · Posted On: 1/13/2006 1:09pm

Originally Posted by Phrost

Anyone familiar with .17? Is it cheaper than .22? I've seen a few episodes of Guns and Ammo TV and they push it a bit as the new plinking round.

I thought about buying a ruger single six in .17 about 2 years ago when i bought my model SW 617 22cal. The .17 more expensive to shoot though about the price of 22mag. I already had a rifle to shoot 22lr out of so it just made sence to buy the hand gun in the same. If anyone was looking to buy a plinking gun i would suggest the ruger 10/22 in a rifle and the Browning buckmark in a handgun.

PT

**Don Gwinn** · Posted On: 1/13/2006 10:57pm

Your other option besides buying a separate .22 is a .22 conversion kit. This will let you practice with cheap .22 ammo and very little noise and recoil, but you'll still be using your frame, trigger and controls. It's a good way to go if you care more about training yourself to know and love that one fighting handgun than you do about owning another gun. Personally, I hate to miss an excuse to own another gun. ;)

http://www.22lrconversions.com/glk-pg.htm for the Arthur Ciener kit. This costs about $200, about what I paid for my Ruger .22, and from the point of view of learning to shoot a Glock as naturally as you can, it's probably a better way to go. I love my Ruger, but it won't teach you to shoot with that weird Glock trigger.

The standard Mark I/II/III aren't going to be the same as a 1911, but Ruger does make the 22/45 model, which runs like the Mk I/II/III but has the grip angle, safety and mag release location of a 1911. I shoot a MkI with a 5.5 inch bull barrel and a nicely tuned trigger, and it's a joy to shoot, but I'm down to one magazine that isn't jamamatic and it's finicky about ammo. The only real difference with the MkI is that it didn't have the flats in front of the "ears" on the bolt and it has no provision for holding the bolt open on the last shot. Great little .22.

Don't overthink your plinking .22. Look around and buy something that feels good in your hand and tends to "point" for you. When pointing the unloaded gun at a safe target, you should be able to raise the gun and point it at the target without using the sights; when you check the sights, they should be more or less right on. Many people find that different guns "point" differently.
No matter what you end up shooting as a weapon, practicing the fundamentals a LOT will do you good. I use a SIG and a GLOCK at the moment (I like weapons with goofy over-capitalized European names) which are pretty different setups. The GLOCK has that weird, mushy safe-action trigger which is the same for every shot. The SIG has a really nice double-action first shot followed by a crisp single action for each of the following shots. There's not much common ground there, but it's all front sight, press when you get right down to it.
Front sight, press. Front sight, press. Front sight, press . . . .

**Jaguar Wong** · Posted On: 1/14/2006 10:38am

Cool man, thanks for all that info.

**Dusty Larson** · Posted On: 1/15/2006 6:38pm

Question - why is the standard military issue gun using 9mm as opposed to .45 ACP or something a little stronger?

Is 9mm really sucky for defense? Surely it's better than .22.