Ben Stoeger is a multiple USPSA Production National champion, shooting instructor and all around trouble. Here are his thoughts on using a .22 for practicing practical pistol.

In this time of ever increasing ammo prices, everyone is constantly looking for ways to save money on shooting. Reloading is a good step for getting cheaper centerfire ammo, but it is still expensive, especially if you are planning on doing high volume training.

The best thing I have tried thus far (much better than airsoft) is a .22 conversion kit. You just slap on a new slide and use different magazines, and you are ready to rock. Since the recoil is so far reduced, I am careful how I use the kit.

I train accuracy (harder shots than what I generally see at matches)

I train movement skills and refine my footwork

I train shooting while moving

I shoot single shots only at targets (to avoid messing with my recoil control)

I use non falling steel (So I can shoot more in less time)

I make sure to always shoot my centerfire gun before my next match to get back into full power loads.

I credit much of my improvement to using my .22 kit (I put 25000 rounds through it in less than a year)

For a serious match… I always shoot my 9mm before the match to deal with the different feel of recoil between the two. In honesty… as long as I sleep on it, it never seems to matter. I can shoot nothing but .22 for weeks and the next time I shoot a 9mm it doesn’t matter. The only thing is, if I shoot a .22 and then shoot a 9mm in the same range session, the 9 feels like a freaking cannon. That’s why I say sleep on it.

Read more at BenStoeger.com
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