Hello,
Thinking of going to 22LR. I already consolidated all my pistols to 9mm and rifles to 5.56/.223. All have similar manual of arms.

Do any of you buy "trainers" in 22 if your combat caliber guns? If so, what is your preferred trainer?

With the price of 9mm, and more recently 5.56< I haven't seen the need for 22lR of the same type. My bolt gun, however, has a .22 counterpart that see's quite a bit of use. I've also employed the use of a SIRT laser gun so not only can practice on the cheap, I cna do it in my living room.

Limited need nowadays. Thats just me. Now if I could find a conversion kit for the P238 in .22 Short? Yeah, I'd probably buy it...

If your primary objective is caliber consolidation, there would be little reason for you to go the .22 route.

For what it is worth, this advice is coming from someone who is converting a second Glock to .38 Super.

I've never bought a trainer for an AR, although I suppose I might want to think about that. I can't find trainers for my handguns that lock a slide back on an empty mag, so I shoot other .22s to try to improve trigger control.

Although the sights are different, the Kadet lets me have cheap(er) trigger time on my compact. It has a permanent place in the range bag.

I LOVE 22s, always have

While I do not buy training versions of my defensive firearms, I do have a few that fall into that category

The first is a 22LR Upper assembly for my P220s. The one I have has a threaded barrel for suppressed use as well.

The 2nd are several Walther PP, and PPK/s pistols in 22LR. While I do have counterparts in 380ACP, all of these are threaded for suppressor use.

The 3rd is the 22LR sub-caliber kit for my HK G3k. I admit that I have used that one to get my youngest niece used to Machine Guns. There is no way she could have started out with the 7.62x51 that the firearm is chambered for

My other 22s fall into the Plinking category or the Target category. Not counting my 22LR rifles.

Even using 22 handguns that do not replicate the look and feel of your full power firearms can give you trigger time and improve shooting skills.

I probably first got started with the 22 plinkers because of ammunition costs.

However I continue to use firearms in 22LR when teaching novice shooters. It allows me to evaluate their skills without them worring about recoil or muzzle blast. Truth is I use a 60+ year old Smith and Wesson 22 Target Masterpiece as the firearm

These days cost is no longer the issue. In fact I can handload a 50 round box of hard cast lead practice ammunition in 357 Magnum, 38 Special, 357SIG or 9MM for about what a 50 round box of 22LR is selling for in today's market.

But I still LOVE my 22s.

quote:

Do any of you buy "trainers" in 22 if your combat caliber guns?

Dunno about that 'combat' part but 22LR does a poor imitation of 40S&W, my carry caliber. If I'm looking at a little 'light training', I'd rather grab one of my G19s as a fill-in for my G23s.

Never hurts to have a few .22's around. I am somewhat of a .22 addict !
I have the following:
Wilson combat .22 conversion for the 1911
Beretta jaguar
Colt challenger
S&W 34,17&422
They all are great shooters.
Did some warm up practice before a class at gunsite a couple weeks back ( yes did do some work with the 9mm's I took to class too) but was hitting 8" plates at 65 yards about 5 out of 6 shotes with the various 22's.
Some may disagree but just like dry fire practice with a 22 of any sort will help improve your fundamentals when you change to a service caliber pistol

I was thinking of a handgun to go shooting. I know ammo is not expensive but a plinker is fun.

Buckmark!

Very solid and accurate.

Huge cz-452 fan for rifle here, for plinking and targets its my absolute favorite gun.

Rifles
CZ452 or 455
Ruger 10/22
S&W M&P-15/22

Pistols
Beretta 87
Ruger MKII
S&W revolvers

Nothing that matches a carry gun, but 22 is great to shoot / plink with regardless.

Beretta 87 Cheetah. Ruger SR22. Beretta Jaguar is good for Single action familiarity. Love all 3, but with the 87 the Ruger has stayed home last few range trips. It's getting lonely

Kinda. I liked the Beretta 87 so much I bought the 380 version. Does that count?

.22s are back to .5c-.6c per now and not too hard to find. Always a place for them! I built a .22 AR with a cheapy RDS for lower cost practice.