In the last couple of columns, I talked about the ammo crunch and what shooters are doing to try to alleviate the pain of the high prices that came about as a result, I believe, of the panic buying that is occurring. People are stockpiling and it is depleting the inventory of local merchants and causing the old rule of supply and demand to kick in.

Many have turned to reloading for the first time, others have switched to 9mm from 45 acp in order to buy bulk ammo at a cheaper rate. A visit to your local range will find shooters picking up brass like never before.

Law enforcement agencies have also felt the bite in the form of long waiting periods to get training ammo. As the trainer for my agency, I was told by our usual vendor that there would be a six month back order on .223 reloads that we use for training. I decided to check around first and found nothing better and called back a week later and the wait was now eight months! I now have a standing order that they ship as available.

One of the things I am looking at both personally and for my agency is the use of 22lr conversion kits. With the price difference between 22lr and .223 it’s a no-brainer to get the most out of the technology. The only obstacle is finding out just how much real training value there is in shooting 22lr as opposed to the full power round. And finding one that is reliable enough for this purpose.

Recently, both Colt and Smith&Wesson have introduced rifles on the AR platform chambered in 22lr. They have recognized the demand is there and we are waiting for the rifles to become available, which, by the time this goes to print, should be about there. I am looking forward to trying these two out as the price point is right and they can be configured just like your duty rifle. I have been using a dedicated 22lr upper from Tactical Solutions for about a month now with great results. At our Sunday "Study Group" sessions, as we refer to our shooting day, several of us have started trying to see just how realistic we can make training with these little rifles and handguns. There are several good conversion kits on the market for duty handguns as well and we have a cross section of manufactures at the range. We have made up some lighter steel targets and have been running some drills and IDPA type stages with them.

What we have discovered is that shooting fundamentals are the same regardless of the caliber you are shooting. Sight picture and alignment, trigger control and the other basics can be practiced just as with your full power loads. In essence, shooting is shooting!

Training skills such as draw stroke, pivots and turns, shooting on the move, use of cover can be practiced just as easily with a 22lr as a .45acp. There are some limitations. Such as reloads can be damaging to some of the magazines. The rifles don’t all lock back on the last round completely etc. And you are limited on range with the rifles to around 50 yds. or so. I have been using an upper for my Glock from Advantage Arms that has proven very reliable and accurate for a couple years now and I have an older Colt 1911 conversion kit so I have most of the bases covered already. With the addition of the AR15, I am good to go. In talking with other trainers, there seems to be a movement towards allowing these into Carbine classes to do certain portions of the program along with a full power rifle to help ease the cost of taking formal training. I am going to give it a little longer then if I am still happy with the performance, I plan on incorporating them into my Dept. training program. For those who would scoff at the idea of training with a 22lr., remember shooting is shooting and I would certainly rather be at the range throwing rocks than sitting around wishing I was at the range. This is also a great way to introduce a new shooter to the fundamentals. If anyone has any experiences or suggestions on this concept and would like to share them please feel free to drop me an email. I’d love to hear from you.

See you at the range.