[Jeff22]

USE OF THE .22 HANDGUN IN TRAINING
By Col. Jeff Cooper
From Cooper on Handguns (1st edition) (Los Angeles, Calif; Peterson Publishing Co, 1974)


"As a trainer, the .22 is quite efficient, though it does not entirely suffice for a full course of instruction, as the student must become accustomed to the greater recoil and louder report of a full duty load. Several good service auto pistols may be fitted with a .22 caliber attachment which permits practice and sport shooting with the small cartridge. This is an excellent idea, in view of the high and increasing cost of center-fire ammunition." -- Page 32
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The use of the .22 as a trainer is often recommended. If the objective is target shooting, this is an excellent idea. Most target shooting is restricted to the old fashioned, one handed dueling stance, and encourages a limp grip. Recoil is a definite consideration here, and by starting a beginner out on a .22, he can be taught sight alignment and trigger control before he is introduced to bounce and blast. However, if one starts a student out directly with the Weaver Stance, this is not a serious matter, except with those few individuals who are simply demoralized by shooting. I have encountered some of these in teaching (interestingly, all were men) but I could do nothing with them with the .22 either, so it was no help in such cases." --Page 101
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The .22 caliber Combat Masterpiece (S&W 18) is essentially a 4 inch K-22. It is useful primarily as a sub-caliber trainer for users of the service revolvers of identical configuration (S&W 15 & S&W 67)"
--Page 170
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Several of the more prominent service autos of the world may be fitted with attachments that permit them to fire the .22 long rifle cartridge. Examples include the U.S.45 Government model, the German P38, and the Swiss Sig 210. This is a splendid notion, as it permits inexpensive practice with the duty weapon, and further qualifies it for use in situations where the center-fire cartridge is overly noisy or destructive, as on some indoor ranges. I think a .22 conversion kit should be available for any service auto, and that the lack of such an attachment is a very serious drawback, which should be given much weight in the choice of a sidearm. Practice with the .22 conversion device does NOT take the place of center-fire practice, but it helps, and center-fire ammunition is so expensive and hard to procure that many people simply give up the idea of a proper training program. The .22 converter is a good solution to this problem." --Page 179
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------